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Children of the Revolution

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Multiple award-winning, New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author Peter Robinson returns with Children of the Revolution, a superb tale of mystery and murder that takes acclaimed British Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks back to the early 1970s—a turbulent time of politics, change, and radical student activism.

The body of a disgraced college lecturer is found on an abandoned railway line. In the four years since his dismissal for sexual misconduct, he'd been living like a hermit. So where did he get the 5,000 pounds found in his pocket?

Leading the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks begins to suspect that the victim's past may be connected to his death. Forty years ago the dead man attended a university that was a hotbed of militant protest and divisive, bitter politics. And as the seasoned detective well knows, some grudges are never forgotten—or forgiven.

Just as he's about to break the case open, his superior warns him to back off. Yet Banks isn't about to stop, even if it means risking his career. He's certain there's more to the mystery than meets the eye . . . and more skeletons to uncover before the case can finally be closed.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      The always engaging Simon Prebble adds immeasurably to one of Robinson's best Chief Inspector Banks mysteries. Margaret Thatcher's conservative government and the coal miners' strikes of the 1980s are the catalyst for a tragic, seemingly senseless, present-day murder. Prebble captures the diversity of British and immigrant accents and evocatively delivers Robinson's rich descriptions of people and locales. The crime reignites England's class tensions, which sometimes hinder the police as they sift through multiple clues that conflict with each other. Glimpses of the personal lives of Banks and his staff add further interest. Listeners will share the ups and downs as police and victims experience the frustration of the investigation and then exhilaration when the surprising solution finally unfolds. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 10, 2014
      In Edgar-finalist Robinson’s absorbing 21st novel featuring Det. Chief Insp. Alan Banks (after 2013’s Watching the Dark), Gavin Miller lives in poverty-stricken isolation after allegations of sexual misconduct cost him his job as a college lecturer. Yet when his battered body is found near a disused Yorkshire railway track, he has £5,000 in his pocket. Believing the money came from drug sales or blackmail, Banks and his team investigate both the recent misconduct charges and Miller’s college days decades earlier. Banks quickly uncovers a link between the victim and Lady Veronica Chalmers, once a Marxist rebel and now a successful romance novelist and aunt to the probable next home secretary. Robinson excels at connecting his detectives’ personal stories to the investigation, endowing familiar characters with fresh nuance and depth. Impeccable pacing fleshes out Miller’s tragic life and unravels the killer’s motive. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency.

    • Library Journal

      March 15, 2014

      Robinson's latest Inspector Banks mystery (after Watching the Dark) features the ever-intriguing detective investigating the death of a former college instructor. The body is discovered on railway tracks underneath a bridge, and the victim has a large amount of money still in his pocket. The circumstances suggest blackmail to Banks, who proceeds to dig into the dead man's past for clues. Robinson's sympathetic portrayal of the victim, Gavin Miller, depicts a man without family and with few friends, whose welfare is treated with casual disregard even by those closest to him. Banks instinctively senses that more information about Miller's life and character will lead the police to the killer. Intertwined with the story are more decisions and personal issues for the popular DI; he is considering a promotion that, if accepted, will make changes to his future plans. Unfortunately, his falling once again for a much younger woman will irritate some readers, as Banks's repeated affairs with various young women erode his appeal. VERDICT Fans of mystery and suspense will enjoy this excellent story from an award-winning author. [See Prepub Alert, 10/20/13.]--Linda Oliver, MLIS, Colorado Springs

      Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Kirkus

      Starred review from March 15, 2014
      Robinson's latest Inspector Banks novel is an English murder mystery sure to please lovers of the genre. The body of Gavin Miller shows up on a lonely pathway beneath a railroad bridge in the Yorkshire countryside. Was it an accident? Or suicide? Or murder? The dead man has 5,000 in his pocket, so robbery seems an unlikely motive. DCI Alan Banks heads the investigation, which leads him and his team to ask unwelcome questions of some rich and powerful people. Banks digs deeply, learning about radical political pasts dating back to the 1960s and '70s, when people read Karl Marx, talked of revolution and did plenty of dope. Today they think that's all in the past, and the past won't return to haunt them. In any event, Miller had seemed like a shabby loser and a drunk--so what was he doing with all that money? Responding to outside pressure, Banks' boss tells him to back off the investigation, which of course a good fictional detective doesn't do. He and fellow detectives Cabbot and Winsome are smart and determined, with just the right amount of attitude to make them likable. Readers who grew up in the age of bands like The Doors and Led Zeppelin will appreciate the frequent references to the rock music of that era. Robinson's descriptions are rich and beautifully done, although now and then the detailed scene-setting slows the pace too much. This is a mystery that depends less on action than on DCI Banks' thought process. It's well-plotted and satisfying right to the end. Robinson has won many awards for his Detective Banks novels (Watching the Dark, 2013, etc.), and with this latest, he demonstrates his mastery of the craft.

      COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from March 1, 2014
      Robinson's long-running and best-selling Inspector Banks series, now spanning more than 20 novels, has won a clutch of awards, including France's Grand Prix de Litt'rature Polici're and Sweden's Martin Beck awards, along with nominations for Edgar and Agatha awards. Detective Chief Inspector Banks, the artsy and melancholic Yorkshire detective, and his snarky sidekick, Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot, are consistently fun to watch, whether you just drop in on this series or have seen the shifts in their relationship from the beginning. Robinson writes police procedurals in which the latest forensic science enhances, while still taking a back seat to, the basic arts of detection; Banks is clearly on the side of old-fashioned discovery of motive and opportunity, and his questioning of suspects is wonderful to witness. This time the body of a former university lecturer is found on the tracks of an abandoned railroad track in North Yorkshire. The man has been living hand to mouth since his dismissal on charges of sexual misconduct several years before. The scene reads as a suicide, except to Banks, who suspects that the 5,000 pounds left in the man's pocket and his recent reaching out to militant college contacts from the 1970s may point to a more complicated story. As usual with a Banks novel, the chief inspector's frictions with higher-ups are nearly as gripping as the unraveling of the case itself. First-rate procedural and character study. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: An A-list staple, Robinson's Inspector Banks series has a devoted following, especially in libraries, and this is one of the series' highlights.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

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