Peter Robinson

Peter Robinson

Successful crime writer and creator of the Inspector Banks series of novels...

Peter Robinson, author of over a dozen novels featuring Inspector Banks, was born in Castleford, Yorkshire, in 1950. After getting his BA Honours Degree in English literature at the University of Leeds, he went to Canada and first took his MA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor, then a Ph.D. in English at York University.

Peter Robinson's breakthrough book, in the UK, was the comparatively recent Banks novel Aftermath (2002), which means that there is an extensive backlist for new readers to explore (Inspector Banks made his debut in 1987). Interviewed about writing the series, Robinson has said that the Yorkshire setting for his crime novels was initially a way of dealing with nostalgia and homesickness for the places that he grew up in. Eastvale, Banks' fictional market town, is based to some degree on Richmond.

As the series has progressed, Robinson has taken care to delve into the background and personalities of his characters. Career-minded Chief Constable Jeremiah "Jimmy Riddle"; who usually works to a political agenda driven by PR - antagonising Banks in the process - comes to the Inspector for help in Cold is the Grave when his daughter runs away to London. A throwaway comment about a childhood friend of Banks' who disappeared in the 1960s in Dead Right becomes focus of the major investigation in The Summer that Never Was.

Now based in Toronto, Peter Robinson has become one of the stalwarts of modern detective procedural fiction. He is highly rated by his own peers - authors such as Ian Rankin ("A writer at the height of his powers"), Dennis Lehane ("Chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced works of art") and Stephen King ("This may be the best series of British novels since the works of Patrick O'Brian").

Fact file

Name: Peter Robinson

Date of birth: 1950

Place of birth: Castleford

Current Home: Toronto

Education: University of Windsor (Can.), University of York

Similar Authors: Ian Rankin, Stephen Booth, Reg Hill, Mark Billingham

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Bad Boy

Bad Boy

(Hardback)

When Juliet Doyle discovers a gun in her daughter's bedroom, she turns to old friend DCI Alan Banks for advice. But Banks is taking a much-needed holiday, and it's left to DI Annie Cabbot to deal with the removal of the firearm. No one...
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The Price of Love

The Price of Love (Hardback)

by Peter Robinson

Format: Hardback 352 pages
Published: 06/08/2009
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd

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3 out of 5

When DCI Alan Banks arrived in Eastvale his life was every bit as much of a mess as it is now. But he is holding an envelope that could change... Read more


Friend of the Devil

Friend of the Devil (Paperback)

by Peter Robinson

Format: Paperback 528 pages
Published: 03/04/2008
Publisher: Hodder Paperback

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When Karen Drew is found sitting in her wheelchair staring out to sea with her throat cut one chilly morning, DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern... Read more

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Aftermath

Aftermath (Paperback)

by Peter Robinson

Format: Paperback 352 pages
Published: 07/09/2002
Publisher: Pan Books

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5 out of 5

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4 out of 5

The number 35, the Hill is an ordinary house in an ordinary street. But it is about to become infamous. When two police constables are sent to the... Read more

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Playing with Fire (Paperback)

by Peter Robinson

Format: Paperback 464 pages
Published: 28/08/2004
Publisher: Pan Books

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In the early hours of a cold January morning, two narrow boats catch fire on the dead-end stretch of the Eastvale canal. When signs of accelerant... Read more


Caedmon's Song

Caedmon's Song (Paperback)

by Peter Robinson

Format: Paperback 336 pages
Published: 04/06/2004
Publisher: Pan Books

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4 out of 5

'A long, oily blackness punctuated by quick, vivid dreams ...They were all just dreams. She couldn't possibly see these things, could she?... Read more

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Innocent Graves

Innocent Graves (Paperback)

by Peter Robinson

Format: Paperback 304 pages
Published: 07/09/2001
Publisher: Pan Books

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'If you haven't caught up with Peter Robinson already, now is the time to start.' - "Independent Sunday". One foggy night,... Read more

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The Hanging Valley

The Hanging Valley (Paperback)

by Peter Robinson

Format: Paperback 464 pages
Published: 08/11/2002
Publisher: Pan Books

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4 out of 5

A faceless corpse is discovered in a tranquil, hidden valley below the village of Swainshead. And when Chief Inspector Alan Banks arrives, he finds... Read more

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Past Reason Hated: An Inspector Banks Mystery

Past Reason Hated: An Inspector Banks Mystery (Paperback)

by Peter Robinson

Format: Paperback 464 pages
Published: 06/12/2002
Publisher: Pan Books

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It should have been a cosy scene - log fire, sheepskin rug, Vivaldi on the stereo, Christmas lights and tree. But appearances can be deceptive. For... Read more

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