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Bad Boy (Inspector Banks #19)
Acclaimed internationally bestselling author Peter Robinson delivers a fast-paced, nail-biting thriller in which Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks must face his most challenging and personal case yet
A distraught woman arrives at the Eastvale police station desperate to speak to Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. But since Banks is away on holiday, his partner, Annie...more
A distraught woman arrives at the Eastvale police station desperate to speak to Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. But since Banks is away on holiday, his partner, Annie...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
August 24th 2010
by William Morrow
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[Please note: This review contains some minor spoilers, but nothing beyond what is described in the tease on the back of the book.]
Bad Boy is a book that, had it been set in the U.S. instead of in the U.K. would have ended on page three.
A woman comes into the Eastvale police station, looking for DCI Alan Banks who was once her neighbor. The woman's daughter has come home for a visit and while cleaning the daughter's room, the woman discovers a hand gun hidden away. Being a good citizen, she race...more
Bad Boy is a book that, had it been set in the U.S. instead of in the U.K. would have ended on page three.
A woman comes into the Eastvale police station, looking for DCI Alan Banks who was once her neighbor. The woman's daughter has come home for a visit and while cleaning the daughter's room, the woman discovers a hand gun hidden away. Being a good citizen, she race...more
I can think of nothing that marks the difference between American vs. British ideas of law enforcement moreso than attitudes towards firearms. Those more familiar with Robinson's Inspector Banks series will, of course be less surprised by this than I. Bad Boy begins with the discovery of a single firearm, a semiautomatic handgun, by a mother in her daughter's room. The mother, a former neighbor of Banks, goes to the police station to request his assistance, but he is away on holiday. When she re...more
Inspector Alan Banks of the U.K. Eastvale police is on a
holiday to the U.S. His daughter Tracy is at home in Leeds
and she is angry with her father and about to get into a world
of trouble. Handguns are illegal in the U.K. and when one is
reported the police swing into high gear to get it. Things go
very wrong when the police swoop down on a home in Eastvale to
seize a reported weapon. In all the confusion Patrick Doyle a
former neighbor of Banks is tasered and his daughter Erin is
blamed for the gun...more
holiday to the U.S. His daughter Tracy is at home in Leeds
and she is angry with her father and about to get into a world
of trouble. Handguns are illegal in the U.K. and when one is
reported the police swing into high gear to get it. Things go
very wrong when the police swoop down on a home in Eastvale to
seize a reported weapon. In all the confusion Patrick Doyle a
former neighbor of Banks is tasered and his daughter Erin is
blamed for the gun...more
It has been ten days since I finished the book. I was hoping that with the perspective of time, my review would be that much more informed. Unfortunately, I have forgotten a lot of the story which shouldn't be a reflection on the book, but rather my own poor memory. What I do recall was that I enjoyed reading this novel - the pace was fast without being frenetic, most of the characters recognizable and interesting and the plot believable,with the exception of a last minute "deus ex machina" (a t...more
Murphy’s Law seems to apply to the premise behind this novel. After a well-earned vacation touring the U.S. Southwest and the wonders of LA and San Francisco, DI Banks finds, upon his return to Eastvale, that an old friend has died after police tasered him, Banks’ daughter is missing, and everything is in an uncontrolled mess.
It starts when a former neighbor of Banks discovers a gun which had been hidden by her daughter in her bedroom when visiting her parents. The mother visits the police stati...more
It starts when a former neighbor of Banks discovers a gun which had been hidden by her daughter in her bedroom when visiting her parents. The mother visits the police stati...more
Most notable in this 19th entry to the Chief Inspector Banks series is Superintendent Chambers, in charge of the investigation into a raid by an Authorized Firearms Officer squad that goes horribly wrong. Chambers is a caricature of a self-important lout given too much authority and with no real idea how to use it. He goes after much of the Eastvale police force--at least most of those we have gotten to know over the course of this series. Robinson's dislike of the character is clear his first a...more
Even though Peter Robinson's detective novels, featuring Alan Banks and Annie Cabbott, follow the formula for other novels in this genre, Robinson has developed Banks with endearing human frailities without making him hopeless. In Bad Boy, Banks has gone to America for a vacation to sooth his nerves after a harrowing experience with home-grown terrorists. This took place in the previous installment in the Banks saga and was enough to make Banks question his career choice.
The Robinson novels are...more
The Robinson novels are...more
19th in the series. No surprises - usual qualifty of plotting and suspense, with Inspector Banks not making an entrance until half way through the book.
Starts with one of his daughters flat mates taking a gun back to the family home and being discovered by her parents. A friend of Banks, the mother goes to the station but banks is on his jollys in america.
Cue a bothched raid on the home and the tasering of her father and subsquent death.
Robinson does the politics of police work better than anyon...more
Starts with one of his daughters flat mates taking a gun back to the family home and being discovered by her parents. A friend of Banks, the mother goes to the station but banks is on his jollys in america.
Cue a bothched raid on the home and the tasering of her father and subsquent death.
Robinson does the politics of police work better than anyon...more
Peter Robinson utilities a formula when writing. His novels all begin with a scene evolving sight and smell of England, then the scene labors along the route with the tempo increasing as a character heads toward the conclusion. Alan Banks, Detective Chief Inspector, basks in the sun in California, as he enjoys a holiday/vacation. Back home in England, chaos has erupted with the accidental death of Alan's past neighbor and with the misjudgment of Alan’s daughter, Tracy. Robinson reveals the compl...more
Reason for Reading: Next in the series
Peter Robinson is always a character writer. The identities and motivators of his main characters are an important role in each of his novels and each character has developed through the books, especially Inspector Banks who has been with the series for all nineteen novels. Bad Boys relies heavily on the personal stories of the main characters plot wise. There is a crime, a couple really, and they all involve Inspector Banks at a personal level. Enemies from...more
Peter Robinson is always a character writer. The identities and motivators of his main characters are an important role in each of his novels and each character has developed through the books, especially Inspector Banks who has been with the series for all nineteen novels. Bad Boys relies heavily on the personal stories of the main characters plot wise. There is a crime, a couple really, and they all involve Inspector Banks at a personal level. Enemies from...more
I have read Peter Robinson since his first Alan Banks procedural. As with most long series, the first several were excellent. But then the plots became predictable, the writing stale, and the recurring characters boring. I stopped reading him. When I saw “Bad Boy,” I decided that after a several-year hiatus, I would try him again. Unfortunately, that was a mistake.
Robinson’s recurring women characters in “Bad Boy” are immature, trite, and badly drawn. You have his partner and former lover Annie...more
Robinson’s recurring women characters in “Bad Boy” are immature, trite, and badly drawn. You have his partner and former lover Annie...more
Oct 01, 2010
Kathleen Hagen
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2010-audio-books,
2010-mysteries
Bad Boy, by Peter Robinson, a-minus, Narrated by Simon Prebble, produced by Harper Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
Inspector Banks has gone on leave to recover emotionally from his last case and is in San Francisco. A woman comes into the Eastvale station and wants to speak only to Allen Banks. Since he isn’t there, Annie Cabot takes the caller. The woman is a former neighbor of Banks and her daughter has an unregistered gun in the house. Annie and the superintendent organize a team to go to...more
Inspector Banks has gone on leave to recover emotionally from his last case and is in San Francisco. A woman comes into the Eastvale station and wants to speak only to Allen Banks. Since he isn’t there, Annie Cabot takes the caller. The woman is a former neighbor of Banks and her daughter has an unregistered gun in the house. Annie and the superintendent organize a team to go to...more
Sep 17, 2010
Nancy Oakes
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
uk-crime-fiction-and-mystery
First, my thanks to LibraryThing's early reviewer program and to Morrow for my copy of this book.
Don't do what I did and start this late at night -- you won't want to put it down. Although this book isn't really a whodunit, the tension begins to build very close to the beginning and doesn't let up.
The 19th installment in Robinson's Alan Banks series, Bad Boy begins with the discovery of a gun. Julia Doyle contacts the police to report that she's found a gun in her daughter Erin's room, and that...more
Don't do what I did and start this late at night -- you won't want to put it down. Although this book isn't really a whodunit, the tension begins to build very close to the beginning and doesn't let up.
The 19th installment in Robinson's Alan Banks series, Bad Boy begins with the discovery of a gun. Julia Doyle contacts the police to report that she's found a gun in her daughter Erin's room, and that...more
2 likes · like · see review
This is Peter Robinson's 19th Detective Chief Inspector Banks novel, and it's the first I have read. I really enjoyed it.
Bad Boy starts with DCI Banks in America on holiday and while he is away all sorts of trouble is brewing on the home front. His daughter's best friend triggers a disastrous series of events when she, in a moment of pique, sneaks off with her boyfriend's gun. He is a very charming and dangerous young man and when Tracy Banks, who fancies him, decides to warn Jaff about the poli...more
Bad Boy starts with DCI Banks in America on holiday and while he is away all sorts of trouble is brewing on the home front. His daughter's best friend triggers a disastrous series of events when she, in a moment of pique, sneaks off with her boyfriend's gun. He is a very charming and dangerous young man and when Tracy Banks, who fancies him, decides to warn Jaff about the poli...more
The Inspector Banks novels have been growing darker of late, and, number 20, Bad Boy, continues the trend in spades. Jaff McCready is one of those handsome charmers who has never developed a conscience, and when Banks' 20-something daughter falls for him, she fails to recognize the warning signs. Banks himself is on holiday in California, where he has been doing some much needed soul searching while enjoying the spectacular scenery. He returns to England only to find that his partner and one-tim...more
DCI Alan Banks, on leave from the Major Crimes Unit of the Western Area Headquarters in Eastvale, is thoroughly enjoying his visit to the United States, so he isn't there when his former neighbor, Juliet Doyle, arrives at the police station seeking his help over what to do about a gun she has found in her daughter's bedroom. Instead, DI Annie Cabot interviews Mrs. Doyle and that, as they say, makes all the difference.
Jaff McCready, the titular bad boy of this story, is the son of a wealthy Engli...more
Jaff McCready, the titular bad boy of this story, is the son of a wealthy Engli...more
You know you can't read better than Peter Robinson.
There are things that you can count on: the yumminess of any sandwich you don't make yourself, that the plows will push more snow onto your side of the road than your neighbors and that Peter Robinson will never let you down. He has what? 97-98 books out there and not a dud in the lot. Okay he has a mere 20 (!) mystery novels out there, but they are all exceptional. Who else can say that?
In the latest Robinson novel, Bad Boy, DCI Alan Banks is...more
There are things that you can count on: the yumminess of any sandwich you don't make yourself, that the plows will push more snow onto your side of the road than your neighbors and that Peter Robinson will never let you down. He has what? 97-98 books out there and not a dud in the lot. Okay he has a mere 20 (!) mystery novels out there, but they are all exceptional. Who else can say that?
In the latest Robinson novel, Bad Boy, DCI Alan Banks is...more
Part of the series featuring DCI Alan Banks, this story also features his daughter Tracy, who makes some bad choices leading to truly dangerous situations. Alan is away in the U.S. on vacation as the story begins, and Tracy becomes involved with her roommate's boyfriend. As her roommate does something in anger that starts the whole plot in motion, Tracy is drawn to the 'bad boy' image of the young man Jaff. Tracy's choice to offer the use of her father's home as a refuge to Jaff leads to attempt...more
Robinson keeps getting better and better. I literally read this in one sitting - as usual Robinson is able to take a fairly straightforward situation and find every possible shade and nuance within it. A distraught mother comes to the police station to tell Banks she's found a gun in her daughter's room, which, in the UK, would put her in prison. She's hoped to call on an old friend for help, but Banks is out of town and Annie Cabot takes over. Things go terribly wrong when the police go to the...more
This book is about smart people making bad decisions and stupid choices that result in dire consequences. Robinson's music loving, introspective Inspector Banks has a reason for his bad mood this time -- several of them which I won't give away. He returns from his holiday in the United States to real and figurative messes. (Side note: from a resident, the man really knows how to enjoy San Francisco as a tourist and stays in one of my favorite hotels in the City.)
The Inspector Banks books are th...more
The Inspector Banks books are th...more
A woman comes to the police department in North Yorkshire and asks for Det. Inspector Alan Banks. She was a former neighbor and discovered a handgun in her daughter's room and wants to report it.
Since Banks was on vacation in America, his partner, Annie Christie takes the case. She reports the crime and a police unit who is weapons authorized, goes to the woman's home. Unfortunately, there is an incident there and the woman's husband is taken to the hospital.
Banks's daughter, Tracy, heard of the...more
Since Banks was on vacation in America, his partner, Annie Christie takes the case. She reports the crime and a police unit who is weapons authorized, goes to the woman's home. Unfortunately, there is an incident there and the woman's husband is taken to the hospital.
Banks's daughter, Tracy, heard of the...more
I liked that Banks was off in California for the first half of the book, so this was more Annie's story. She, Gervaise and Winsome are all strong, interesting female characters, coming into their own more with each book.
I liked the tour of San Francisco with Banks. Robinson is adept at conveying an intense sense of place for wherever he has Banks at the moment and I feel that it adds to the story rather than distracting from it.
What I didn't so much like was what has become of Tracy Banks - she'...more
I liked the tour of San Francisco with Banks. Robinson is adept at conveying an intense sense of place for wherever he has Banks at the moment and I feel that it adds to the story rather than distracting from it.
What I didn't so much like was what has become of Tracy Banks - she'...more
Peter Robinson writes a good mystery. Full stop. However,
Bad Boy
reminds us of the difficulties of crafting a believable story--keeping the characters true to their natures while adding complications and fixes without adding too many extraneous details. There were a couple times in this novel when I found myself watching Robinson struggle with a plot line. He managed admirably in the end, but the seams did show a bit. Not so much as to put us off him. It's all part of reading a long series.
Our...more
Our...more
Bad Boy is yet another winner in the long list of Peter Robinson stories involving Inspector Banks and his parter DI Annie Cabot. This time Banks' beautiful young daugher Tracy is involved and its her who has her hands full trying to handle the bad boy. Upon returning from a vacation in the U.S. Banks is shocked to learn that his daughter has taken up with a killer and they're both on the run from the law. The whole force is out in full - Banks trys to make sure that, in the police's hard charge...more
Good character development, a riveting plot and fast-paced action. What’s not to like?
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is enjoying a holiday in the American west when a distraught former neighbor and friend comes looking for him at the Eastvale police station. In his absence, Annie Cabbot, Bank’s partner and a former lover, steps in. The visitor explains she’s discovered a loaded gun in her daughter’s bedroom. Possession of firearms is illegal in Great Britain and the mother hoped to spare h...more
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is enjoying a holiday in the American west when a distraught former neighbor and friend comes looking for him at the Eastvale police station. In his absence, Annie Cabbot, Bank’s partner and a former lover, steps in. The visitor explains she’s discovered a loaded gun in her daughter’s bedroom. Possession of firearms is illegal in Great Britain and the mother hoped to spare h...more
Allan Banks has a complicated life. He chases crooks, he's clearly not his aging partents' favorite child, he finds love and doesn't pay attention to it, so he loses it. He finds it hard to express himself, but loves music and has a huge knowledge of jazz, classical and rock.
What does that have to do with the plot of the books? It gives them heft, background and content interest. Banks's life is part of the mystery novel, and as much a part of the content as the plot line. It's a major reason I...more
What does that have to do with the plot of the books? It gives them heft, background and content interest. Banks's life is part of the mystery novel, and as much a part of the content as the plot line. It's a major reason I...more
Sep 20, 2010
Richard
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Mystery lovers, those who like chases.
Recommended to Richard by:
I read a review.
Wow! I have a new author to follow, but first I have to read his other 19 books. This has great descriptions of places I am not familiar with. The story was very believable, especially in the way the crime kept escalating as pressure was put on Jaff to keep moving in response to the many problems he had.
The descriptions of the behavior and dialogue of the police and the thugs was perfect, building tension like Hitchcock, one small step at a time. You could see the people responding to the develo...more
The descriptions of the behavior and dialogue of the police and the thugs was perfect, building tension like Hitchcock, one small step at a time. You could see the people responding to the develo...more
Aug 28, 2010
Sheila Beaumont
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
mysteries-suspense-thrillers,
adult-fiction
I loved this one! Even by the high standards of Peter Robinson's first-rate suspense series starring Chief Inspector Alan Banks, this latest installment is outstanding. Banks returns from a vacation in the U.S. and finds that his daughter, Tracy, has become involved with a "bad boy" who turns out to be much worse and more dangerous than she thought. It's a thrilling, wonderfully plotted, character-driven story, in which the good guys are confronted with some truly evil villains.
If you're already...more
If you're already...more
I won this book in a goodreads draw and have to admit all I did was skim the last few chapters. I have read the first of this series and was surprised at some of the story changes which had me hunting reviews for what I missed. I have not finished many police procedurals lately and have not DNF'd them on goodreads b/c they are due to my reading mood not writing.
Dh did read this and finished it last night. When asked to review it, I got "it was fine". Due to the length of time it took him to fini...more
Dh did read this and finished it last night. When asked to review it, I got "it was fine". Due to the length of time it took him to fini...more
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks doesn't surface until the second half of this 19th book in the series, but we get to learn a lot about his 20-something daughter, Tracy, who is bored with her name and disappointed with her life. She comes to the rescue of a truly Bad Boy, and thinks she is off on a well-deserved adventure. Bad Boy turns out to have a gun, which he uses with deadly intent, a couple of kilos of cocaine, and a whole of lot money - all owned by someone else, who very much wants...more
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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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I haven't read the Banks series, as I usually tend to avoid the British set-ups (although I love the Brits t...more
Apr 30, 2013 09:30am
Apr 30, 2013 09:57am