REVIEW | ‘In Dark Places’

By Rob Cline, correspondent

Peter Robinson's new Inspector Banks novel 'In the Dark Places” called to mind the 87th Precinct novels of the late Ed McBain. McBain's series is remarkable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it includes more than 50 novels published over nearly 50 years.

But what has always set McBain's novels apart for me is his skills working with an ensemble cast. The individual detectives of the 87th Precinct are each vivid and distinct, and in nearly every novel, several of them are central to the narrative and their personal stories are pushed forward.

Robinson's new novel - set in rural England as opposed to McBain's urban America - accomplishes much the same feat. Inspector Alan Banks may be the star of this series (comparable to McBain's Detective Steve Carella), but he is just one of a number of fully realized characters, each with a rich backstory and developing storylines for future adventures.

'In the Dark Places,” the 22nd in the series and the first I have read, is strongly plotted. Two seemingly unrelated matters - one involving a stolen tractor, the other featuring a pool of blood in a lonely location - converge, leaving Banks and his team looking for clues, grasping for connections and playing hunches.

Robinson includes a bit of good luck (for the police, if not for a certain truck driver) in the investigation, as well. In lesser hands, the break in the case might seem like an author's maneuver to overcome a sticky plot point. But Robinson works the moment into the novel believably and builds other aspects of the story around it that highlight his cast's skills as detectives.

Long ago, I read a mid-series entry in McBain's ongoing story and soon sought out the first book and read them all. Similarly, I may soon be seeking out a copy of Robinson's 'Gallows View,” the first entry in the Banks series.