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In Detective Chief Inspector Alan BanksÌs districts of Eastvale, there are about a hundred demonstrators protesting against nuclear power and the opening of a military base. It is a dreary and rainy day; no reporters are covering the event. Everything is going to change within a split second. Pandemonium breaks out as the protestors and police are involved in a brawl. No one is completely sure how it all began but the police manage to arrest several dozen people. There are a number of injured people that were taken to a local hospital. It is there that the doctors discover the body of Police Constable Edwin Gill and learn that he died from internal injuries due to a stabbing. The knife is nowhere to be found. Banks orders a shutdown at the hospital in order to get everyoneÌs side of the story. What could have happened? Was PC Gill killed because of his police uniform or was there a personal vendetta against Gill? As in A Dedicated Man, Robinson concentrates the story with strong character development. Banks is upset at the present time because his wife took his children to visit her parents for about a week and he misses them all; he is forced to work with Superintendent Burgess who does not go by the rules and likes to play dirty; and Dr. Jenny Fuller is back and involved with one of the protesters. Banks had met Fuller before in Gallows View and they are both attracted to each other. They have never yielded towards temptation but that does not mean that it is easy for either of them. Only the future (or the author) will tell. The case leads Banks to a commune called MaggieÌs Farm in which some of the members have a history with the police but are now living in peace. They do their best to try and cooperate but the abrasive Superintendent Burgess is not helping make it any easier. Banks cannot help wonder if the group is protecting the killer. In the course of the investigation the police will learn more about PC Gill. He was not a choirboy and he always volunteered to patrol demonstrators. He was always itching for a fight and he almost always gets one. There were several reprimands on his record and he has made several enemies. Was someone expecting him at the Eastvale protests? The story is fast paced, well structured, and brilliantly written. The resolution to this case is not a happy occasion but one that could be found in a Greek tragedy. The author accomplishes the impossible in solving a case that would have gone unsolved due to lack of evidence, pictures, and witnesses. The author comes up with a credible story during the process of the investigation. Peter Robinson is ahead of his game in the mystery genre and it is always a pleasure to read. LetÌs hope he continues this great achievement in excellence.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, September 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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