Cold Is the Grave

A Novel of Suspense—A Yorkshire Detective Thriller Where Inspector Banks Investigates His Enemy's Runaway Daughter and Uncovers Deadly Secrets

By: Peter Robinson

Narrated by: Ron Keith

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks' life is shaken to the core when he is unexpectedly pulled into the investigation of a young girl's disappearance in this shattering suspense novel from the hand of a modern master.

“Full of twists and surprises. … Robinson shows he has only begun to dig into the personality of his tenacious, thoughtful inspector.”—Chicago Tribune

When the nude photo of a teenage runaway shows up on a website, the girl's father turns to Detective Chief Inspector Alan banks for help. But these aren’t unusual circumstances, for the runaway is the daughter of a man who's determined to destroy the dedicated Yorkshire policeman's career and good name. Still, it’s a case that Banks—a father himself—dares not ignore as he follows its trail into teeming London. But when a series of gruesome murders follows soon after, Banks finds himself pulled into the past and private world of his most powerful enemy, Chief Constable Jimmy Riddle.

Peter Robinson is at the height of his storytelling skills in this twisting novel of suspense that proves one can never escape their pasts—especially when there are sordid secrets waiting to be revealed.

©2000 Peter Robinson (P)2002 Recorded Books

Horrible Narration

I found the narration really bad .
Banks sounded like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins , and the women were so dated and silly that I’m sure this narrator has never actually met a modern woman !

A well-developed supporting character stands out. The reading falls short.

I liked the development of an important supporting character. I disliked the intonation used by the otherwise professional-sounding reader. Too much punch.

Very Solid

As a big fan of P.D. James, I was quite pleased to discover Peter Robinson. I have listened to two other Peter Robinson books besides Cold is the Grave and found them all quite satisfying and enjoyable. Robinson is all about character development, each one is really fleshed out psychologically and then he tells you what each character is thinking, feeling, wearing, listening to, eating and so on at any given moment. Obviously this kind of detail can drive some people crazy, especially if a lot of action is what they are looking for, but I really like that kind of detail, and Robinson does do it well. The narrator may take a little getting used to, he tends to sort of "chortle out" his female voices sometimes, but really he is quite good. Cold Is the Grave was a good story and Robinson leaves you wondering who did it till the last, but that is not even why I like his books. It's more the journey there rather than the destination that makes it a good listen.

A fine Inspector Banks adventure

The characters are well presented and the mystery an interesting one. Banks’ life is involved with his characters and I was only a bit surprised he and his wife were splitting. It seemed, however, it was definitely logical and he was going to maintain a relationship with his children, while seeing other families crumble completely. I was glad Annie was going to be there too
Solving this murder was difficult to follow at times and it wasn’t really until the last few that it all came together and was explained.
I enjoyed this mystery and would recommend it.

Another Good British Cop Story

I am an Ian Rankin fan and one day, when I couldn't find an Ian Rankin book that I hadn't already read, another customer in the bookstore told me to read Peter Robinson. I would like to thank that woman because she turned me on to another well-written, unconventional British cop series.

"Cold Is The Grave" is a story that kept me involved with not only an interesting plot but interesting characters, as well. The characters are very real. Alan Banks, a small town English policeman, doesn't solve the mystery because he is smarter than everyone else. He does it by hard work and an understanding of how people think. The story has Banks solving a problem for one of his commanders who doesn't normally like Banks' methods but realizes, that in difficult circumstances, Banks is the best man for the job.

Banks comes to some conclusions about his own life when he sees it in contrast to that of his superior officer. He is fallible but very human and, therefore, very likeable.

Although Robinson is a Canadian writer, he captured the essence of life in both a small English town and London very well.

This was a good book to listen to and I wanted more when it was finished.