Friend of the Devil (Inspector Alan Banks) [Hardcover]

Peter Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 26, 2008 | Series: Inspector Alan Banks

When Karen Drew is found sitting in her wheelchair staring out to sea with her throat cut one chilly March morning, DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern Area, gets lumbered with the case. Back in Eastvale, that same Sunday morning, 19-year-old Hayley Daniels is found raped and strangled in the Maze, a tangle of narrow alleys behind Eastvale's market square, after a drunken night on the town with a group of friends, and DCI Alan Banks is called in. Banks finds suspects galore, while Annie seems to hit a brick wall - until she reaches a breakthrough that spins her case in a shocking and surprising new direction, one that also involves Banks. Then another incident occurs in the Maze which seems to link the two cases in a bizarre and mysterious way. As Banks and Annie dig into the past to uncover the deeper connections, they find themselves also dealing with the emotional baggage and personal demons of their own relationship. And it soon becomes clear that there are two killers in their midst, and that at any moment either one might strike again.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Significant Seven, February 2008: Fans of Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie novels, and anyone who enjoyed In the Woods as much as we did, will love Peter Robinson's smart and absorbing Friend of the Devil. Be sure to set aside some time to dig in--you'll be tempted to devour it in one sitting, but this gripping and finely plotted mystery deserves to be savored. If this is your first introduction to the intrepid Inspector Alan Banks, count yourself lucky--Robinson has been crafting these award-winning police procedurals for more than two decades now, so there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy what Stephen King has called "the best series of British novels since the novels of Patrick O'Brian." --Daphne Durham

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In Robinson's stunning 17th suspense novel to feature DCI Alan Banks (after 2006's Piece of My Heart), Banks and his on-again-off-again partner and lover, Det. Insp. Annie Cabbot, race to piece together a string of brutal murders. While on loan to a sister precinct, Cabbot investigates the gruesome death of a paraplegic woman found on a desolate cliff with her throat slit. Back in Eastvale, North Yorkshire, Banks and his team discover the body of a young woman who has been raped and strangled in a shady area of town known as the Maze. At first, there are no obvious connections between the two attacks, but when Cabbot uncovers the chilling identity of the woman on the cliff, she and Banks must once again confront sadistic serial killers Terry and Lucy Payne, last seen in Aftermath (2001). Banks and Cabbot are flawed but empathetic heroes, and readers will be on the edge of their seats as the two explore not only the depths of human depravity but also their own murky relationship. 7-city author tour.(Jan.)
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1ST edition (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 064187135X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060544379
• ASIN: 0060544376
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,145 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 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Aftermath of Robinson's 2001 Alan Banks Novel AFTERMATH, April 27, 2008

By 

Susan K. Schoonover "Sue Yingling" (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Friend of the Devil (Inspector Alan Banks) (Hardcover)

I've read all of Peter Robinson's excellently written series of novels featuring Yorkshire detective Alan Banks and highly anticipated this latest installment. For whatever reason I didn't find this volume as interesting as most of the others. The plotting is good and Robinson has provided Banks and his fellow detective (and ex lover) Annie two intriguing cases. Annie handles the death of a paraplegic woman in her late 20's who was checked out of her nursing home by an unknown person and found with her throat cut on a beach looking out to sea. Banks is in charge of the murder of a pretty young college student found dead after a drunken Saturday night. The plot twists several times with some genuine surprises before all is concluded and one of the murders will have direct ties to the serial killer story told in the 2001 novel AFTERMATH.

As with all Robinson's novels lots of details from what music loving Banks has in his CD player to the menus at the pubs where the detectives order lunch are provided. Though I generally appreciate such touches in FRIEND OF THE DEVIL all this detail begins to seem like tedious filler. Like another Amazon reviewer I've never been fond of the character of Annie and she is featured almost as much as Banks in the novel (there is a subplot about her being stalked by a young man half her age) so that may have contributed to me not being as taken with this novel as the others in this series. Still, for fans of British suspense novels that are definitely not cozy, Peter Robinson writes among the best in the genre.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars unputdownable in spite of my grumbles, March 26, 2008

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friend of the Devil (Inspector Alan Banks) (Hardcover)

I have really mixed feelings about "Friend of the Devil" -- on the one hand I rather enjoyed the book (I am an avid fan of the series); however, I did think that the pacing was uneven and found several plot gambits a little tedious. In spite of my reservations, however, "Friend of the Devil" did turn out to be a 4 star read. And that is a testament to Peter Robinson's storytelling talents.

When a paraplegic woman is found near a cliff edge with her throat cut, DI Annie Cabot thinks that she has another seemingly straightforward murder to investigate. The last thing she expected was that this murder would reopen a can of worms. For the murdered woman turns out to be none other than the notorious Lucy Payne, the other half of a pair of killers who kidnapped, tortured, raped and murdered several young girls some years ago ("Aftermath"). Trying to come up with people who would have wanted to see Lucy dead, isn't going to be that difficult; if anything it's going to hard work trying to narrow the field. But who would have had access to Lucy's new identity? In the meantime, Alan Banks is in the middle of investigating the murder-rape of a young college student, Hayley Daniels. Closing the Daniels case is a first priority for Banks, but he still finds himself drawn to the Lucy Payne's investigation and wondering why Lucy's murderer chose to act now and in such an open way...

I'm a huge fan of the series and Peter Robinson's Alan Banks series is pretty much an auto-buy for me. That said, I have to say that I am getting a little tired of certain regular plot features/devices -- like the detailed references to the music Banks listens to -- sometimes it almost feels as if they were stage directions to the filmed version of the novels. More often than not however they read like indications that we're to take Banks as something more than a plodding policeman. The thing is that I rather thought that we'd moved away from such thinking! And then there was the little segue into Banks' and Cabot's private, screwed up love lives. My impatience with this plot gambit however may have more to do with the fact that I have never really warmed up to Annie Cabot as a character. I'm definitely in the minority here, I know and really think that the author should worry more about his characters' alarming drinking habits. My real problem with "Friend of the Devil" though was that I felt as if the entire subplot dealing with Banks' investigation into the murder-rape of Hayley Daniels was wasted, and that it made the pacing of the book uneven and seemingly plodding at times. I much preferred the subplot dealing with the murder of Lucy Payne and rather wished that Banks had been the investigating officer on that!

In spite of all my niggles, however, this still was a fantastically riveting read, with the last half of the book proving to be absolutely unputdownable. Which just goes to show how brilliant an author Peter Robinson truly is, and how in spite of all my nitpicking grumbles, I still found "Friend of the Devil" to be an utterly compelling and absorbing read.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Inspector Banks novel till now!, September 14, 2007

By 

Sissel M. Østdahl "smaureen" (Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Friend of the Devil (Inspector Alan Banks) (Hardcover)

Aah, to be able to write this well. To make readers lose themselves in a book even before the story has started properly, and in some passages manage to even make a crime story almost poetic.

Of course, as a huge fan of Peter Robinson I'm well acquainted with Chief Inspector Alan Banks, DI Annie Cabbot, the rest of the Eastvale police force and the goings on in a small Yorkshire village. But even to first time readers of Robinson, "Friend of the Devil" will prove this author's magic, his unique talent as one of, if not THE best British crime writer today.

The Inspector Banks novels have two main story lines. The solving of one - or more - crimes, and bits and pieces from Bank's private life. Not the least his personal relationship with Annie, with whom he is still working on a regular basis. There is however much emotional baggage between the two and obvious that their personal story is far from over.

In "Friend of the Devil" two nasty murders are discovered on the same Sunday morning. Banks and Annie are working on one case each. First separately, until Annie is reaching a breakthrough which brings her case in a new and shocking direction - a direction which involves Banks.

It soon becomes clear that there are two killers among their midst, ready to strike again at any moment.

Some readers may feel that Annie's personal life is taking up too much space in the book. However, being a woman, I must admit that Annie's doings are not without interest, and I am pretty sure that male and female readers may be reacting differently to the part Annie's lovelife is playing in the book.

Apart from this, I would hope - and believe - that most readers will find "Friend of the Devil" to be Peter Robinson's finest work until now.

With Chief Inspector Banks, Peter Robinson has created a very human and likeable hero, a soft-hearted man in spite of his profession. Bank's choice of literature, music and food, his relationship with his children, his struggle with the aftermath of his marriage - and the complicated feelings for Annie - all add to the picture of an interesting, attractive and complete hero one does not easily tire of.

As all books in the Inspector Banks series, "Friend of the Devil" is a book of contrasts. The harsh realism of brutal crimes, the investigators' necessary blocking of feelings in order to fulfill what has to be done, and the humanity behind it all. Whether the pain of the victims' relatives or the personal reaction of police and investigators.

Don't miss this nor Robinson's other books. Simply brilliant!