Peter Robinson, crime writer whose award-winning DCI Banks novels were unafraid to tackle gritty subjects – obituary
msn.comMarcel Berlins in 2005. “Robinson’s (and Banks’s) quiet style has perhaps led to his being underrated; but make no mistake, he’s among the very best. ”Robinson’s fortunes began to turn in 2004 when his new publisher Hodder & Stoughton, who had poached him from Pan Macmillan in a rumoured £1.
4 million four-book deal, began an aggressive marketing campaign. Readers began to fall for Banks in the hundreds of thousands.
Part of the appeal of Banks – a London copper who had transferred to Yorkshire for a quieter life only to find the Dales lousy with corpses – was his buttoned-up nature, with readers keeping on buying the books in the hope of getting to the bottom of his character.
As the years passed Banks was promoted to superintendent, but became ever more dour as his marriage failed. “However, while he has become more of a loner, he hasn’t lost his sense of idealism,” Robinson declared in 2010. “Despite his flaws, it’s that moral core which makes him attractive, I think, to readers. ”Robinson was always admired for his skill in constructing plots, but the books also became more engaged with serious issues as the series progressed.
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