Not Safe After Dark: And Other Stories (Inspector Banks) - Softcover

Robinson, Peter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062673890 ISBN 13: 9780062673893

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2017

Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sleeping in the Ground comes this brilliantly nuanced short story collection of twenty stories—most never before published in the US, and one of them an Edgar winner—which also features three Inspector Banks tales.

Peter Robinson pens thrilling tales rich with keen observations, pitch perfect dialogue, and shocking plot twists that have fascinated readers all over the world and made him one of the greatest suspense novelists alive. His acclaimed novels featuring Detective Inspector Alan Banks rank among the most celebrated police procedural series in modern fiction. In Not Safe After Dark and Other Stories, Robinson showcases once again his extraordinary talents with a collection of twenty stories, including three featuring Inspector Banks.

In “Going Back”, Inspector Banks’ trip to celebrate his parents’ Golden Anniversary reveals how evil can wear many disguises. In the Edgar Award-winning “Missing in Action”, the disappearance of a young boy in the early days of WWII sparks a mob mentality with chilling results. “Innocence” captures the desperate plight of a man trapped by a set of coincidences that derail his life and lead him down a path he was destined to travel. The title story, Not Safe After Dark, is an exhilarating tale with a sudden conclusion that will leave readers’ hearts pounding.

Not Safe After Dark and Other Stories deftly explores the darkest edges of humanity in which everyday people must commit desperate acts as they face fear, temptation, and impulses too irresistible to control.

“American readers who know Robinson only through his nine Inspector Banks novels are in for a treat. . . . The finish throughout is faultless.”—Kirkus Reviews

Publisher's note: Peter Robinson is both a widely acclaimed and internationally bestselling novelist and an Edgar-winning author of short stories. This special edition of Not Safe After Dark collects 20 of his finest short stories -- previously published in different editions under the same title, but never before available in its entirety in the US. The new Not Safe After Dark is a publication to be celebrated by Robinson fans and newcomers alike.

About this title

Review:

Peter Robinson is an English-born Canadian mystery writer whose work has been popular on both sides of the Atlantic. His novels featuring Yorkshire policeman Alan Banks include Gallow's View, Wednesday's Child, Blood at the Root, and, most recently, In a Dry Season. Like many of the genre's most accomplished practitioners, he is also an excellent short story writer, and, thanks to the special mission of the small Norfolk, Virginia, publishing house, Crippen & Landru, nearly all of Robinson's story output to date has been collected in this splendidly readable, highly intelligent volume of 13 tales. Not Safe After Dark contains three Inspector Banks stories that, like the longer works featuring that character, are contemporary plots with that Golden Age feel so cherished by many readers. There is also Robinson's first private-eye story, "Some Land in Florida," and his first historically set tale, "The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage" (inspired, he says, by his interest in Thomas Hardy), which was good enough to be selected for the prestigious annual volume of The Best American Mystery Stories.

One of the features that most interested me about this collection is how comfortable Robinson is in the different settings he selects. Whether it's the British Midlands or the condo coasts of Florida, Peter Robinson is such a keen observer of human nature that he keeps readers satisfied wherever he takes them. It is worth noting that in "Some Land in Florida," his private investigator, Jack Erwin, is given to sitting under the palm trees, smoking a cigar, nursing a whiskey and reading Robertson Davies!

From the Back Cover:

One of the greatest suspense novelists alive, Peter Robinson pens thrilling tales rich with keen observations, pitch-perfect dialogue and shocking plot twists that have fascinated readers all over the world. His acclaimed novels featuring Detective Inspector Alan Banks rank among the most celebrated police procedural series in modern fiction. In this new edition of Not Safe After Dark, Robinson showcases once again his extraordinary talents with a collection of twenty stories, including three featuring Inspector Banks. In disappearance of a young boy in the early days of World War II sparks a mob mentality with chilling results. captures the desperate plight of a man trapped by a set of coincidences that derail his life and lead him down a path he was destined to travel. The title story, "Not Safe After Dark," is an exhilarating tale with a sudden conclusion that will leave readers' hearts pounding.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0062673890
• ISBN 13: 9780062673893
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496