Rating: 
Summary: Impressive First Novel
Review: After having read PAST REASON HATED and BLOOD AT THE ROOT it was time to start at the beginning of this wonderful series. GALLOWS VIEW is the first novel that introduces Peter Robinson's creation of Inspector Alan Banks.Women are being terrorized in the small English town of Eastvale by a peeping tom who likes to stare at women while they undress. There has also been a series of robberies affecting this small town but the police start taking notice when they find the body of Alice Matlock. The police cannot help themselves to wander if this was the work of outsiders or if the peeping tom passion has gotten to be deadly. Inspector Banks is in charge of the case and is working together with Dr. Jennifer Fuller to try to help him understand the mind of the voyeur and to see if there is possibility that he could be dangerous. This book is a police procedural that does not carry a lot of surprises or revelations. What makes this book great is how the author takes what could be considered an ordinary day in the life of a police officer and make it interesting. Inspector Banks has some personal problems and he is attracted to the doctor. He wants to yield towards temptation and he knows it would not be right. The author does a good job also in showing life in a small town by showing the townspeople and involving them in the story. He adds everything from a camera club meeting all the way towards two teens heading into a life of trouble. As a first novel, it is a very good book and helped in the understanding of Inspector Banks. There are quite a few of the author's work that follow this novel and it will be a pleasure to continue reading them in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Well written, interesting plot, good character devt.
Review: An unusually good first book, with an interesting plot. Very well written, with a series of characters whom you get to know and like, for the most part.
Rating:
Summary: An English Police Mystery
Review: Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks has been assigned to the village of Eastvale in Yorkshire for several months. He finds himself confronted with a tangle of cases that may or may not be related. There is a Peeping Tom who seems to specialize in blonds, young male hoodlums that rob and sometimes injure elderly women, house burglaries, an older woman who is murdered, and a younger woman raped. The rapist, as it turns out, gets more than he intended. As the investigations progress to solve the cases, the reader gets a picture of English society. There is a somewhat rigid class structure related to the educational system. Tradesmen such as plumbers don't go to the same schools as upper level professionals, and classes don't mix socially even when you were best friends as children. The main school in Eastvale caters to the masses and has problems similar to those in U.S. schools, e.g., lack of discipline and problems in the school, truant students who are often boored, students mixing with the wrong crowd, etc. As in most English mysteries, guns are rare. England has severe penalties for unregistered firearms. Only one gun shows up in this novel. The story has some sexual content, violence, and language. It seems well researched and true-to-life.
Rating:
Summary: An English Police Mystery
Review: Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks has been assigned to the village of Eastvale in Yorkshire for several months. He finds himself confronted with a tangle of cases that may or may not be related. There is a Peeping Tom who seems to specialize in blonds, young male hoodlums that rob and sometimes injure elderly women, house burglaries, an older woman who is murdered, and a younger woman raped. The rapist, as it turns out, gets more than he intended. As the investigations progress to solve the cases, the reader gets a picture of English society. There is a somewhat rigid class structure related to the educational system. Tradesmen such as plumbers don't go to the same schools as upper level professionals, and classes don't mix socially even when you were best friends as children. The main school in Eastvale caters to the masses and has problems similar to those in U.S. schools, e.g., lack of discipline and problems in the school, truant students who are often boored, students mixing with the wrong crowd, etc. As in most English mysteries, guns are rare. England has severe penalties for unregistered firearms. Only one gun shows up in this novel. The story has some sexual content, violence, and language. It seems well researched and true-to-life.
Rating:
Summary: The First in a Superb Series
Review: Gallows View, the first Inspector Banks novel, provides a great introduction to Robinson's now well-established series. Having already read some of the later books, it is easy to see how Robinson painstakingly lays the groundwork for the subsequent novels. The characters are well thought out, given distinct and memorable personalities, and relationships are carefully established. DCI Alan Banks, a recent transfer to the Eastvale CID, finds himself embroiled in a series of mysteries for his first major case. A number of Peeping Tom incidents leaves the women of Eastvale rather vary. To make matters worse, two teenagers appear to be carrying out a series of break-ins and vandalisms. The situation turns nasty when an elderly woman is found dead in her vandalized home. The affable Banks finds himself personally enmeshed in the situation when the investigation hits a little too close to home. The tension grows when Banks tries to remain faithful to this wife, amid the growing attraction he feels towards another woman... The novel has a perfect (if not slightly contrived) ending - all the different threads are neatly tied together, and the intricate details carefully explained. The readers are even left feeling somewhat sympathetic towards the criminals in this novel. Furthermore, unlike some of the other police procedurals I've read, there appears to be far less internal tension and strife within the Eastvale CID - the police officers tend to work as a team and get along fairly well. I found this a welcome change from some of the other series where the main character appears to be constantly rubbing shoulders with his superior or junior officers. All said, Gallows View is an excellent beginning to this superb long-lasting series, and well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: Good introduction to this Yorkshire series of which 'In a dry season' is the best-- but this is not far behind.
Rating:
Summary: Can't Wait To Read The Rest Of This Series!!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book! Inspector Banks is a believable and likable character, and I look forward to watching his character evolve. It's also refreshing to read stories that take place in England, as it's interesting to see a slice of life from another part of the world...although I'm told the author actually lives in Canada. You won't regret the time invested in reading this wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: Can't Wait To Read The Rest Of This Series!!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book! Inspector Banks is a believable and likable character, and I look forward to watching his character evolve. It's also refreshing to read stories that take place in England, as it's interesting to see a slice of life from another part of the world...although I'm told the author actually lives in Canada. You won't regret the time invested in reading this wonderful book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Decent Read
Review: In a small town in the Yorkshire Dales, there is a spate of robberies. And a spate of peeping Tom incidents where women are spied on undressing at home. And a murder. All landing on the plate of Chief Inspector Alan Banks recently moved up from London. This is the first of the author's many Inspector Banks novels as well as being the first I've read. It's pretty readable and entertaining stuff, a very nicely plotted police procedural. Nothing special though. In particular, the cod feminism in the opening chapters grates a bit. But the author's youth and inexperience excuse much and I'm sure I'll want to check out a few more of the same series.
Rating:
Summary: Great first novel in series
Review: Inspector Alan Banks took a job in the small village of Eastvale after tiring of working in London but even in this picturesque village there are crimes. A Peeping Tom and a pair of burglars are bad enough but when an elderly woman is murdered in an apparent robbery attempt, Inspector Banks and his team of investigators race to find the culprits before others are killed. Inspector Banks is a likable character and the book nicely balances his home life with solving murders. This is the first book in a series that continues to improve with each novel.
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