Caedmon's Song [Paperback]

Peter Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 1992

A psychological thriller which weaves together the stories of a brutal attempted murder and an author's macabre search for material for a new novel. Peter Robinson has written many crime novels including "A Dedicated Man" and "The Hanging Valley", both shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Written back in 1990 but previously unpublished in the UK, this is one of Peter Robinson's earliest books. Taking a break from Inspector Banks he decided to write a book based on the victim's perspective rather than a police procedural. This creepy, suspenseful book was the result. Set on the Yorkshire coast, Martha Browne is supposedly researching a book whilst further inland a spate of student murders is causing a serial killer scare amongst the universities of the North. Flitting between Kirsten, the one survivor of the serial killer, and Martha, Robinson slowly but surely builds up the tension page by page. No stopping at the end of any chapter here, it is definitely a one-sitting read. Characteristically Yorkshire-based with detailed descriptions of the locations to draw the reader in, the writing is taut and tantalising displaying Robinson's skills at writing from the other side of the coin. A must for all Robinson fans. - Lucy Watson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire and now lives in Canada. He is the author of fourteen novels featuring Inspector Banks. Peter is the winner of numerous awards in the United States, Britain and Canada, and in 2002 he won a CWA Dagger. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd (January 30, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140132902
• ISBN-13: 978-0140132908
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,395,408 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Robinson's award-winning novels have been named a Best-Book-of-the-Year by Publishers Weekly, a Notable Book by the New York Times, and a Page-Turner-of-the-Week by People magazine. Robinson was born and raised in Yorkshire but has lived in North America for over twenty-five years. He now divides his time between North America and the U.K.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning., January 7, 2002

By 

Trasie Fowler (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caedmon's Song (Magna Popular Series (Large Print)) (Hardcover)

I didn't want to believe that the theme of this book was "Monster Begets Monster" but that's exactly what it is, to me. The book is most certainly about a serial killer, but with none of the usual intrusion of police investigative themes. No real forensics. The absence of this, surprisingly, did not take away from the strength of the book. It is most certainly a hunt for the killer, but the hunter is not the usual hunter featured in such stories. For certain, this is a study in trauma; a unique look at victimology.

Add to this vivid scenery of English countrysides and fishing villages, careful character planning, and almost effortless plot development, and this book is most definately a stunner.

If you don't read this one, you're mad.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reading, an excellent novel., February 2, 2010

By 

Belle du Jour (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caedmon's Song (Paperback)

Peter Robinson is one hell of a good writer. I have read his entire Inspector Banks series and every single novel is terrific, compulsive reading. Whilst Caedmon's Song is a departure from his Inspector Banks series, the novel is just as compulsive and quite frankly, terrific.

Kirsten, a young uni graduate attacked and left for dead by a serial killer, survives the attack but with terrible, disfiguring injuries. The novel tells the story of Kirsten's recovery, side-by-side with the vigilante journey of Kirsten's avenging angel alter-ego, Martha Browne. Whilst slightly confusing to begin with, the structure of the novel soon becomes utterly gripping as Kirsten/Martha goes to extraordinary length to track down her attacker in order to extract her own form of justice.

As a psychological thriller, the book succeeds mightily. I devoured it in one-and-a-bit sittings! A fantastic read that pulls you in from page one and never lets go. I have no hesitation in rating it 5 star and urge all lovers of the psychological thriller/crime genre to read it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Author's Books are Compulsive Reading, April 26, 2007

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caedmon's Song (Paperback)

Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and is the author of a number of previous novels featuring Inspector Banks. He is the winner of numerous awards in the United States, Britain and Canada, and in 2002 he won the CWA Dagger in the Library. As I also come from Leeds the background to his stories is something that I have experienced first hand and because of this I have a special affection for his books. However they would be first class crime fiction wherever they were based.

It's a warm summer night and a young university student, Kirsten has not got a care in the world as she strolls home through a moonlit park. Suddenly here tranquil mood is shattered as she is brutally attacked. Later when she wakes up in hospital. She has no recollection of that night, or who attacked her. But then, slowly, as if in a waking nightmare the details slowly begin to reveal themselves . . .