The First Cut

Chief Inspector Alan Banks finds himself up against a diabolical arsonist in this electrifying novel of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson.In the early hours of the morning, a man reports a fire on two old canal boats. One of the firefighters notices the use of accelerant at the scene and calls the police, but by the time Inspector Banks arrives, the fire brigade have put out the flames and only the smoldering wreckage remains. A body has been found on each barge, and all the evidence points towards a deliberate arson attack. One of the victims is Tina, a young girl with a drug addiction and a terrible past who had been living with her boyfriend Mark. The other is Tom, an artist who had been living alone. Now, with little evidence to go on and a number of possible suspects, including Tina's boyfriend, the local 'lock-keeper' who reported the fire, and Tina's own father, Banks must begin to delve into the lives of the victims, and to discover who could have wanted them out of the way forever...From the master of psychological suspense, Peter Robinson, comes a mind-bending thriller of secrets and murder.

On a summer night, an attractive woman hurtles north in a blue Peugeot with an address in her pocket, while, back in London, a desperate man leaves a late-night phone message on his brother's answering machine. By sunrise, the woman is found in her car, shot, execution-style, through the head.

Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot arrives on the scene and discovers a slip of paper in the dead woman's pocket that bears the name of her colleague and erstwhile lover, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. Banks, meanwhile -
withdrawn after nearly dying in the fire that destroyed his home - has gone missing just when he's needed most, and has left plenty of questions behind.

As Annie struggles to determine if Banks is safe - and what role he may have played in the woman's murder - Banks himself investigates the mysterious disappearance of his estranged brother, Roy. Working from Roy's swank apartment, Banks makes the rounds to Roy's old haunts and slowly inhabits the life of his...

The Washington Post - Patrick Anderson

Banks admits that he had assumed that prostitutes were in the business by choice, but the Interpol man shows him that is often not the case. In exploring the issue of sexual slavery, Robinson joins other crime writers, and many journalists, in casting a light on dark corners of our society. John Lescroart's The Motive, reviewed here recently, took a hard look at another urgent issue, prosecutorial misconduct, as have numerous lawyers who have turned to fiction. It is heartening to see first-rate writers like Robinson and Lescroart becoming, in effect, muckrakers, for ours is a world with an inexhaustible supply of muck that needs raking.

On a warm summer night, an attractive woman hurtles north in a blue Peugeot with a hastily scrawled address in her pocket, while, back in London, a desperate man leaves an urgent late-night phone message on his brother's answering machine. By sunrise the next morning, the woman is found inside her car along an otherwise peaceful country lane, shot, execution-style, through the head.Welcome to the idyllic Yorkshire Dales, where Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot arrives on the scene and discovers, to her surprise, a slip of paper in the dead woman's pocket that bears the name of her colleague and erstwhile lover, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. Banks, meanwhile -- already haunted and withdrawn after nearly dying in the fire that destroyed his home -- has gone missing just when he's needed most, and has left plenty of questions behind.As Annie struggles to determine whether or not Banks is safe -- and what role he may have played in the woman's murder -- Banks himself investigates the mysterious disappearance of his estranged brother, Roy, whose late-night call for help brings Banks back to London. Working from Roy's swank apartment, Banks makes the rounds to Roy's old haunts and slowly inhabits the life of his younger brother -- the black sheep of the family, who always seemed to sail a little too close to the wind. As the trail of clues about Roy's life and associations draws Banks into a dark circle of conspiracy and corruption, mobsters and murder, Banks suddenly realizes he's running out of time to save Roy, and by digging too deep, he may be exposing himself and his family to the same -- possibly deadly -- danger.

Fire—It consumes futures and pasts in a terrified heartbeat, devouring damning secrets while leaving even greater mysteries in the ashes.

The night sky is ablaze as flames engulf two barges moored side by side on an otherwise empty canal. On board are the blackened remains of two human beings. To the seasoned eye, this horror was no accident, the method so cruel and calculated that only the worst sort of fiend could have committed it. There are shocking secrets to be uncovered in the charred wreckage, grim evidence of lethal greed and twisted hunger, and of nightmare occurrences within the private confines of family. A terrible feeling is driving police inspector Alan Banks in his desperate hunt for answers—an unshakable fear that this killer's work will not be done until Banks's own world is burned to the ground.

The New York Times

Although Banks has adapted well to the advanced methods of forensic science (he's a quick study on gas chromatography), his patient and insightful style of detection lends itself more to the art of the personal interview. ''He had a knack for the thrust and parry, or the subtle persuasiveness of a good interrogation,'' writes Robinson, whose own talents in this department account for both the quickness of mind that makes Banks such a keen protagonist and the diversity of tongue that gives the secondary characters -- from inarticulate teenagers to bloviating art experts -- their lively individuality. — Marilyn Stasio

On a summer night, an attractive woman hurtles north in a blue Peugeot with an address in her pocket, while, back in London, a desperate man leaves a late-night phone message on his brother's answering machine. By sunrise, the woman is found in her car, shot, execution-style, through the head. Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot arrives on the scene and discovers a slip of paper in the dead woman's pocket that bears the name of her colleague and erstwhile lover, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. Banks, meanwhile--withdrawn after nearly dying in the fire that destroyed his home--has gone missing just when he's needed most, and has left plenty of questions behind. As Annie struggles to determine if Banks is safe--and what role he may have played in the woman's murder--Banks himself investigates the mysterious disappearance of his estranged brother, Roy Inspector Alan Banks heads to London after receiving a disturbing call from his estranged brother, while back in Eastvale, detective Annie Cabbot's investigation of a young woman's death uncovers a connection to someone close to Annie Investigating a dual arson case that has claimed three lives on an English canal, Detective Inspector Banks teams up with fellow investigator Annie Cabot and discovers that the victims are linked to an art forgery operation Murder cuts close to home in this powerful new tale of suspense from "a gifted creator ... Roy's life and associations dreaw Banks into a dark circle of conspiracy and corruption, mobsters and murder Inspector Alan Banks tracks two seemingly separate murder cases. Things get strange when one stiff turns out to be Alan's estranged brother and the other turns out to be Roy's girlfriend While investigating the disappearance of his estranged brother, Inspector Banks is drawn into a murder case being investigated by Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot. Title from e-book title screen (viewed on Feb. 15, 2005) Title from ebook title screen (viewed on June 1, 2006).