Playing with Fire

I think this Peter Robinson crimer is fine when it comes to plot and the story definitely improves in the second half of the book. It was first published in 2004, making it 20 years old now. I don’t know if I’ve watched too many crimers on TV, but it seems like the police should catch on to things f......more

What more can you say about a Peter Robinson novel than that the maestro is at the top of his game yet again? He and Ian Rankin have a very similar ability to immerse the reader entirely in the lives of their protagonists to the extent that it can be a struggle for readers to pull themselves back in......more

Playing With Fire was one of my favourite episodes in the DCI Banks TV series, so I was looking forward to this one. Of course there's a lot more going on in the novel than in an hour & a half of screen time. This may be Peter Robinson's 14th story for Banks, but it's as fresh as ever. The characters......more

Peter Robinson is a skilled and talented procedural crime writer, with a significant focus on characterisation. However, Playing with Fire was a little lack-lustre for me. Book #14 in the series is a good read. The clever twists and turns are evident; the procedural aspect is engaging, but the charac......more

A great read! Inspector Banks is uncanny at sensing what’s “not quite right” and following it up. I have to admit that I knew who the bad guy was probably three quarters of the way through the book. Poor Annie Cabbot loses out again! I do like this series.......more