Bad Boy (A Chief Inspector Banks Novel) by Peter Robinson

As I have mentioned before, I have had the pleasure of meeting Peter Robinson on his book-signing tour in Cambridge on 6 August 2010. 

Click here to look at some photographs of me and the author: 
http://chooseandbook.blogspot.com/2010/08/there-is-first-time-for-everything-and.html

I thought this youtube video of the release of Bad Boy introduced by the author himself was worthy of watching:



First line in the book:  By the end of August, the waterlogged Yorkshire countryside was a symphony of green and gold under a blue sky scribbled with white clouds.

Who could have foreseen that events would unfold in such disastrous consequences when Juliet Doyle first walked into Yorkshire's Western Area Headquarters to report finding a firearm in her daughter's bedroom?  A policewoman fighting for her life in a hospital for one. 

I have not read a book about an English inspector for quite awhile so this book has an interesting effect on me.  I thought it would be the usual English fare but from the end of the first chapter, I was totally hooked for the long haul.  I could not remember reading Peter Robinson's book but I am almost certain I did many moons ago.  A bookblog is a surefire way to check up on past reads but alas, I started this blog only three months ago, therefore, I have no way of knowing.

I like all the characters especially Chief Inspector Banks and his platonic relationship with DI Annie Cabbott.  Apparently, they were lovers once but it did not work out.  Somehow, their relationship enhances the plot and provides a fresh and different tune to a man-woman friendship.

My imagination ran amok when I read a vivid description of what it was like to be shot.  If it is an accurate account, then it is a horrendous experience.  I also learned a lot about British police procedures and the working dynamics and politics within the police hierachy and divisions.  I am most impressed with the strong sense of British culture and perfect renderings of the English country landscape which the author portrayed excellently and consistently throughout the book. 

Apart from the obvious, Bad Boy is simultaneously poetic and entertaining.  This book makes you think.  I will certainly be checking out the old Inspector Banks books.  No doubt Inspector Banks is a paradox - he can be introspective and pensive and yet can be all business when it comes down to the nitty gritty.

Giving a story away is not my style so I do recommend that you give this book a go.

To learn more about Peter Robinson and his other Chief Inspector Banks books, his official website is at http://www.inspectorbanks.com/

Rating: 5/5 (Super duper)