[b:Cold is the Grave|77514|Cold is the Grave (Inspector Banks, #11)|Peter Robinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1409598372l/77514._SY75_.jpg|98565]

Another dandy entry into this series of Inspector Banks.

If you're reading this series chronologically, this is the best one yet; in fact, skip the previous books and start with this one. Robinson has finally got a female character right (Annie), and maybe now the tedious Sandra has completely disappeared. The plot of this one is really good as well. I just wish Banks would give up smoking!

My blog post about this book is at this link.

Very intriguing plot and well developed characters. Inspector Banks likes a wide range of music which adds dimension to the book. The story line was a bit depressing and toward the end some of the detail was tedious, but overall a good read. I'd like to try "In A Dry Season" by Robinson since it won several rewards. Some passages I found spot on...Chap 2: "Banks had aslo been impressed by (Graham) Greene's writings on childhood, about how we are all 'emigrants from a count we remember too little of," how important to use are the gragments we do remember clearly and how we spend our time trying to reconstruct ourselves from these." Chap 9 Annie Cabbot: "The problem was that reason has no foothold at four or five in the morning; at those hours, reason sleeps and the mind breeds monsters: monsters of fear, of paranoia." Chap 11 Annie talking about cliff walks with her father when she was young: "How he used to point out examples of interesting perspectives, shapes, textures and colors in the landscape, how he was always stopping to sketch frantically into the book he carried with him, eyes and brain tuned to his fingers." Chap 14 Banks talking about the 23rd Psalm: "...The valley of the shadow of death...always moved Banks...though he would have been hard-pressed to explain what it meant to him." "So much death. Sometimes his head seemed full of the voices of the dead."

This is the 11th Peter Robinson book i've read featuring chief inspector Alan banks. I really like the writing style, but the ending was pretty obvious. I love the character development throughout the series, and this one is no different. His personal and professional lives interweave as do the cases he is working on. I enjoyed this a lot.

A notable divergence from the usual Banks' mystery.

I can definitely understand why this book is not loved by everyone. The main case Banks and his team work on is less than enthralling, and the solution is a little too convoluted. On top of that, there is a second case presented to the readers and this one holds very little interest and adds absolutely nothing to the story. At this point I can see you are probably thinking why then I am giving this book four stars, so I'll explain.

This book represents a huge leap forward in terms of character development. Inspector Banks becomes a more complex character, and we get to see what is going on in the relationship with his estranged wife and with his former lover, Annie. Also, there is quite a bit of material having to do with his kids, especially the daughter, since there are parallels to Emily, the young girl at the center of the main case. On top of this, we get to see some of the events from Banks' childhood that shaped his adult life and his caring for others and his job.

The character development is not limited to Banks either, since we do get a decent portion of the plot having to do with Annie's past. A figure from the past shows up and with it there is a torrent of emotion pouring in, having to do with a traumatic event in her past.

Even though I did not enjoy the pure mystery aspect of the book that much, it was still OK, and I breezed through this sections in order to reach those having to do with the personal stories. This is a book that will definitely be more enjoyable for those readers that have been following this series in order and can appreciate the aspects I enjoyed. If you are looking for a stand alone mystery to read, other works by Peter Robinson will probably be a better choice.