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Like so many of the rest of us, Alan Banks is beginning to feel his age, especially since his private life is at the moment less than satisfying. Still smarting from his divorce and his wife's belated, if joyfully-welcomed pregnancy, and his break-up with the newly-promoted Annie Cabbot, Alan would like nothing better than to sink back into a pleasant, uncomplicated relationship with another copper, Michelle Hart, sup a little Laphroig of an evening, and listen to his remarkable and eclectic collection of music. Instead, in this 14th adventure, he gets called out to a particularly unpleasant crime scene, one that evokes vivid and disturbing images of his past cases. Two bodies have been discovered on two derelict narrow boats moored side by side on the canal. One body is that of a teenaged drug addict, whose boyfriend, Mark has been enjoying a night on the tiles with a Leeds University student; the other, that of a man who is later identified as a local, and not particularly successful, artist, Tom MacMahon. What, if anything, connects the two? Foul play is certainly involved, but who is the intended victim? Before very long, other fires occur and other deaths; is there a serial arsonist abroad, or are all these somehow connected? As is the case with previous novels in this series, unravelling the plot is by no means either straightforward or transparent. Art forgery may be involved, but other crimes are uncovered which confuse matters and disturb Banks; his prior, not quite resolved, history with Annie Cabbot is a complicating factor. Still, solid police work and perseverance result in a resolution, though not one reached without considerable peril to Banks himself. The book takes place in January and some of that month's unsettled and unsatisfying weather seems to have seeped into its bones. Compared with the two previous entries in the series, AFTERMATH and THE SUMMER THAT NEVER WAS, PLAYING WITH FIRE is perhaps a shade less daring, a trifle more conventional. Still, few do a genuine, solid police procedural as well as Peter Robinson; few create so well-rounded and interesting a cast of characters. Highly recommended. Reviewer's note: This review refers to the Canadian hardcover edition; a US and a UK edition are also available.
Reviewed by Yvonne Klein, March 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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