Peter Robinson, best known for his novels featuring Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, died October 4 at age 72. Born in Leeds, where much of his fiction was set, Robinson emigrated to Canada to continue his studies after completing an English degree at the University of Leeds, and lived in Canada for the rest of his life. His debut novel, Gallows View, which was published by Viking in 1987 and introduced DCI Banks, was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award in the U.K. and the Crime Writers of Canada best first novel award. A Dedicated Man followed in 1988 and was shortlisted for the CWC's Arthur Ellis Award. Robinson also wrote novels outside the DCI Banks series, plus short stories, poems and several articles on writing.
Robinson's editor, Hodder managing director Carolyn Mays, described him as a combination of all the best bits of DCI Banks, "thoughtful and passionate about justice" and with "fine taste and a totally down-to-earth view of the world.... Peter Robinson was an immensely talented writer over a very wide range, from poetry to short stories, noir thrillers to more literary works. He was in fact Dr. Robinson, with a Ph.D. in literature, and we saw glimpses of that, and sometimes his poetry, in his novels--as well of course as his very eclectic love of music, shared by Banks.
"His novels are superbly plotted (one reviewer said he had the precision of a Swiss watchmaker) and the settings are vivid and fully real, but it's the richness and depth of his characters that keep the readers--including me--coming back for more." The final Inspector Banks novel, Standing in the Shadows, is scheduled for publication next March. The first Banks novel, Gallows View, is available in the U.S. from William Morrow Paperbacks ($15.99).
