Review: A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson

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A Dedicated Man by Peter Robinson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Good gracious - "murder in Yorkshire" appears to be an entire mystery subgenre. I never knew what I was missing.

The back cover of one of the Reginald Hill novels that I checked out of the library suggested that I would like it if I liked Peter Robinson. I liked the Reginald Hill novel, so I decided to try Peter Robinson.

I did enjoy this book. It's a good solid detective story - I particularly liked the fact that while I didn't guess the identity of the murderer, once it was revealed I was able to think back and notice all the little clues that pointed in that direction. There were some fun characters, too, although I'm not quite sure what to make of Robinson's depiction of Sally Lumb, a 16-year old girl. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't much like Sally when I was 16, but then again, I can't make any claims to having been a typical 16 year-old girl. (Is there such a thing as a typical 16 year-old girl? I'm not sure.)

I'm also not 100% sold on Robinson's Inspector Banks. His being a police officer from London in a small Northern town gives him an interesting outsider status, but it sometimes feels like Robinson is trying a little bit too hard to give him quirks, dwelling on his fondness for opera and folk music and playing with toy trains a little too much. Banks even spends most of this book trying to learn how to smoke a pipe, partly because he's trying to give up cigarettes, but partly because he seems to think that he needs a shtick. Still, I'm willing to see how the character settles out over another book or two.

If I had to pick only one writer of mysteries set in Yorkshire, Hill would be the clear winner based on what I've read so far. However, since there's room on my reading list for more than one, I'll be reading at least a few more of Robinson's books as well.

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