SUMMER RAIN is an intriguing short story that explores the
Lake District in
England, a land of glaciated features, drystone walls and
villages nestling in valleys. In SUMMER RAIN Peter
Robinson's excellent police detective, Inspector Banks, is
for once not too busy, so when a youngish American comes
in
with some wild story about having been murdered in
Swainsdale in a previous life Banks admits that the story
piques his interest.
Whether reincarnation is real or not, an allegation of a
murder of a hippie in the 1960s might jog some memories.
Banks asks an older police officer about the tale. A young
man did die, having come to visit his parents; he was
known
to use drugs and had lived in a commune. But he just fell
down the stairs. Banks decides to keep an open mind -
because the American, Jerry Singer, had mentioned going
upstairs and falling, in connection with the case. He
heads off with Detective Constable Susan Gay to question
the parents of the deceased, Joseph Atherton, who died in
1969.
There is not much detecting in this tale, but plenty of
atmosphere. The hill farm where the young man died is a
monument to regret. Yorkshire people are tough, maybe too
tough and dogged for their own good. With the decline of
small farming, and the lack of an heir, it's easy for the
reader to wonder if the elderly folks should have gone to
an old folks' home for some ease in their last years. But
this would mean leaving not just a way of life but
everything they'd ever known.
After the end of SUMMER RAIN we get an excerpt from Peter
Robinson's next full length work, which is called In The
Dark Places and continues the popular Inspector
Banks
series. I can't wait.
Acclaimed by Michael Connelly as "a man for all seasons,"
Inspector Alan Banks is among the most beloved characters
in contemporary fiction. And now Banks confronts one of
the most puzzling cases of his career— when a tourist
claims that several decades earlier, in a previous life,
he witnessed a murder committed nearby.
Banks doesn't believe in the supernatural. Or
superstition. But when evidence of a crime comes to light,
he begins to wonder: How did this mysterious visitor know
about a killing possibly committed before he was born?
Ingenious, atmospheric, and poignant, 'Summer Rain' is
perfect for both longtime Peter Robinson fans and those
who have yet to discover one of the world's most popular
mystery writers.
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