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Friend of the Devil LP | 
| Author: Peter Robinson
Publisher: HarperLuxe
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.50
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New (17) Used (3) from $15.46
Avg. Customer Rating:  33 reviews
Sales Rank: 260379
Format: Large Print
Media: Paperback
Edition: Lgr
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.5
ISBN: 0061367028
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780061367021
ASIN: 0061367028
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Amazon.com
Amazon Significant Seven, February 2008: Fans of Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie novels, and anyone who enjoyed In the Woods as much as we did, will love Peter Robinson's smart and absorbing Friend of the Devil. Be sure to set aside some time to dig in--you'll be tempted to devour it in one sitting, but this gripping and finely plotted mystery deserves to be savored. If this is your first introduction to the intrepid Inspector Alan Banks, count yourself lucky--Robinson has been crafting these award-winning police procedurals for more than two decades now, so there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy what Stephen King has called "the best series of British novels since the novels of Patrick O'Brian." --Daphne Durham
Product Description
Two murders . . . two towns . . . two determined cops . . . One morning in March, on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, a woman named Karen Drew is found in her wheelchair with her throat slit. Back in Eastvale on that same morning, in a tangle of narrow alleys behind a market square, the body of Hayley Daniels is found raped and strangled. On loan to a sister precinct, Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot draws the first case, but she turns up nothing in Karen Drew's past that might have prompted someone to kill her. Meanwhile, in the Hayley Daniels murder, Chief Inspector Alan Banks has suspects galore. Then a breakthrough spins Annie's case in a shocking and surprising new direction, straight toward Banks. Together they must search for two killers who could strike again at any moment, with bloody fury.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 28 more reviews...
 Eminently readable, not flawless May 9, 2008
As with most of Robinson's other books, this one held my interest almost from cover to cover, and I was very tempted to award it 4 stars. However, there are a few flaws that detracted from my reading enjoyment. First of all, I would wholeheartedly agree with those who indicated that too much of the book was dedicated to DI Cabbot's personal issues. Not that she isn't an interesting character, and her interaction with Banks, both on a personal and professional level, adds to the story. The problem here is one of balance: of the two cases that develop early on, she has by far the more interesting and challenging one. I would even say that, compared with her case, the one Banks has to solve is almost mundane, little more than a plot device to allow for a crossing point between the two investigations. Moreover, the star of Banks's case is, once again, DC Winsome Jackman; perhaps as a misplaced concession to political correctness, this police officer is developing into a character who can simply do no wrong. (I can already hear the accusations of racism, and since I can't defend myself, I'll simply ignore them). Anyway, I found this lack of balance to be both annoying and unrealistic, not to mention that, with so much of the printable space dedicated to Cabbot and Jackman, the book turns into a bit of a disappointment for the aficionados of Banks and his own existential woes (woes which I find acceptable, as long as they are in small doses.)
Moving on from the characters to the plot, this book shares with most of Robinson's novels many of the same traits, some of which I don't particularly care for. Specifically, rather than feeding the reader little clues here and there, so some of them can at least develop a hunch as to the culprit's identity, this author prefers to leave everything up in the air until the final pages when all is revealed. The few hints he gives away are rarely useful and he occasionally sprinkles details that seem to be thrown in with the specific intent of being exploited at a later time, but then, disappointingly, aren't. (E.g.: the picture of Kevin Templeton's missing sister). Lastly, for the plot to work as written, it must rely on the investigators conveniently glossing over, or missing altogether information that should be reasonably easy to obtain.
Having described mostly what I didn't like about the book, I think it's time to re-assure the person who's teetering on the brink of buying it that it is well worth the read, whether or not he or she is a Banks fan. In spite of a few stagnation points, the story does move along, the style is generally good, and the oveall plot is interesting. I also must give Robinson credit for being able to do quite a decent job with sequels. And on that score, I really hope that in the future we'll see a return of Phil Keane as well as Jenny Fuller. And maybe, instead of DI Cabbot, DC Jackman can be loaned indefinitely to another police station, or, better yet promoted and transferred permanently.
 Great read as usual for Peter Robinson May 5, 2008
Thouroughly enjoyed this book. Characters always complex and interesting. Story great--intertwined with a previous story.
This Series Doesn't Disappoint! May 4, 2008
I've read all of Peter Robinson's books and Friend of the Devil does not disappoint. I'm a big fan of most English mysteries and CI Alan Banks is one of my favorite protagonists. I, too, tired a bit of the many music mentions, but it does not affect the story line. I seldom rehash the plot of books I review since that has been done several times, but I will say I'm already looking forward to the next installment of CI Banks.
Not the Best April 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As an admiring reader of all the Banks' novels I have difficulty writing a somewhat negative review of Friend of the Devil. The plot is just too overloaded with characters whose names begin to blend into confusion. I found myself saying "Now I've run across this character already but who is he again?" and I actually kept a log of who's who. What makes it worse is that the author gives names to ancillary characters who are not important to the plot, people for whom "lab assistant" would have been enough. It's almost as if including a large number of characters is a substitute for an intriguing plot. I hope Robinson's next Banks novel will have fewer characters and a more suspenseful plot.
Aftermath of Robinson's 2001 Alan Banks Novel AFTERMATH April 27, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I've read all of Peter Robinson's excellently written series of novels featuring Yorkshire detective Alan Banks and highly anticipated this latest installment. For whatever reason I didn't find this volume as interesting as most of the others. The plotting is good and Robinson has provided Banks and his fellow detective (and ex lover) Annie two intriguing cases. Annie handles the death of a paraplegic woman in her late 20's who was checked out of her nursing home by an unknown person and found with her throat cut on a beach looking out to sea. Banks is in charge of the murder of a pretty young college student found dead after a drunken Saturday night. The plot twists several times with some genuine surprises before all is concluded and one of the murders will have direct ties to the serial killer story told in the 2001 novel AFTERMATH.
As with all Robinson's novels lots of details from what music loving Banks has in his CD player to the menus at the pubs where the detectives order lunch are provided. Though I generally appreciate such touches in FRIEND OF THE DEVIL all this detail begins to seem like tedious filler. Like another Amazon reviewer I've never been fond of the character of Annie and she is featured almost as much as Banks in the novel (there is a subplot about her being stalked by a young man half her age) so that may have contributed to me not being as taken with this novel as the others in this series. Still, for fans of British suspense novels that are definitely not cozy, Peter Robinson writes among the best in the genre.
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