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Playing with Fire
 
 
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Playing with Fire [Large Print] (Paperback)

by Peter Robinson (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 18.95
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Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

Playing with Fire is a typical Peter Robinson book. And if that sounds like damning with faint praise, it's anything but. Since Gallows View in 1987, Robinson has been turning out one of the most assured and entertaining series of crime novels in the genre, with his doughty Inspector Alan Banks one of the most solidly drawn of protagonists.

But perhaps the real reason behind the considerable success of the books is that unerring combination of brilliantly turned plots and wonderfully evoked locales: the Yorkshire Dales have proved a very fertile stamping ground for Robinson's irresistible brand of restrained mayhem.

Banks is handed his most piquant problem in Playing with Fire, and the rural backdrop is once again a key player in the action. On a chill winter's morning, a fire is found to have consumed two narrow boats on the Eastvale canal. Banks and his associate DI Annie Cabbot find themselves examining some grisly remnants: charred bodies found on the remains of the two boats. But who are the victims of what appears to be a calculated act of murder? An enigmatic artist with few friends? A young couple who spent most of their time stoned on illegal substances? Banks and Cabbot quickly find themselves with a host of possible perpetrators on their hands, from the father of the young girl who died in the attack to a duplicitous art dealer. But the heat is turned on for Banks--literally--when the murderous arsonist gets to work again.

As in the seminal In a Dry Season, Robinson doesn't shirk from tackling some pretty convoluted plotting, but any confusion the reader is plunged into is very satisfyingly resolved, and Robinson's already strong reputation will grow with this book. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Edgar winner Robinson's 14th police procedural to feature Yorkshire DCI Alan Banks isn't quite up to the level of last year's superlative Close to Home, but it's nonetheless an engaging pleasure. Three victims have died in two suspicious fires: Tom McMahon, an eccentric, mostly unsuccessful local artist; Tina Aspern, a young heroin addict estranged from an abusive stepfather; and Roland Gardiner, another down-and-out chap but one who just happens to have a fireproof safe containing a substantial amount of cash and what appears to be a Turner watercolor. To solve the crimes, Banks and his team-DI Annie Cabbot and the refreshingly direct DC Winsome Jackman-pursue good old-fashioned police work, interviewing witnesses, neighbors, relatives and lovers and sifting through the evidence gathered by their specialist colleagues. They also make ample use of contemporary forensic technology. In keeping with the moody and introspective Alan Banks, the narrative style is tempered and deliberate, perhaps too much so for those who prefer, say, the riveting urgency of a Michael Connelly thriller. Characterization is Robinson's real strength. Virtually every character is etched with care, precision and emotional insight. With each book, the quietly competent Alan Banks gets more and more human; like red wine, he gets better and more interesting with age.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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4.0 out of 5 stars A grand scale thriller, April 26 2004
By Ingrid Taylor "Author, Book Reviewer" (Springfield, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Playing with Fire (Audio Cassette)
Two derelict canal boats are destroyed by fire in the dark hours of the night. Firefighters find a body on each boat, squatters who had been living there illegally. Detective Inspector Alan Banks uncovers enough suspicious evidence to determine that the arson cases are also murder. The police catch a man fleeing from the scene, who turns out to be the boyfriend of a junkie named Tina who had escaped a horrible home life. She is one of the deceased.

The other boat held a reclusive artist, and as the police dig into his life they find that he may have been involved in some shady dealings. When another fire occurs a few days later, resulting in the death of another man, Banks is sure that the fires and deaths are connected. As he and his fellow officers sift through the clues, they find ties to the art community and the possibility of forgery. Can they find the identity of the arsonist before he kills again?

This is the first Inspector Banks book I have read by Peter Robinson, but now I am anxious to read the other books in this series. Obviously, it would be better to read the others first to get a background on the characters, but I did not feel reading this one first detracted from Playing With Fire at all. The reader gets a sense of the characters, especially Inspector Banks and detective Annie Cabot. Both are dedicated to their jobs and work diligently to find the perpetrator of the crimes before the killer harms others. There is an undercurrent of tension from a failed relationship between the two which makes their conversations intriguing.

I have long been a fan of British police procedurals, and Mr. Robinson compares very favorably to my favorite author Elizabeth George. The characters have long standing relationships, developed from novel to novel, and readers can form their own connection with the characters. The plot moves at a meandering pace, slowly doling out clues at the right intervals so that the reader can discover the identity of the culprit at the same time as the police. It is a definite page-turner, and the reader will be surprised at who the murderer turns out to be.

Mystery lovers will be delighted in this newest offering from Peter Robinson. Playing With Fire has all of the intense and suspenseful elements necessary for a grand scale thriller.

-Melissa Parcel

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4.0 out of 5 stars What a relief!, Feb 9 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Playing With Fire (Hardcover)
I have read every single one of Robinsons books and love all of them EXCEPT "The summer that never was", which I found trite and unconvincing, almost as though Robinson really did not want to write the book and was merely following orders.
Playing with fire has Peter Robinson once again giving his hero Inspector Banks a interesting case which he works on with his usual determination mixed with a bit of humour. Set in wonderful Yorkshire in the depths of winter it is good to see the old Banks and Robinson back again.
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