Innocent Graves

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Summary: Banks investigates the murder of a teenaged schoolgirl.
Review: Deborah Harrison is the affluent and intelligent daughter of an important businessman. One day, on her way home from St. Mary's school, she is strangled in a graveyard. The residents of the Yorkshire town of Eastvale are shocked by her death, and Deborah's father is pressuring the police to come up with a suspect quickly. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is called in and he, along with his colleagues, arrest an English teacher for the crime. Peter Robinson does some interesting things in "Innocent Graves". He tells a good part of the story through the eyes of the arrested man, Owen Pierce, who swears that he is innocent. We experience Owen's panic and bitterness as he is processed through the criminal justice system and stands trial for a crime that he claims he did not commit. Robinson once again shows how difficult and painstaking police work is. Banks and his colleagues must interview dozens of people over a period of months to get to the truth. The patience and the perseverance of the Eastvale police force are strained to the breaking point during this case. The ending is a bit melodramatic and not completely believable. However, in spite of a few minor flaws, "Innocent Graves" is an engrossing mystery and a wonderful character study.

Rating:
Summary: Banks investigates the murder of a teenaged schoolgirl.
Review: Deborah Harrison is the affluent and intelligent daughter of an important businessman. One day, on her way home from St. Mary's school, she is strangled in a graveyard. The residents of the Yorkshire town of Eastvale are shocked by her death, and Deborah's father is pressuring the police to come up with a suspect quickly. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is called in and he, along with his colleagues, arrest an English teacher for the crime. Peter Robinson does some interesting things in "Innocent Graves". He tells a good part of the story through the eyes of the arrested man, Owen Pierce, who swears that he is innocent. We experience Owen's panic and bitterness as he is processed through the criminal justice system and stands trial for a crime that he claims he did not commit. Robinson once again shows how difficult and painstaking police work is. Banks and his colleagues must interview dozens of people over a period of months to get to the truth. The patience and the perseverance of the Eastvale police force are strained to the breaking point during this case. The ending is a bit melodramatic and not completely believable. However, in spite of a few minor flaws, "Innocent Graves" is an engrossing mystery and a wonderful character study.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I've enjoyed the Inspector Banks series in the past (particularly "Final Account" which had a great twist in the last few pages), but "Innocent Graves" is all talk and very little pay-off. Banks himself continues to be an interesting character, and Robinson's writing is never less than superb, but this particular mystery was a big "who cares?" for me. The mystery itself isn't really much of a mystery and its solution has more to do with blind luck and a piece of evidence that just happens to appear, like a deus ex machina at the last moment, than it does with any brilliant deduction on Banks's part. "Innocent Graves" seems far more interested in the pschology of the suspects (one in particular, whose story concludes in an all too predictable fashion) than in satisfying its readers with a great solution to the crime. I've always found this kind of mystery a bit of a bore; give me a couple of corpses and brilliant twists and I'm happy. There are a couple of corpses here, but no twist; just a far too unbelievable and uninteresting ending.

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Summary: Mystery writing at its best
Review: Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson Viking, 1996

Chief Inspector Allen Banks is called in to handle the murder of a 16 year-old school girl who is strangled in the church cemetery. The suspects range from a school teacher, Owen Pierce, who is slowly recovering from a failed 5 year affair with one of his former students, a young hoodlum, John Spinks, a Croatian immigrant drunk who has accused the local Pastor of sexual advances, and the local Pastor. The circumstantial evidence against Owen is very strong and when he is charged, tried and acquitted of the murder, many are very upset. Banks returns to the case and when another murder similar to the first is committed Owen is again the chief suspect and again the evidence against him is very strong. When it is discovered that Owen has a perfect alibi and was the victim of a frame, other suspects come into view. Clever work by Banks reveals all and the murder is brought to heel and several other community problems are resolved.

One always feels a little superior when the murderer is identified before the end of the book but in this case the murderer seems a little obvious even if the motive is a little obscure. This is the first Inspector Banks book that I have read in several years and was impressed that the quality of the writing had not changed with time. A good read that I would recommend to all mystery fans.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery writing at its best
Review: Innocent Graves by Peter Robinson Viking, 1996

Chief Inspector Allen Banks is called in to handle the murder of a 16 year-old school girl who is strangled in the church cemetery. The suspects range from a school teacher, Owen Pierce, who is slowly recovering from a failed 5 year affair with one of his former students, a young hoodlum, John Spinks, a Croatian immigrant drunk who has accused the local Pastor of sexual advances, and the local Pastor. The circumstantial evidence against Owen is very strong and when he is charged, tried and acquitted of the murder, many are very upset. Banks returns to the case and when another murder similar to the first is committed Owen is again the chief suspect and again the evidence against him is very strong. When it is discovered that Owen has a perfect alibi and was the victim of a frame, other suspects come into view. Clever work by Banks reveals all and the murder is brought to heel and several other community problems are resolved.

One always feels a little superior when the murderer is identified before the end of the book but in this case the murderer seems a little obvious even if the motive is a little obscure. This is the first Inspector Banks book that I have read in several years and was impressed that the quality of the writing had not changed with time. A good read that I would recommend to all mystery fans.

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Summary: You Have No Idea Where This is Going - But That is Fun
Review: Inspector Banks is a combination of routine boring police work and minor details to horrors that we do not want to think about.

As usual Peter Robinson keeps us glued to the book, oblivious to our surroundings.

Jack in Toronto, and no relation, or maybe I am.

Rating:
Summary: Well Plotted, convicing
Review: Inspector Banks is such a enjoyable character thats there's no way you can go wrong with 'Innocent Graves'. The story is well written intertwinning the suspects to keep you guessing. Here's hoping that more people discover and enjoy Mr. Robinson's books...

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Summary: Please allow DCI Bank's Walkman to self-destruct
Review: This author's plots and characters are well presented and convincing while his DCI Bank's knowledge of and fondness for music is definitely not.These particular references are not only poorly contrived but often tedious.Mr.Robinson would do well to leave that otherwise jolly concept in the capable hands of Colin Dexter and DCI Morse

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Summary: Refreshing change from the everyday mystery!
Review: This is the first book I have read from Robinson, and the only thing I regret is not finding this book sooner! This is an awesome novel by the extremely talented and humble Robinson. I must say, I truly enjoyed it for all it is worth. It is so deep, interesting, intelligant and inquesitive murder mystery. Never have I read a book that was so formally thought out. When you think you know who the killer is, there is always a twist and find myself questioning just how Peter Robinson will get himself put out of this theory, it alsmost seems impossible, but he always does. What guy. Pick up his books and read it people, honestly.

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Summary: Inspector Banks is an apathetic cipher., but story is great
Review: This novel takes life seriously and asks the reader to examine some of his beliefs and assumptions about the world and existence. Unlike almost every crime novel (Thomas Cook and M. Connelly excluded)I read, this story has depth and "meat on its bones." For example we see how the police and the justice system can drive an innocent party to commit a heinous crime, which was only committed because the police were so eager to bring someone, anyone to trial. Also, we meet several very real lpeople, struggling to make it in life. Robinson pulls no punches in his gritty (often ugly) depiction of police officers and the squalid atmosphere of a police station for someone accused of a crime. Robinson pulls few punches in this story. Two problems, one major: 1)Minor: The parents of the murdered girl simply disappear from the novel--they needed a fuller role as the novel progressed; 2)Major problem: Main character, Banks, is flat and boring. His responses to what is going on around him almost make me think that he is clinically depressed, but Robinson doesn't give the reader any help in understanding the "major" character in the novel. Also, I assume the author wants us to think that Banks is an intelligent detective, but his willingness to acquiesce in the quick arrest of a suspect based on rather flimsy evidence and the zealousness of a clearly neurotic (obsessive) officer under his command makes this reader think that Banks is both apathetic (doesn't care who is arrested)and a poor detective.