Book Review: Watching the Dark by Peter Robinson (giveaway)

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Harper Collins Publishing, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it


This book by Peter has recently been released in paperback, the 22nd book in the 
DCI Banks series, and we were able to review a copy!

Watching the Dark  cover


Synopsis:

When Detective Inspector Bill Quinn is found murdered in the tranquil grounds of the St Peter’s Police Treatment Centre, and compromising photographs are discovered in his room, DCI Banks is called in to investigate. Because of thepossibility of police corruption, he is assigned an officer from Professional Standards, Inspector Joanna Passero, to work closely with him, and he soon finds himself and his methods under scrutiny. It emerges that Quinn’s murder may be linked to the disappearance of an English girl called Rachel Hewitt, in Tallinn, Estonia, six years earlier. The deeper Banks looks into the old case, themore he begins to feel that he has to solve the mystery of Rachel’s disappearance before he can solve Quinn’s murder, though Inspector Passero has a different agenda. When Banks and Passero travel to Tallinn to track down leads in the dark, cobbled alleys of the city’s Old Town, it soon become clear that that someone doesn’t want the past stirred up.

Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot, just back at work after a serious injury, is following up leads in Eastvale. Her investigations take her to the heart of a migrant labor scam involving a corrupt staffing agency and a loan shark who preys on the poorest members of society. As the action shifts back and forth between Tallinn and Eastvale, it soon becomes clear that crimes are linked in more ways than Banks imagined, and that solving them may put even more lives in jeopardy.

Watching the Dark is available now at Amazon | B&N  IndieBound



Review:
I have read many of the DCI Banks novels, but it has been awhile, and I had missed this one, so I was eager to read it! As usual, I read about 150 pages in the first sitting, in about the blink of an eye it seemed, as Robinson grabs the reader with the story line and brings you on a roller coaster as multiple mysteries start and the characters are guessing at what has happened. The plot of intersecting death of a retired policeman and a missing teen from years ago was a interesting twist and while I was eager to see how it played out, I felt like the relationship/lack there of between Banks and Passero sort of got in the way of the story line and slowed the book down.I will be interested to see in the next book if the subtlety of bring Passero on board was to have her become involved with Banks in a personal relationship. The ending neatly tied up all the intersecting lines, and leaves the reader happy with the solving of the mysteries. I just wish the roller coaster pace had kept up the whole book. But the book is still an enjoyable read, just not one you read in one sitting!


About the Author
Peter Robinson was born in Yorkshire. After getting his BA Honours Degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds, he came to Canada and took his MA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor, then a PhD in English at York University. He has taught at a number of Toronto community colleges and universities and served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Windsor. His first novel, Gallows View introduced Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks in 1987. Hnow divides his time between North America and the U.K. Check out his website for more.



Harper Collins is offering a great giveaway of BEFORE THE POISON, Peter’s extremely successful stand alone novel! Three winners will have a chance to win just by tweeting, liking on Facebook or leaving a blog post!



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