Playing with Fire

by Peter Robinson

Book Overview

Chief Inspector Alan Banks finds himself up against a diabolical arsonist in this electrifying novel of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson.In the early hours of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006019877X
• ISBN13: 9780060198770
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 354 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

His best in a while......

This is just about the best mystery I've read in a while and approaches the quality of IN A DRY SEASON, which Robinson wrote a few years back. The author does a great job of developing a tight plot with a few twists and turns that may surprise the most dedicated mystery lover. Robinson also further develops his the main characters Alan and Annie, as well as introducing a six-foot tall Jamaican immigrant female police officer who is bound to turn up again (one hopes!). Several mystery writers have used fire as a "character" in their novels including Patricia Cornwell, P.D. James, and Elizabeth , so you might think Robinson could not come up with something very different, but he does. He crafts a new and from my perspective particularly horrible slant as he merges perspective of the victim, the art world, old and new friendships, and the ongoing development of the relationship between Annie and Alan. For ages, female mystery writers have created and directed the exploits of male investigators. Robinson turns the tables, very effectively as he explores the psyche of Annie who is becoming almost as likeable as Harriet Vane. Robinson shows that females don't have to be dumb bunnies who are rescued from the jaws of death after they stupidly play into the killer's hands - sometimes the male needs rescuing. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery, reading past my bed time to finish it.

Another terrific read from Peter Robinson

I've been a fan of this series for a long time. Which means I now hold my breath when the newest Inspector Banks novel is published, fearing that this one may mark the start of a decline. The good news is, I was able to release that breath with relief. Robinson just keeps on writing wonderful novels, managing to deliver police procedurals within the meaning of the Act - to borrow a Brit phrase - while pushing the envelope and managing to make us guess about more than whodunit. In this book Banks and his team are investigating some grisly fire deaths - and they are up against a very clever fiend indeed. The villain is well-drawn, as are most of the characters Robinson puts in our path as the story rocks along. I couldn't put it down, and I can't wait for the next Banks book!

Absorbing characters and an intriguing plot

Character, plot, pace and prose - those are what make Edgar-winner Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels so compulsively readable. Certainly they are character driven: Alone again with his music and his Laphroaig, his wife remarried, his romance with colleague Annie Cabot over, Banks struggles with loneliness and a visceral antagonism toward Annie's new love interest. He's passionate, but not self-absorbed; instinctive but not reckless. And Annie: younger, a bit less certain of herself, leery of Banks' baggage, a bit defensive about her new romance, wavers between assertiveness and stubbornness and can't always tell the difference. And then there's the plot. Fire is a fascinating, scary medium and yields great forensics. The story begins with two live-aboard barges set ablaze, a dead artist on one, a dead junkie on the other. Had the junkie's apparently grief-stricken boyfriend snapped? Had the failed artist crossed his unidentified visitors? Had the junkie's abusive stepfather shut her mouth for good? Then another suspicious blaze kills a lonely man in his isolated trailer on the other side of town and the questions multiply.The pace mixes technical forensics, police procedure, and personal interaction in a suspenseful flow that relies on engagement rather than breakneck action. Shifts in point of view add further dimension. And the writing - atmospheric and nuanced - is as graceful as ever. Robinson ("Close to Home") has another winner.

Engrossing page-turner

Appropriately, PLAYING WITH FIRE starts out with a fire. On a cold winter morning on the dead-end branch of a Yorkshire canal, two barges burned. Two victims were found. The fire looks suspicious, but the question is who was the intended victim. One victim was a painter who felt his art was unappreciated and the other a young sexually abused girl who was hooked on drugs. Chief Inspector Alan Banks is summoned to investigate the crime. It is not long before another fire breaks out in a remote trailer. There seems to be a serial arsonist on the loose. Secrets and lies are uncovered as Banks and his partner D.I. Annie Cabot work toward discovering the truth.This story was extremely fast moving and hard to put down. Peter Robinson has created a brilliant plot for PLAYING WITH FIRE. It was complex, but very straightforward. Robinson does not rely on misdirection to create suspense, but rather a slow build-up of facts that rush the reader through a roaring crescendo toward the climax. There are a few loose ends that do not deter from the overall enjoyment of this novel. hopefully, some of the points will be addressed in the next Banks installment. This is a first rate British police procedural and a must read for anyone who appreciates quality.

excellent book and addition to the series

Playing with Fire is that rare beast; a Peter Robinson novel that hasn't had its titled bashed about for North American markets which is rather refreshing. And, of course, considering that title, it is full of fire, destruction, conflagration (physical and emotional) as well a new burning power in the writing itself too, which makes the book possibly Robinson's strongest, most cunning plotted mystery yet, if perhaps not the most "meaningful" or innovative. It begins, of course, with flame. In the wee hours of a cold January morning (the chill of the climate and atmosphere is a brilliantly effective contrast to the searing fires of the plot) two narrow-boats are found burning on a lonely stretch of a Yorkshire canal. When the fire-fighters have done their work, the investigators move in, and two dead bodies are found in the remains, blackened and burnt. And, of course, in the best traditions of the murder-mystery, traces of accelerant are found. However, which was the intended victim? Tina, the drugged out young girl living with her boyfriend on one boat, or Tom, the lonely, seemingly reclusive artist who lived on the other? As Robinson's well-seasoned protagonist Chief Inspector Banks sets the investigations in motion, the threads tangle and the case proves to be every bit as complex as it promised at the start. And this particular twisted firestarter is not done yet...Peter Robinson is remarkable; with every single book for about 6 years, he has been continuing to expand his series, smashing down boundaries, reaching new heights with every single book. While once his reflective Inspector Banks novels were simply nice little procedurals to while away an evening, lately they have become something far more remarkable, and he has moved into the front rank of male crime writers, alongside Ian Rankin and Michael Connelly in writing moving, artful crime novels that shed light on all aspects of human experience. There are so many things to recommend him, not least his evocation of landscape and ability to probe the very human depths of every single characters instinctive motivations. He plots as if he were born to the genre, and his protagonist Banks is a true marvel. Less of a tough-as-nails guy than Bosch or Rebus, Banks is thoughtful, moral, reflective and, dare I say it, not startlingly interesting on the surface (but, of course, therein lies his shining humanity) and in Playing with Fire there are enough personal trials for him to deal with to satisfy any connoisseur of fascinating protagonists. The other human aspects of this book are incredibly well-done; moving and expansive, Robinson reaches out to all his characters, taking them gently by the hand and leading them to the reader, in sometimes shocking ways.The cracking, multi-faced plot is in itself engaging and clever, with surprises and shifts in tone and pitch that elevate it far above the average. If this fourteenth entry in the series doesn't line itself up for several international awar