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Cold Is the Grave
Cold Is the Grave
Cold Is the Grave
Audiobook16 hours

Cold Is the Grave

Written by Peter Robinson

Narrated by Ron Keith

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

The Inspector Banks novel In a Dry Season was a New York Times Notable Book and won the Anthony Award. Cold Is the Grave takes the inspector from his cozy Yorkshire cottage into the dark underworld of London. The assignment is a favor, asked of him by his greatest enemy-his boss, the Chief Constable.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 25, 2016
ISBN9781436126663
Cold Is the Grave
Author

Peter Robinson

Peter Robinson's DCI Banks became a major ITV1 drama starring Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks and Andrea Lowe as DI Annie Cabbot. Peter's standalone novel Before the Poison won the IMBA's 2013 Dilys Award as well as the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. This was Peter's sixth Arthur Ellis award. His critically acclaimed DCI Banks novels have won numerous awards in Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe, and are published in translation all over the world. In 2020 Peter was made a Grand Master by the Crime Writers of Canada. Peter grew up in Yorkshire, and divided his time between Richmond, UK, and Canada until his death in 2022.

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Reviews for Cold Is the Grave

Rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read In A Dry Season and then I decided to tackle the follow up to it. I must say that Peter Robinson is quite a brave soul. He had hit a home run with In A Dry Season and he very well could have done something similar, instead he went another direction. This book, the 11th in the series is much safer by virtue of the plot devising but more difficult by virtue of the fact that Robinson decided to change the way the story is told. This is by far the more conventional story, involving oversexed teenagers and casual drug use, a much more conventional setting for the murder. The usual cliches of gangsters, social climbing spouses, disagreeable bosses, all comes into play. I thought the plotting was excellent, the characters were pretty well developed but not as well developed as In A Dry Season. Part of the reason is that the previous story took place in two disparate epochs so the detailed telling of both sides of the story was necessary. It was not necessary for this story so I think Robionson slacked off a tad. The continuing romance between Banks and Annie is very well done, it serves as a good background for when the main plot gets too heavy. Robinson shows a very deft touch with the balance of the two story lines and he also deliciously complicates his plot. Even though this story may be of a more conventional gum shoe genre, it held my attention quite well and I read the book in one day, needless to say it was quite absorbing. The final twist on the story was somewhat shocking. I was able to see it only two or three pages ahead of the book. But I did not view the twist as a gimmick or a desperate attempt by a writer to save an ignominiously plotted story, instead it is a very natural yet unobvious plot turn which seemed to develop organically by the author. I would recommend this book on its own, a fine murder mystery for anglophiles but especially Yorkshirephiles.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    More of the 'real world' than the 'cosy' detective/mysteries I usually go for. But enjoyed the more faceted characters found here. Especially liked the balance between Banks' private and work life.Would like a weekend in his country cottage, but he would have to ditch the leather jacket, and I would probably request The Birdie Song, just to wind him up.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I've not been too impressed with Robinson up to now, but this one does have a bit more to offer in terms of complexity of characters and plot. Still, the language is a bit flat and the dialogue never really comes to life. And there is far too much reliance on some of the more tired clichés of the genre. Someone ought to tell Robinson that it's not compulsory for female characters to have long shapely legs and cross them at the ankle. Or for detectives to spend more time deciding what to drink next than they do on solving crimes...
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A somewhat messy book--maybe more realistic for it, but it still did not quite satisfy. I am not a great fan of too much of the detectives relationships coming through. Not a great admirer of Bank's Annie.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Robinson's Alan Banks series is getting better and better. Each book is complex and the mystery is never straight-forward and easy to figure out. I had seen this particular one done for television before I read the book. As usual though, the book was much, much better because there's more time to develop a storyline and a plot. And Robinson's writing is wondefully easy to read while being intricate and detailed at the same time. Banks is a very realistic character and after reading eleven of Robinson's Banks books now I feel that I'm really getting to know this character and I can't believe how multi-facted he is. In this book, Banks is asked by his supervisor to find his sixteeen year old daughter who has run away to London. He is asked to do it off the books, and Banks being Banks, is very thorough in his search. He finds young Emily but he uncovers a real rat's nest of intrigue that she has become enmeshed in. Almost ineveitably the web of lies, deceit and crime follow Banks and Emily all the way back to Yorkshire when he brings her home. I can tell you that if I ever found myself "in a spot of trouble", I would dearly love to have Alan Banks in my corner. I can't recommend this series enough.