‘A Dedicated Man’ is the 2nd novel in the Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson and already at number two we are starting to see the character of Alan Banks evolve into the man we know later in the series.
The body of a local historian – Harry Steadman has been found buried by a drystone wall in his home town of Helmthorpe in the Yorkshire Dales. And, as Banks starts to investigate he can’t find anyone who didn’t like and respect Harry. Or, are the locals simply shutting out Banks because he is an outsider?
Banks has to dig deep into Harry’s life to try and find a reason for his murder. This of course involves interviewing and re-interviewing those closest to him – his wife, singer and long-term friend (and extremely beautiful) Penny Cartwright, his editor and friend Michael Ramsden, and some of his more recent friends. It also seems to involve a lot of drinking and smoking and trying to fit in with the locally born police.
Eventually, it is 16 year old Sally Lumb, with her adolescent romantic notions of life, who starts to get an idea of what is going on. But, will her meddling land her in trouble.
Banks is in a race to identify the killer before the killer can strike again. And he doesn’t have too many clues to lead him to the truth.
Of course, when Banks did eventually solve the case, it all seemed to make perfect sense. But, Robinson managed to take us there with a perfect build-up of tension and plenty of red-herrings along the way.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the Peter Robinson books that I’ve read so far. I’ve seen a few Inspector Banks episodes on TV, but Robinson’s character descriptions are so powerful that the Inspector Banks I see while reading overshadows the TV version.
I’m loving the series and can’t wait to continue with the next book – ‘A Necessary End’.
Book Published 1988