STRANGE AFFAIR

Simon Prebble gives an eerie elegance to Robinson's fifteenth novel featuring Yorkshire DCI Alan Banks in a case that takes a distinctly personal turn for the morose and self-destructive inspector. Banks gets an urgent telephone message from his estranged brother and is perplexed when he's unable to track him down. Meanwhile, a slip of paper with Banks's name and address is found in the pocket of a murder victim. As always, Robinson's writing is filled with atmospheric musical references to emphasize the character's lonely melancholy, and Prebble's reading adds to that somber atmosphere. A Yorkshire accent is not in evidence. Instead Prebble's smooth and even narration is characterized by its pace and timing, which give the novel an elegantly haunting quality. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 08]