Friend of the Devil: DCI Banks 17 - Tapa dura

Yet the real star could be the fictional police officer Alan Banks, the cornerstone of Richmond-based author Peter Robinsons murder mysteries set in Yorkshire . . . Now that Ian Rankin has been forced to pension off the ubiquitous John Rebus, I see Banks becoming literatures favourite rogue detective. * Yorkshire Post * 'The 17th Chief Inspector Banks outing is classic Robinson: a labyrinthine plot merged with deft characterisation.' * Observer * 'Robinson once again puts his skills to work in a police procedural that grips like pliers.' * Independent on Sunday * 'Readers will be on the edge of their seats as the two explore not only the depths of human depravity but also their own murky relationship' * Publishers Weekly * 'First-time readers will find FRIEND OF THE DEVIL an entirely satisfactory free-standing detective story,comprehensible on its own terms. Devotees will be in bliss, for it will remind them of many adventures of the past, settle some old scores in surprising ways, and hold out the promise of more twists and turns to come . . . absorbing mystery . . . Robinson has always been notably successful with women characters, creating distinctive mental lives for even the least and most transient of them, as he continues to do here.' * Times Literary Supplement * 'Two riveting, equally interesting crime novels in one' * Telegraph * 'Peter Robinson has for too long, and unfairly, been in the shadow of Ian Rankin; perhaps PIECE OF MY HEART, the latest in the Chief Inspector Banks series, will give him the status he deserves, near, perhaps even at the top of, the British crime writers' league . . . PIECE OF MY HEART brilliantly interweaves past and present, providing two strands of tension for the price of one, and further enhancing Alan Banks's reputation as one of crime fiction's most appealing cops.' * Marcel Berlins, The Times * 'Robinson is good at producing ingenious mysteries and this one doesn't disappoint.' * Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph * 'Robinson makes his way through the parallel stories with masterful confidence. His prose is both textured and easygoing, the mark of a writer who knows his territory. And he continues to assemble casts of characters that stick in the reader's head.' * Toronto Star * 'Brilliantly evokes the time of British psychedelia ... as well as being a terrific contemporary crime novel.' * Independent on Sunday * Praise for Piece of My Heart * : * 'Whatever the profession (from medicine to cuisine), it's always good to sit back and relax, knowing that you're in the hands of a consummate professional. So it is with crime fiction, and Peter Robinson is one of the most reliable names around. He has written 17 books in his much-acclaimed Inspector Bank series, and his writing has the confidence that is commensurate with the best in the field' * Barry Forshaw, Crime Time, * ' Brit cop-job books don't come much better than Peter Robinson's . . . There's none of that frantic, rat-race paced frenzy that the Yanks employ that leave you needing a lie down after half a dozen pages. This is relax-on-the-sofa stuff, layered and engrossing with just the right balance of thrill, chill and human spillage to keep the reader honest . . . Bloody marvelous' * Daily Sport * Watch for those twists theyll get you every time * Ian Rankin * Readers will be on the edge of their seats * Publishers Weekly * Peter Robinson is good at producing ingenious mysteries, and this one does not disappoint * Daily Telegraph * Classic Robinson: a labyrinthine plot merged with deft characterisation * Observer * Robinson once again puts his skills to work in a police procedural that grips like pliers * Independent on Sunday * Watch for those twists - they'll get you every time * Ian Rankin *

When Karen Drew is found sitting in her wheelchair staring out to sea with her throat cut one chilly morning, DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern Area, gets lumbered with the case. Back in Eastvale, that same Sunday morning, 19-year-old Hayley Daniels is found raped and strangled in the Maze, a tangle of narrow alleys behind Eastvale's market square, after a drunken night on the town with a group of friends, and DCI Alan Banks is called in. Banks finds suspects galore, while Annie seems to hit a brick wall--until she reaches a breakthrough that spins her case in a shocking and surprising new direction, one that also involves Banks. Then another incident occurs in the Maze which seems to link the two cases in a bizarre and mysterious way. As Banks and Annie dig into the past to uncover the deeper connections, they find themselves also dealing with the emotional baggage and personal demons of their own relationship. And it soon becomes clear that there are two killers in their midst, and that at any moment either one might strike again.