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Rating: 
Summary: A good read
Review: A well-plotted police procedural mystery with several interesting characters, not the least of which is Superintendent Dirty Dick Burgess. What a piece of work this guy is! This chap alone is worth the cost of the book. And we all know someone like him: callous, mean, racist, sexist, insists that others abide by the very rules that he gleefully violates. And Inspector Banks has the pleasure of working with this guy in order to find out who stabbed a police officer to death during an anti-nuke rally. Banks deserves a promotion!
Rating: 
Summary: Banks deserves a promotion!
Review: A well-plotted police procedural mystery with several interesting characters, not the least of which is Superintendent Dirty Dick Burgess. What a piece of work this guy is! This chap alone is worth the cost of the book. And we all know someone like him: callous, mean, racist, (...), insists that others abide by the very rules that he gleefully violates. And Inspector Banks has the pleasure of working with this guy in order to find out who stabbed a police officer to death during an anti-nuke rally. Banks deserves a promotion!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent police procedural and more
Review: Banks is one of the more enjoyable fictional detectives because he's a whole person who can't be categorized. The same can be said of the other characters in this readable and satisfying book that, among other things, suggests that you can't tell a person by his politics. Example: Inspector Burgess, the mean and sometimes mean-spirited visitor from London suspects reds under every bed, left-wing conspiracies behind everything and yet ... likes Billie Holiday. Osmond, who seems a knee-jerk left-winger, talks about the way all anti-nuclear people are presumed to be on the same page on every subject. They're not, he notes, pointing to the anti-abortion position of some left-wing Catholics. All of this humanizes an interesting detective story. Robinson, who seems to have come to notice in "In A Dry Season'' is up there with the best of the mystery writers and this book is up there with his best.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I loved Peter Robinson's "Gallow's View." "A Dedicated Man" slipped a bit. Now there's this one, which I didn't even finish. Too much procedure, not enough Banks. Not enough Jenny. The poor wife is nonexistant. That's where the story lies, not with Maggie's Farm. I will try some more Banks, but I don't know if I can keep going if they fail to engage.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The quiet town of Eastvale in Yorkshire is rocked by an anti-nuclear demonstration that turns violent. A police constable named Edwin Gill is stabbed to death during the demonstration and Inspector Alan Banks is on the case. Unfortunately, his superior is not the supportive and sensible Superintendent Gristhorpe but "Dirty Dick" Burgess, a sadistic, chauvanistic, hard-drinking CID Superintendent who has a hatred for "commies" and hippie-types. Burgess roars into town and immediately starts threatening the locals, using his bullying style of interrogation to get results. With Sandra and the kids out of town for a few weeks, Banks has plenty of time to follow a few leads of his own. Most of his suspicions are centered around a commune known as "Maggie's Farm," where some sixties-type people live together. One of the residents, Paul Boyd, is a particularly suspicious character, since he has a lengthy police record. Banks wants to find out if Officer Gill was murdered deliberately or if his killing was merely a random act of violence. "A Necessary End" is not notable for being a scintillating mystery. The resolution of the story is a bit anti-climactic. What Robinson does well is develop character. From the brutal Dick Burgess to the gentle and loving Mara (who lives in the commune), each character comes alive as a result of Robinson's vivid descriptive writing and realistic dialogue. I recommend "A Necessary End". It is a well-paced novel that is also filled with colorful and authentic Yorkshire atmosphere.
Rating:
Summary: Inspector Banks investigates the murder of a constable.
Review: The quiet town of Eastvale in Yorkshire is rocked by an anti-nuclear demonstration that turns violent. A police constable named Edwin Gill is stabbed to death during the demonstration and Inspector Alan Banks is on the case. Unfortunately, his superior is not the supportive and sensible Superintendent Gristhorpe but "Dirty Dick" Burgess, a sadistic, chauvanistic, hard-drinking CID Superintendent who has a hatred for "commies" and hippie-types. Burgess roars into town and immediately starts threatening the locals, using his bullying style of interrogation to get results. With Sandra and the kids out of town for a few weeks, Banks has plenty of time to follow a few leads of his own. Most of his suspicions are centered around a commune known as "Maggie's Farm," where some sixties-type people live together. One of the residents, Paul Boyd, is a particularly suspicious character, since he has a lengthy police record. Banks wants to find out if Officer Gill was murdered deliberately or if his killing was merely a random act of violence. "A Necessary End" is not notable for being a scintillating mystery. The resolution of the story is a bit anti-climactic. What Robinson does well is develop character. From the brutal Dick Burgess to the gentle and loving Mara (who lives in the commune), each character comes alive as a result of Robinson's vivid descriptive writing and realistic dialogue. I recommend "A Necessary End". It is a well-paced novel that is also filled with colorful and authentic Yorkshire atmosphere.
Rating:
Summary: Worthwhile Crime Fiction with a Political Twist
Review: The third Inspector Banks novel has an interesting political dimension and, though not so old, is very much of its time: the late 1980 at the high tide of Thatcherism when the policing of strikes and demonstrations became a highly politically divisive source of concern. It begins with a small anti-nuclear demonstration in the fictitious Yorkshire town of Eastvale that turns rather ugly and leaves a policeman stabbed to death. The leading of the investigation is given to an outsider, Superintendant Burgess, from London, a bigoted and generally highly disagreeable bully whose unpleasant ways are highly vexatious to the gentler Banks, not least when the new boyfriend of his old friend Jenny (with whom he nearly had an affair in `Gallows View') turns out to be a suspect. It's a fun read though the characterization could perhaps be stronger. Burgess in particular is a bit of a cartoon nasty and the most intriguing character, the delinquent youth Paul, is never really adequately fleshed out.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughtful Mystery
Review: This book, dealing with the death of a policeman at a demonstration, was an excellent read. All characters are portrayed in depth and the mystery is difficult to figure out. The end is plausible - almost realistic. The plotting is done with care and the author pays attention to details. This book is entertaining, puzzling and intriguing.
Rating:
Summary: Another fine police procedural
Review: When a demonstration goes out of control, many demonstrators and policemen are left wounded and one constable is found stabbed to death. With over 100 demonstrators, Inspector Banks has his work cut out for him. We meet Jenny Fuller, the psychologist, again, though this time not in a professional capacity. She is dating one of the many suspects of the crime. Is this a crime of passion? Or is it a more sinister premeditated murder using the demonstration as a facade? Banks deals with a number of a fleshed out characters which the reader will quickly empathize with. It is page turner and true to the police procedural form.
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