Rumbles along nicely without catching fire - Rated 
DCI Banks' 17th outing centres round two rather unlikely murders which, in an even more unlikely way, turn out to be connected. It's odd that, at well over 500 pages, the novel feels as if it needs more fleshing out. Minor characters, especially police officers outside the golden triangle of Banks, Annie Cabott and DC Winston, are two-dimensional and I found the denouement abrupt.
Cabott, too, is becoming a problem, in that she now seems doomed to victimhood. Having survived a rape earlier in her career, she seemed to have rebuilt her life but is now too busy drinking too much and feeling sorry for herself to turn her mind to the crime she's supposed to solve. She's starting to get on my nerves. Waking up after a drunken night with a man she picked up in a bar, a man young enough to be her son, she then treats him like a piece of excrement on her shoe. Please can she pull herself together in time for #18?
I'm also bored with constantly being told what tracks of pop music Banks is listening to on his Ipod (It's almost like product placement; am I supposed to rush out and buy these CDs?)Not to mention what esoteric brand of beer he's swilling. These pointless lists are very much a male thing and this female reader has had enough of them.
I'm not saying the book isn't generally a good read, but Robinson made his breakthrough with the stunning Aftermath and has, perhaps, struggled to live up to it since. Maybe it's time to give Banks & Co a rest and write something different.
Disappointed - Rated 
Well apart from her comments on the music...which has been a feature of Peter Robinson's Banks series that i've enjoyed... i agree with the disappontment of the previous reviewer. With a name like mine I HAD to read them and apart from the last 2 or 3 I've enjoyed them, but now he's clearly run out steam....stereotypical scenes follow stereotypical scenes, the characters are increasingly wooden, the dialogue tired and unconvincing. The co=incidences are just unbelievable. Sorry Mr Robinson, but it's time to put him out to grass....you've run out of steam. It's been a good run so don't milk it any more...To almost quote from your own book....It's YOUR book that ruins a good Grateful Dead song!!!
I'll leave my crime fiction buying to Stephen Booth and Graham Hurley from now on!
Time to call it a day - Rated 
I enjoyed all the earlier Banks novels but the most recent have been quite disappointing. The list of Banks' material possessions, Porsche, i-Pod et al is starting to read like the shopping list of a male with a mid-life crisis. The plot of this is a real mess - cobbled together from two previous books - Aftermath and Caedmon's Song. Like another reviewer I'm heartily fed up of reading about the music. I always thought Banks sounded like a chap you'd enjoy a pint with but now he's becoming a bit of a bore. Time to call it a day - isn't he due to retire soon?
Good and Bad - Rated 
Firstly, let me say that I am a fan of the Inspector Banks books and that I have really enjoyed the vast majority of them. Personally I think that Peter Robinson has really developed the characters and his writing style as the series has evolved. FOTD is a worthy continuation of this but there are a few -ves along the way.
Like a previous reviewer I am beginning to get annoyed by the constant insertion of obscure musical references. I realise that this is part of Banks's character building but there reaches a point where enough is enough. Also the linking back of the story to not one but two other Peter Robinson books just struck me as a cheap stunt to sell more books. (By the way, if you are tempted to get Caedmon's Song on the back of this, then don't! It is no-where near as good as the Inspector Banks series) Finally, having read most of the series over the last 6 months the twists/guilty parties are getting too easy to spot. There needs to be a bit more guile in hiding the identities until the last few pages.
One other minor gripe - why is it that no matter how crowded the pub is they always manage to get that 'dimpled-top table in the corner'? I have seen that phrase in at least 8 of the books!
On a positive note - the characters have really kept pace with the series - the on/off Banks/Cabbot relationship, the introduction of other 'female interest' characters is well done.
A good read but PR could better with a little more care and attention to detail...
Not up to Robinson's usual standard - Rated
I've read all of the Inspector Banks series, and can highly recommend them. Unfortunately this book is a let down, far too little happens and the book drags on for over 500 pages, when in reality 300 pages would have been suffice. The book keeps speculating on who the murderer could be, but little happens to allow you to form your own judgement. Indeed, the best parts of the book are those involving the personal lives of Banks and DI Cabbot! Come on Peter, we know you can write better than this!
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