Close to Home

By: Peter Robinson

Narrated by: Ron Keith

Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Peter Robinson is the critically acclaimed New York Times, LA Times, and London Sunday Times best-selling author of the Inspector Alan Banks series, as well as a winner of the 2001 Anthony and 2001 Ellis Awards, and Le Grand Prix de Littirature Policiire. Close to Home traverses the difficult landscapes of a painful past, and an uncertain future for Inspector Banks. Two 15-year-old boys are lost, and the circumstances of their disappearances seem oddly parallel save one detail. The first boy disappeared and was presumed dead 35 years ago.

Follow Inspector Alan Banks as he investigates Yorkshire's toughest crimes.

©2004 Peter Robinson (P)2004 Recorded Books, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Suspenseful and engrossing." (Orlando Sentinel)
"This one is entertaining and sophisticated, crime writing of a high order." (Washington Post)
"Lots of suspense...richly complex...satisfying and subtle." (Publishers Weekly)

Poor narrator

DCI Banks is my favorite detective series and I am up to #13 in the series. I am now put off by the narrator, Ron Keith. The quality of his voice and his inflections make every character sound middle age to old. You can not differentiate whether the character is old or young, yet you know from the story, they are quite young. As you listen, you are forced, by his voice to picture Banks as an over-weight, man in his 60's or 70's.
Although I love the Banks series, I sadly can not purchase any that are narrated by Ron Keith.












313.

These last 3 Each one better

I keep spacing out the narrators names. I know that this narrator is certainly the same as two books earlier. I really panned him as a bad choice in that book. This time he did a good bit better but there seemed to be some errors and squirrelly places. Oddly the last book I thought was a different narrator. I had no complaints there. Really no complaints here just those comments.

I most certainly would want people to read and listen to these books. As a series, I'm really enjoying the changing of the times and styles. Also the aging and changes, development of the characters.

Btw outside of this series Robinson wrote another book that I've listened to and loved it so much that I had my bookclub read it. It was one of a rare kind. Everyone agreed that they liked the book very much. That book is called, darn the name I think just left me. After the Poison? Googly Moogly!

Check my next review. I will affirm or correct my error. Must be bedtime for Bonzo!

G'night All!

Good Story, Poor Narration

I have read several Peter Robinson's DCI Banks books, and have enjoyed them all. In this novel, there are two mysteries which unravel side by side - the 35 year old disappearance of Banks` friend, and the current disappearance and murder of a teenage boy. This one was not my favourite, but it was definitely a well-crafted story, and introduced a new female detective - Michelle Hart - who works with Banks as he delves into his past.


This is the first Banks novel that I listened to (the others I read on my Kindle), and while the story was good, the narrator was dreadful, and it took me half the book to get past the bad narrator and enjoy the tale.

Why is Ron Keith a poor narrator? Let me list the ways :

-he sounds, throughout the novel, like he is telling a joke, and working up to the punchline. It feels like he is repressing laughter. So annoying.

-At several points, he just doesn't get the tone right. For example, in one part, the narrator says something like, "It wasn't me" in a loud voice, then says, "he whispered". Well - then whisper it!!!!

-Another problem is the accents. Nobody seems to have a different accent at all, and yet Banks says to Michelle, "I thought that's where you were from by your accent". Well, what accent, I wonder?? Hers and everyone else in the book speaks the same.

One thing, though - the narrator did do okay differentiating between the characters. So, that's good.

I was able to mostly get past the narrator and enjoy the story, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed it much more with a better narrator. I will make sure to never listen to another book narrated by Ron Keith.

The Inspector Banks series

What made the experience of listening to Close to Home the most enjoyable?

The writing.

Any additional comments?

The Inspector Bank's series is wonderful. I am listening to them in order. The last one I read was Cold Is the Grave and I am on to the next. Each one is great. I preferred the original reader to the current one. I am banking on Audible filling in the gaps which will start after the next 2.

Close to home by Peter Robinson

Read By Ron Keith.

I did enjoy this book. Peter Robinson has made Alan Banks into such a fine Detective, honest and true to himself. He solves hus crime cases with relentless patience. And always gets his man or woman. There is always a hint of personal relationships and the human side of policeing. I think of all of the crime writers I know Peter Robinson is my favourite.

Ron Keith did a fair job of reading the story, but his accent tends to make everyone sound much the same, so at times your not sure who is speaking. But otherwise well done.

A complicated and multi faceted more than a mystery

The author is adept at permitting his characters to be flawed human beings in a messy world. Sometimes the reader almost wishes Banks were a little less human and a little more one dimensional hero, but the author refuses to tolerate laziness in his readers . We are forced to reckon with the reality that our heroes suffer the same uncertainties and insecurities that we do., and that heroism is a choice available to all of us.

Less interesting than previous works

Too much reminiscing! I did not like the predictability of switching story lines back and forth between the two boys murders!i did not feel the mysteries themselves were captivating.

Golden Age of Mystery

When people write about the "Golden Age of Mystery" they're always referring to the 1930's. Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers and all that. Well, as much as I enjoy those classic mysteries, I say the Golden Age of Mystery is right now. If you don't agree, just check out this first rate contemporary suspenser from Peter Robinson.
The audio version adds immeasurably to the experience. Reader Ron Keith brings the characters to life with a wide range of English accents that I, as a Midwesterner, couldn't have begun to conjure up. (No, not even with close study of Masterpiece Theater.)

Well convoluted story brought to a satisfying end.

Ron Keith always gives life to any story. Good story, good flow, very well done

I love these books!

I am in the car a lot. I love to listen to these books. Peter Robinson's characters are so well rounded and the stories are just riveting. This one was a little easier to figure out the mystery but that is not usually the case.
I am so hooked on Inspector Bank's mysteries!