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Wednesday's Child (Inspector Banks #6)
'It would be easy to become addicted to Robinson' "Observer"
'One of the grand masters of the genre' "Literary Review "
When two social workers, investigating reports of child abuse, appear at Brenda Scupham's door, her fear of authority leads her to comply meekly with their requests. Even when they say that they must take her seven-year old daughter Gemma away for tests.......more
'One of the grand masters of the genre' "Literary Review "
When two social workers, investigating reports of child abuse, appear at Brenda Scupham's door, her fear of authority leads her to comply meekly with their requests. Even when they say that they must take her seven-year old daughter Gemma away for tests.......more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
May 4th 2001
by Pan MacMillan
(first published September 1st 1992)
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Young Gemma Scupham has been taken from her neglectful home by two social workers. The next day, her mother calls in the police to report her missing, and Chief Inspector Alan Banks begins to search for the seven year old. Two days later, a body is discovered by the old lead mine, but it isn't the girl, it's a 30 year old man who's been slit up his chest and left under a flume. The four person detective team is now split into two searching for the killers, and slowly the evidence begins to show...more
Another Peter Robinson book, another bunch of troubled characters living their isolated lives in Yorkshire. This book is set during a time in Alan Banks' life when he's still married. Having read the later books when he's divorced and still longing for his ex-wife, I see foreshadowing in this book that things are not going well in his marriage. The kids are growing up and causing him a lot of grief in the process, the wife is developing outside interests with the art and theater community--and w...more
Feb 27, 2011
Kathleen Hagen
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011-audio-books,
2011-mysteries
Wednesday’s Child, by Peter Robinson, A-minus, narrated by James Langton, produced by Tantor Media, downloaded from audible.com.
Banks is called to the home of a woman whose 7-year-old daughter was seemingly kidnapped. A young attractive male and female couple came to the home and informed the mother that her daughter needed to be taken for some tests. They alleged that they were social workers from the government. The mother let them take the child, but when the child was not returned by the nex...more
Banks is called to the home of a woman whose 7-year-old daughter was seemingly kidnapped. A young attractive male and female couple came to the home and informed the mother that her daughter needed to be taken for some tests. They alleged that they were social workers from the government. The mother let them take the child, but when the child was not returned by the nex...more
A man and a woman pretending to be social workers take a 7 year old girl from her mother, claiming that it is because of claims of abuse. The mother is a dim young woman who is impressed by their manner and doesn't think to question them for more than a day. When she finally reports it to the police, it is clear that the girl has been kidnapped, but by whom, and for what reason - certainly not for ransom.
While the police are looking for the girl, they come across the body of a young murdered ma...more
While the police are looking for the girl, they come across the body of a young murdered ma...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The disappearance of seven year old Gemma Scupham is just the beginning of another well thought out mystery by Peter Robinson. Chief Inspector Alan Banks and his team methodically follow the clues that lead them to figure out exactly what happened to Gemma…with several twists and turns along the way.
Reading a Peter Robinson mystery always makes me feel warm and cozy. There is something about the way this author writes that keeps me very satisfied. Inspector Banks is a huge drawing card for me, b...more
Reading a Peter Robinson mystery always makes me feel warm and cozy. There is something about the way this author writes that keeps me very satisfied. Inspector Banks is a huge drawing card for me, b...more
Okay, so I maybe should have guessed that given the subject matter this book might contain disturbing material. And I am a squeamish reader, and can't stand graphic violence in a novel.
BUT, I think it's very, very wrong to use details of real crimes in a work of fiction. Especially as the author has done here, going into such vivid and disturbing and harrowing detail of the crimes of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady that I did actually have to physically drop the book.
Of course books can and should...more
BUT, I think it's very, very wrong to use details of real crimes in a work of fiction. Especially as the author has done here, going into such vivid and disturbing and harrowing detail of the crimes of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady that I did actually have to physically drop the book.
Of course books can and should...more
Jul 12, 2012
Judy Goodnight
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
british-police-procedural,
mystery
The sixth book in the Inspector Banks series set in Yorkshire, England and, in my opinion, the best so far. The book starts with the abduction of a seven-year-old girl by a couple who posed as social workers removing the child from her mother under suspicion of abuse. Then the body of a murdered man is discovered at an old mine. Unrelated cases? Perhaps or perhaps not. Superintendent Gristhorpe with DS Richmond take control of the abduction case, leaving Banks & DC Susan Gay to pursue the mu...more
Seven year old Gemma's incredibly stupid and slatternly mother gives her child to two people who say they are from child protective services and are investigating "abuse" allegations. They promise to return her the next morning. However, she is "busy" and doesn't get around to calling the police until late in the day. Then a body of a young man turns up in an abandoned lead mine. The two don't seem to be related. Peter Robinson is one of the authors who is at the top of my crime-reading list. On...more
When you finish an Inspector Bank's novel by Peter Robinson you know they can't get any better then the book you just read - but, some how, they do get better.
Wednesday's Child is an exceptional mystery and police procedural. A nine year old child is abducted. Its a touchy subject in any novel but the Inspector Bank's novels are exceptional in how they treat the crimes they describe. The charecters are as real as the daily newspapers. The reader is a part of these novels. You're not watching the...more
Wednesday's Child is an exceptional mystery and police procedural. A nine year old child is abducted. Its a touchy subject in any novel but the Inspector Bank's novels are exceptional in how they treat the crimes they describe. The charecters are as real as the daily newspapers. The reader is a part of these novels. You're not watching the...more
I've been reading Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks' novels for some time, so I have some paperbacks. I think he and the other characters - Gristhorpe, Gay, Richmond, etc. are interesting enough characters to have decided to read the novels from the start, and am now trying to read them in order. I download the ones I haven't read onto the Kindle, and read the paperbacks where I have them. I enjoy crime novels and these are good ones. The town of Eastvale is very recogniseable, and Banks and othe...more
Wednesday's Child is a well written and thought provoking crime thriller surrounding the disappearance of a 7 year old girl and the subsequent aftermath. Peter Robinson brings the reader into the world of Alan Banks with ease and early into the book a sense of familiarity of the detective is gained. Robinson brings the reader face to face with the different aspects of the investigation without needless description and it is a pleasurable and thrilling read. His characterisation of the fear of th...more
I really like the Inspector Banks books. The story always has rather unexpected twists and this one is no exception. Although the subject matter is disturbing (pedophilia) the author keeps it fairly tame as Banks and his team are searching for a missing child. There are plenty of suspects since the neighborhood in which the child lives is pretty seamy and full of questionable characters. The final scenes left me wanting just a bit more follow-up but maybe it is just as well that the reader is le...more
Peter Robinson is one of my favorite British mystery authors. I keep his books, and will buy his latest in paperback whenever I see it. As in the best British mysteries, the characters and their development are far more important than the plot. This book is one of the earlier ones of his work. His books keep getting more complex as he continues this series. This review would apply equally to the work of Ian Rankin, Elizabeth George (not that she is actually British), and Reginald Hill.
This is #6 of the Alan Banks series set in England, which I enjoy with the description of the countryside and the people. In this adventure, a 7-year-old girl is taken and Alan attempts to find a live girl, instead of a body. The plot twists so many times, that you wonder how everything will relate and interweave. The story ends with all the loose strings neatly tied, except Robinson leaves the ending for each reader to interpret.
This is an Inspector Banks story and very good because it ends well. A little girl is taken in a bizarre way from her mother, there's a robbery of a warehouse, a man ends up dead in a grizzly way, and do all these things connect or are they separate crimes??? That is the question. In his own way of out of the box thinking Inspector Banks keeps slogging along and finding more unattached evidence and then he sees the picture.
Gemma Scupham, age 7, has disappeared most mysteriously. DCI Alan Banks and his trusty colleagues have much to discern in order to find her and solve the related mysteries which pop up. I was especially taken with the contribution by Superintendent Gristhorpe.
These aren't the best mysteries in the world (although they are pretty good) but I've gotten fond of the regular characters. And I generally like anything that takes place in a different country. And if you add tea drinkers into the combo that's even better:o)
A young girl is kidnapped and it’s up to Banks and Gristhorpe to find her. This time around it is Gristhorpe who plays the prominent investigative role. Another well plotted mystery.
The emotional core of the story, Gemma, got short shrift in a rushed ending. Still this was a solid Banksian tale. Having read some slightly out of order, I've found these pre-Annie Cabbot stories a bit flatter, but a good read all around.
I loved this bookj, but like a few of his i was a bit let down by the ending :( you sort of gear yourself for the happy ending you wish for.....and its stops short of what you want to read :( but as a fan of his books i cant wait to start the next one!
I love Peter Robinson's mysteries---this one was a real page-turner as are all his Inspector Banks books. I liked the unexpected way the two story-lines converged at the end of the novel.
A good solid English police procedural, along the lines of the Rebus series from Ian Rankin. I want a job as a copper in the UK. Part of their working day includes trips to their local pub.
Another great mystery by Peter Robinson. A little girl kidnapped and a trail of murders. The tension builds until the tide turns in the last 30 some pages.
My dad recommended this to me, really enjoyed it. Understated cops, but still gruesome enough to keep my morbid interest held.
This was a very good mystery, very interesting and it also was a sad story about a poor little girl who is handed over to two strangers by her mother because they seemed official and from the government. The characters, including the mother, her derelict boyfriend, the kidnappers and of course the various members of the English police force that we meet through the course of this book are very well developed.
I was caught up in the story of Detective Alan Banks troubled marriage as much as I was...more
I was caught up in the story of Detective Alan Banks troubled marriage as much as I was...more
Currently addicted to Peter Robinson - enjoy the twists and turns. This was a dark plot but the usual excellent ending.
I have only read the more recent Banks novels and this seemed a bit at odds character wise. Storyline itself was okay.
Like this series. About an abducted child and a murder and how they come together. Inspector Banks.
I dunno. It was pretty good? If I read more mysteries I would probably have more of an opinion.
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Peter Robinson was born in Yorkshire. After getting his BA Honours Degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds, he came to Canada and took his MA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor, then a PhD in En...more
More about Peter Robinson...
Peter Robinson was born in Yorkshire. After getting his BA Honours Degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds, he came to Canada and took his MA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor, then a PhD in En...more
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“He had been working at the wall for too long. Why he bothered the Lord only knew. After all, it went nowhere and closed in nothing. His grandfather had been a master waller in the dale, but the skill had not been passed down the generations. He supposed he liked is for the same reason he liked fishing: mindless relaxation. In an age of totalitarian utilitarianism, Gristhorpe thought, a man needs as much purposeless activity as he can find.”
—
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Jan 31, 2013 08:03pm