Customer Reviews

Gallows View

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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.

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.

What is the difference between Peter Robinson and most other mystery writers? If you have read any of this author's marvelous Inspector Banks novels, then you will know the answer. The other authors are sketch artists, while Robinson is an Impressionist master.

Robinson doesn't merely present a mystery for the readers to solve along with the protagonist. Robinson creates a distinctive setting and fully realized characters along with the mystery. The result is a novel that satisfies and leaves the reader eager for the next installment.

"Gallows View" sets up the Inspector Banks series nicely. It introduces Alan Banks, a detective who left London to work in Eastvale, a town in Yorkshire, where he lives with his wife and two children. Banks has a good working relationship with his superior, Gristhorpe, and with the other members of the police department in Eastvale. Banks is a flawed man. He is addicted to cigarettes, likes to imbibe his pint, and he has an eye for pretty ladies (although he wants to remain faithful to this wife).

The center of Banks's life is his relentless pursuit of justice, and his terrific instinct for how the criminal mind works. In "Gallows View," Banks investigates three different crimes: A Peeping Tom is terrorizing the women of Eastvale, a pair of thugs is robbing both the elderly and some rich residents of the town, and an elderly woman has been found dead. In the course of his investigation, we get to know how Banks operates and we also get inside the mind of the perpetrators.

In "Gallows View," Robinson explores the emotional and sexual tension between men and women and the difficulties of being a single parent. He does all this without preaching, and the themes are woven seamlessly into the story.

The solution to the crimes is not surprising or particularly exciting, but the character development is excellent and it is always a pleasure to be in the company of Inspector Alan Banks. If you have not read the rest of the series, at least be sure to read "In a Dry Season," which is a truly first rate Inspector Banks novel. "Gallows View" is worth a look because it is the first novel in this wonderful series.

This is a very high-quality debut novel by a writer whose popularity has sky-rocketed both in the UK and the US in the past couple of years.

The plot is not very challenging but it's realistic and very enjoyable. It's not too hard to get your head around either of the three main plots - but each is equally engaging - and sometimes that is just what i want in a crime novel. The storylines are thus: A peeping-tom is terrorising the women of the small Yorkshire town of Eastvale. A series of burglaries are being committed, first against the elderly, but then progressing to larger, more profitable homes. Also, an elderly woman is found dead in her house on Gallows View road...but are any of the cases linked?

Each plot is fascinating in it's way, especially the storyline involving the peeping tom, which i found to be a very original one to be among the main features of a novel. It becomes especially interesting when a psychologist is called in to give insight into the peepers character, and fans of the psychological aspects of crime are then presented with a different sort of criminal-psychology (other than that of the usual psychotic-killer psychology) which is refreshing and interesting.

Robinsons's writing style is addictive and very good, he has a strong sense of place, and he paints his characters really well. Inspector Banks in particular, the protagonist of the series, is especially well characterised and likeable. He also writes near-perfect dialogue.

I also liked the way the personal lives of the characters are weaved into the storyline more-so than in most novels, and were made an integral part of the story themselves. I hope he continues this trend in the other books...

All in all, i would reccomend this book to any fan of British police procedural novels (namely Ian Rankin, R.D Wingfield, Reg Hill, P.D. James, etc). It's realistic, enjoyable, with great characters and a satisfactory plot. I am looking forward immensely to reading more of this series...

This is a great yarn that I completed in one sitting.Our protagonist is not only a great detective but, a likable man. He is an attractive character for all the usual reasons, (i.e...intellegence,charm,loyalty,persistance,..et al.), yet it is his human flaws that allowed me to care about him and understand him.They include smoking too much, drinking to escape feelings at times, and a wandering eye for the ladies.(DON'T BASH HIM TOO HARD FOR THE LAST ONE BECAUSE IT IS ONLY HIS EYE THAT WANDERS.) So much so in fact the author must have studied psychology at length. The author's knowledge of police procedures including, forensics, stake-outs, and questioning of witnesses and suspects, is absolutely dead-on perfect. This one really kept me guessing. Kudos to Mr. Robinson for making the series of crimes and the solving thereof so realistic.

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.

The main aspect that draws attention to this series is the character of inspector Banks. He lives in a small town in rural England and presents a very interesting picture in terms of his relationship with others, his inner conflicts and his personality. I find this extremely similar to what happens in the case of Henning Mankel's detective, Kurt Wallander, who also lives in a small town and whose life is a little "messier" than Bank's. In both cases, the rest of the plot is almost secondary, with the mystery being mainly an accessory for showing the traits in the main character. However, Peter Robinson does a better job in entertaining the reader and in keeping his attention.

In this first novel in the series, Alan Banks faces three cases simultaneously. The first one deals with a Peeping Tom that makes his appearances after following his victims from pubs. The second one has to do with a series of break-ins into houses of old ladies who live alone. The third and last case is more serious; an old lady was murdered in what looks like an accident after the perpetrator pushed her back. Banks is in charge of untangling the web of mysteries, since there are possible connections among the cases. On top of this, the inspector has to deal with his feelings towards Dr. Jenny Fuller, a psychologist that was brought in by the police department to help in the case of the peeper. The question is: Will Banks be able to solve the cases, while managing to keep his relationship with Jenny from ruining his marriage?

Robinson has created one of the most likable characters I have seen in a long time; and even though the mysteries are straightforward, the author manages to deliver a couple of surprises along the way. This is one of those books you can read in a few hours, and it fulfills what I think his purpose is, deliver a cozy mystery that keeps the reader entertained.

Good introduction to this Yorkshire series of which 'In a dry season' is the best-- but this is not far behind.

Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series was recommended by a Canadian friend who knows I am an avid fan of Jeffery Deaver's police procedurals. I finished Gallows View in just a day, right after reading The Bone Garden by Kate Ellis (also in just one day), and find that the two have more similarities to each other than to Jeffery Deaver's more detailed procedural mysteries.

Gallows View is a well plotted and cozy introduction to the series. The book introduces Banks as a sensitive, intelligent, likeable, and imperfect protagonist. He is challenged to solve three possibly related crimes while dealing with local prejudices, social, and family issues. Mr. Robinson's use and development of a peeping tom as socially relevant violent crime is a novel and interesting way to introduce a criminal profiler (instead of with the more customary serial killer).

Mr. Robinson gives life and substance to a numer of characters -realistic and colorful insightful descriptions of the good guys and the bad - as well as to the Yorkshire Mews. His physical description offers a vivid sense of place even for someone like me, never having visited England. There is enough detail that I can draw a mental picture, and enough interest to compel me to look up the Mews on the web. I am pleased with the accuracy and honesty of his description.

While Mr. Robinson does not patronize his readers and writes with wit and obvious knowledge of his subject mattert, his cozy style in this book helps me grasp unfamiliar procedures and colloquialisms. I am told that subsequent entries in the series are more procedural and detailed, so I am glad I read this book first, as I am now compelled to read more ^_^

I really enjoyed reading Gallows View and recommend it as a relevant and insightful introduction to what I believe will be an interesting and well written series.

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.