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| Author: Peter Robinson
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Category: Book
Buy New: $29.94
New (7) Used (9) from $2.35
Avg. Customer Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 844771
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 376
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6 x 1.2
ISBN: 077107610X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780771076107
ASIN: 077107610X
Publication Date: September 11, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Hardcover. This item is new.
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| Customer Reviews:
 "Friend of the Devil" May 24, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Please note: If you are thinking about buying this novel, and have not yet read Robinson's "Aftermath," definitely consider reading "Aftermath" first.
There is unquestionably a time in every novel series when the characters become too predictable, the plot is insufficiently compelling, and the familiar effects are just too thin to keep the whole enterprise going. "Careless in Red" by Elizabeth George represents one recent example of this phenomenon, and sad to say, "Friend of the Devil" seems to be another.
In this episode of the Alan Banks series, his one-time lover Annie Cabbot is investigating a more than usually senseless murder: who would want to kill a completely paralyzed woman who seemingly is a threat to no one? Unsurprisingly the rationale is more complicated than it might at first seem, and eventually ties in (in an overly deliberate complication) with the case that Banks is investigating: the rape and murder of a young woman in Eastvale. Banks's case is a pretty standard whodunnit. (The complication that connects it with Cabbot's case strains belief entirely.)
It eventually becomes clear that the two cases are involved with the one that Banks dealt with in "Aftermath." In fact, reading "Aftermath" after "Friend" would be a much less interesting experience than it might otherwise have been.
I have to say that after all this time, I am beginning to feel I don't care who Banks is sleeping with any more, and I am certainly tired of his ambivalent relationship to Annie. It's all become rather meaningless. His love of music, which seemed so strong and so organic to his character in the earlier novels, seems just a recitation of artists and album titles now. Though I'm sure that many people in Banks and Cabbot's line of work have a love/hate relationship with alcohol, I can't help wishing the two of them would just go and get into treatment already.
All that being said, Robinson is still capable of a telling observation, both of character and of setting, and still capable of the canny trick--there is an excellent one in the section which unites the two ongoing cases. But I don't think I will be reading another one of the Banks books.
In the early going of the novel, Banks thinks about why it is that at his age, he is beginning to read more non-fiction than fiction--it has more to tell him about life. Unhappily, "Friend of the Devil" is one more reason to believe that that is true.
Eminently readable, not flawless May 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
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