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gracenow's review against another edition
2.0
I've read many of DCI Banks books in the past and enjoyed them. This one was too full of red herrings and nonsense flimsy so called leads. I was deeply disappointed. Ending was good, no question, but didn't excuse over 200 pages of BS I could have lived without. Didn't even flesh out any stuff with Annie Cabbot or help us get to know the other members of his team on this one. Yuck. Sad.
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
Some great scenes (the one between Annie and Gerry is priceless) mixed in with an ok mystery. Once again, I thought I'd solved it and knew whodunnit and why but noooo. I was wrong. Who could ask for anything more? Oh, and those playlists.
So why only four stars? The Marxist dialectic and all the pseudoinetllectual stuff got a little boring after a while. We got it. These people met or worked at uni. Enough.
So why only four stars? The Marxist dialectic and all the pseudoinetllectual stuff got a little boring after a while. We got it. These people met or worked at uni. Enough.
bgg616's review against another edition
3.0
This was 3 1/2 stars for me. While everything came together in the end. The book opens with the unexplained death, determined to be murder, of a former university professor who lives as a hermit. Banks comes to believe that the clues to the murder lie back in the 70's when the victim was a student. Banks as always defies authority and gets into trouble. A lot of the investigation leads nowhere and isn't even very interesting. The ending is satisfactory as Banks seems to be headed into another relationship that probably won't work out.
sidneyandsabrina's review against another edition
1.0
I have to say that this book took me nearly a month to read because it was so boring. I will not be reading any more by this author. The cover of the book has a male lying at the murder scene that looks about 20 - 30 but the actual charter that is murdered is said to be about 60! That makes me think little effort or thought was put into the book for starters!
The story is very very very slow and the detective is so old and boring. There are constant references to old fashioned music that made me feel like I was reading a book written by an 80 year old and I guessed with ease who the murderer was. I do not have anything positive to say about this book I am afraid. It was long, slow, boring, and lacked the excitement and page turning will of a decent detective novel!
The story is very very very slow and the detective is so old and boring. There are constant references to old fashioned music that made me feel like I was reading a book written by an 80 year old and I guessed with ease who the murderer was. I do not have anything positive to say about this book I am afraid. It was long, slow, boring, and lacked the excitement and page turning will of a decent detective novel!
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite Banks mystery, but I enjoyed it. I agree with many reviewers that the relationship at the end was ridiculous. There was no reason to include that. Why can't Banks just met someone his own age.
nonna7's review against another edition
4.0
There's a certain amount of ambivalence for me when I am reading the latest book by an author I especially enjoy. In the case of a crime novel such as this one, I want to find out how the crime was resolved. (No, it's not something simple like "who done it!") In this latest novel, Banks and his team are investigating the death of a former college teacher who lost his job because of sexual misconduct. At first they are not sure if he just didn't fall. Soon, though, it appears that there is a lot more going on. It doesn't take long for Banks to think that his death as something to do with his past. When his superior warn him not to pursue a lead that seems to go right to the door of a wealthy producer and his wife who writes romance novels under a pseudonym, Banks pulls back, but not very far. His boss and HER boss want this to be a drug case. However, it's much more complicated than that. It's always intriguing and a learning experience. Robinson has eclectic taste in music - or at least his character does. From folk songs to jazz to Shostakovich, I find myself intrigued by some of the music that I've never heard of - even by some of my favorites. Robinson manages to keep Banks fresh. Plus there's a little romance in store for DI Banks. He deserves it.
bookwormbev17's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
marystevens's review against another edition
4.0
A disgraced college lecturer is found murdered with £5,000 in his pocket on a disused railway line near his home. Since being dismissed from his job for sexual misconduct four years previously, he has been living a poverty-stricken and hermit-like existence in this isolated spot.
The suspects range from several individuals at the college where he used to teach to a woman who knew the victim back in the early '70s at Essex University, then a hotbed of political activism. When Banks receives a warning to step away from the case, he realises there is much more to the mystery than meets the eye - for there are plenty more skeletons to come out of the closet,
Not the best Alan Banks, but I love the series. (book jacket again)
The suspects range from several individuals at the college where he used to teach to a woman who knew the victim back in the early '70s at Essex University, then a hotbed of political activism. When Banks receives a warning to step away from the case, he realises there is much more to the mystery than meets the eye - for there are plenty more skeletons to come out of the closet,
Not the best Alan Banks, but I love the series. (book jacket again)
el1zabe4h's review against another edition
4.0
I have a new favorite mystery series! Now I need to go back and read the first 20!