Peter Robinson: R.I.P.

Such sad news. Peter Robinson, 72, died on October 4 after a short illness. I always enjoyed listening to him at mystery conferences where we often had a chance to chat. The Inspector Bank books were ones I always looked forward to, the ones that moved to the top of the TBR, when they arrived. A new Inspector Banks mystery, Standing in the Shadows, will be out in March.

Peter Robinson was nominated for virtually every mystery award -- Edgar, Arthur Ellis, Anthony, Barry, Macavity, Hammett, and Dilys. He won the Arthur Ellis, Barry, and Dilys awards. He was named a Grand Master by the Crime Writers of Canada in 2010.

The DCI Alan Banks series of books, were set in  the fictional Yorkshire town of Eastvale. The stories were adapted into an ITV series with Stephen Tompkinson, which ran from 2011 to 2017. Robinson emigrated to Canada in 1974 after studying English Literature at the University of Leeds. He lived in Toronto with his wife Sheila Halladay.

Robinson also wrote short stories and poetry. 

His editor and managing editor of Hodder & Stoughton Carolyn Mays said he was a combination of "all the best bits" of his Alan Banks character. "Thoughtful and passionate about justice, he had fine taste and a totally down-to-earth view of the world." 

He will be missed.

Peter Robinson's Bad Boy: Thriller or Whodunit?

I just finished an ARC of Peter Robinson's Bad Boy, the latest in his Banks' series. It'll be out in August in the UK and September in the US. I thought it was terrific. Rather than say too much about it--yet, here's the trailer with Peter Robinson talking about Bad Boy. I'll be reviewing it closer to publication.



Hat Tip to Karen Meeks at Eurocrime -trailer

Inspector Banks and Aurelio Zen mysteries on TV

After the success of the Wallander mysteries, Left Bank Pictures has commissioned three Aurelio Zen Mysteries (Michael Dibden) and one Inspector Banks (Peter Robinson) drama. Yay!

The Zen mysteries are set in Italy and feature a middle-aged detective who in the early novels lives with his mother in a Rome apartment. Ratking is being adapted by Peter Berry, Vendetta by Simon Burke, and Dead Lagoon by Patrick Harbison. Robinson's 2002 novel Aftermath is being adapted by Robert Murphy. This film will feature Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, of course, who lives in the Yorkshire town of Eastvale. It is hope that the two detective mysteries will become long-running franchise. YES!

For more info, read the article in the Guardian (UK).

The big question now is who will be cast as these detectives?