A Necessary End [Mass Market Paperback]

Peter Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Inspector Banks Novels | Publication Date: January 1, 2001

A peaceful demonstration in the normally quiet town of Eastvale ended with fifty arrests -- and the brutal stabbing death of a young constable. But Chief Inspector Alan Banks fears there is worse violence in the offing. For CID Superintendent Richard "Dirty Dick" Burgess has arrived from London to take charge of the investigation, fueled by professional outrage and volatile, long-simmering hatreds.

Almost immediately, Burgess descends with vengeful fury upon the members of a sixties-style commune -- while Banks sifts through the rich Yorkshire soil around him, turning over the earthy, unsettling secrets of seemingly placid local lives. Crossing "Dirty Dick" could cost the Chief Inspector his career. But the killing of a flawed Eastvale policeman is not the only murder that needs to be solved here. And if Banks doesn't unmask the true assassin, his superior's misguided obsession might well result in further bloodshed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chief Inspector Alan Banks of Britain's Eastvale Regional Police reappears in another fluently written, superior mystery. In this third outing he plays good cop while Supt. Richard ("Dirty Dick") Burgess, a special investigator from London CID, plays bad cop in investigating the murder of a young constable sent to keep order at an anti-nuclear demonstration. "A full-blown riot in Eastvale, admittedly, on a small scale, was near unthinkable," Banks muses. It's a drowsy town of 14,000 that time has passed by, yet a murderer--one of the demonstrators--undeniably has struck with a flick-knife (switchblade). Dirty Dick, a notorious stud and heavy drinker, roars into town, convinced that Bolshies and terrorists have killed PCsic Gill. A user of terror tactics himself, he's intent on making a collar even if the evidence must be bent. He brushes off Banks's suggestions that the demonstration may have been used as cover for a grudge killing. In a story that uses considerable psychological subtlety in exploring the afterlives of '60s flower children, Banks traces the crime to its roots in the past. Toronto author Robinson ( Gallows View ; A Dedicated Man ) has created a stalwart cop in Alan Banks, a man who loves justice and understands a woman's heart. Mystery Guild alternate; paperback rights to Avon .
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The author of A Dedicated Man ( LJ 7/91) returns with another fine traditional English mystery featuring Inspector Banks.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380719460
• ISBN-13: 978-0380719464
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #368,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #58 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > Series

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

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspector Banks investigates the murder of a constable., August 11, 2001

By 

E. Bukowsky "booklover10" (NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Necessary End (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent police procedural and more, May 18, 2001

By 

Dave Goldberg (40 miles north of NYC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Necessary End (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another fine police procedural, May 25, 2000

By 

Debbie Tam "gabrielsmom" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Necessary End (Mass Market Paperback)

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.