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A Dedicated Man (An Inspector Banks Mystery) (Inspector Banks series Book 2) by [Peter Robinson]

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Peter Robinson

A Dedicated Man (An Inspector Banks Mystery) (Inspector Banks series Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Peter Robinson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

5,401 ratings

Book 2 of 28: Inspector Banks

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An admired local historian is found dead and half-buried in a farmer’s field in the village of Gratly. A slimy land-developer, an editor, a local thriller writer, and a beautiful folk singer are all figures from the historian’s past, and all of them are suspects. Sally, a young would-be actress, knows more than she’s telling and wants to solve the case herself, but may find herself in danger. There’s trouble brewing beneath Gratly’s idyllic surface, and Chief Inspector Alan Banks must get to the bottom of the village’s secrets. Second in the critically acclaimed Inspector Banks Mystery Series.

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356 pages
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English
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Publisher

Scribner
Publication date

November 19, 2013
File size

3404 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Detective chief inspector Alan Banks investigates the death of a well-to-do archeologist, while author Robinson vividly evokes English village life.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From AudioFile

The body of a well-liked academic is unearthed in a farmer's field. Enter Detective Alan Banks, who is dedicated to solving the puzzle surrounding Harry Steadman's death. Banks meticulously interviews the Swainsdale locals, including the dead man's wife, his pub pals, an aspiring actress, an author, and a folk singer newly returned to the tiny, taciturn community. Slowly but surely, Banks separates fact from fabrication until the killer is identified--although not before another murder occurs. Narrator James Langton makes listeners feel right at home in the village's country cottages, lovers' lanes, and manor houses. Langton delivers interior monologues and red herrings with equal finesse. The second in the Inspector Banks series is a pleasantly methodical police procedural. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

A dedicated man is dead in the Yorkshire dales -- a former university professor, wealthy historian and archaeologist who loved his adopted village. It is a particularly heinous slaying, considering the esteem in which the victim, Harry Steadman, was held by his neighbors and colleagues -- by everyone, it seems, except the one person who bludgeoned the life out of the respected scholar and left him half-buried in a farmer's field.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks left the violence of London behind for what he hoped would be the peaceful life of a country policeman. But the brutality of Steadman's murder only reinforces one ugly, indisputable truth: that evil can flourish in even the most bucolic of settings. There are dangerous secrets hidden in the history of this remote Yorkshire community that have already led to one death. And Banks will have to plumb a dark and shocking local past to find his way to a killer before yesterday's sins cause more blood to be shed.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Library Journal

After an old Yorkshire farmer discovers a half-buried body in his pasture, excitement interrupts routine in the small community of Swainsdale. Series detective Alan Banks ( Gallows View , 1990) begins investigating the habits and background of the victim, a dedicated professor who left his job upon receiving a sizeable inheritance. Suspicion falls on his charmless wife, his long-time publisher, his local drinking buddies, a younger woman, and others. Before Banks can narrow the list, the murderer strikes again. Readers of English village mysteries should enjoy Robinson's promising second step.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire but now spends most of his time in Canada. He is the winner of numerous awards in the United States, Britain and Canada. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"'The novels of Peter Robinson are chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced works of art' DENNIS LEHANE" --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

A dedicated man--a former university professor, wealthy historian, and archaeologist who loved his adopted village--is dead in the wild outdoors.It is a particularly heinous slaying, considering the esteem in which the victim, Harry Steadman, was held by his neighbors and colleagues--by everyone, it seems, except the one person who bludgeoned the life out of the respected scholar and left him half-buried in a farmer's field.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks left the violence of London behind for what he hoped would be the peaceful life of a country policeman. But the brutality of Steadman's murder only reinforces one ugly, indisputable truth: Evil can flourish in even the most beautiful of settings. There are dangerous secrets hidden in the history of this remote community that have already led to one death. And Banks will have to plumb a dark and shocking local past to find his way to a killer before yesterday's sins cause more blood to be shed.

--Nevada Barr --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"A deftly constructed plot.... Robinson's skill with the British police procedural has been burnished to a high gloss." ---Chicago Tribune --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Who killed workaholic industrial archeologist/local historian Harry Steadman of Swainsdale and carted his body off to be buried near a crumbling wall? His plain, well-provided-for, well-alibied widow Emma? His publisher, coauthor, and longtime friend Michael Ramsden? His drinking mate, mystery writer Jack Barker? Pop singer Penny Cartwright, whom he'd spent an idyllic summer with (platonically?) after his marriage ten years ago? Quiet, competent Chief Inspector Alan Banks (Gallows View) is sure that the secret to Steadman's death lies back in that summer, but his hunch pays off too late to save an aspiring witness turned second victim. A tidy, articulate, well-observed sample of the current retro- Thirties British school--there's even a superfluous map of Swainsdale- -that carries you along on a rising tide of suppressed passion to the uninspired denouement. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

"'The novels of Peter Robinson are chilling, evocative, deeply nuanced works of art' DENNIS LEHANE" --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CRASOD6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner (November 19, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 19, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3404 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 356 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #93,983 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #650 in International Mystery & Crime (Kindle Store)
- #955 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- #971 in International Mystery & Crime (Books)

Customer Reviews:
5,401 ratings

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Peter Robinson

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Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and now divides his time between Richmond and Canada. Peter has written twenty-four books in the Number One Bestselling DCI Banks series as well as two collections of short stories and three standalone novels, the most recent of which is Number One bestseller BEFORE THE POISON. Peter's critically acclaimed crime novels have won numerous awards in Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe, and are published in translation all over the world.

Peter's DCI Banks is now a major ITV1 drama by Left Bank productions. Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart, Ballykissangel) plays Inspector Banks, and Andrea Lowe (The Bill, Murphy's Law) plays DI Annie Cabbot. The first series aired in Autumn 2011 with an adaptation of FRIEND OF THE DEVIL, the second in Autumn 2012, and the third in February 2014.

Peter's standalone novel BEFORE THE POISON won the IMBA's 2013 Dilys Award as well as the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. This was Peter's sixth Arthur Ellis award.

Find out more from Peter's website, www.inspectorbanks.com, or visit his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/peterrobinsonauthor.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

5,401 global ratings

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2 star		3%
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Top reviews from the United States

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Katherine Y

Second in the murder mystery series featuring DCI Banks has an unlikely victim

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 23, 2021

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How does an admired former university professor end up buried under a stone wall, the victim of blunt force head trauma? That’s what DCI Alan Banks must determine in this second novel featuring him as a Yorkshire transplant from London. Everyone Banks interviews who was close to the deceased man named Harry Steadman says the same thing. He was no arrogant, educated snob. He was a humble man interested in trudging around the countryside, looking for old lead mines, and investigating ancient Roman forts. He and his best friends always gathered at an unremarkable local bar to argue, exchange news and gossip, while lifting a pint or two. Those friends include a best-selling writer of pulpy mysteries, a retired doctor, and a brash local entrepreneur.
Harry Steadman and his wife, Emma, had been coming to the town for years, first as visitors to a bed and breakfast before buying the property, which they had turned into their primary residence. The 16-year-old son of the bed and breakfast owners who used to tag along with his girlfriend on Harry’s local expeditions grew up to be Harry’s partner and publisher. Together they were working on a book about local history. Other locals knew Harry from his frequent lectures at the high school. Banks makes the rounds talking to anyone who knew Harry and concludes they were well hidden if Harry had any enemies.
Unbeknownst to Banks, a 16-year-old girl named Sally Lumb is also interested in solving Harry’s murder. Sally is convinced she is on the road to fame and fortune as an actress or model. She does have talent, especially in making herself look older through the skillful application of makeup. Sally wears makeup to get into bars in nearby towns with her boyfriend. Her parents disapprove of the boy, so she meets him on the sly. One of these meetings takes place in a shepherd’s hut on the night of Harry’s murder. Sally thinks she heard a car close by and noted the time she heard it. The following day Harry’s body was found near the hut. Thinking of all the attention she will get from her friends and the notoriety she will achieve if she bests Bank’s efforts in solving the crime, Sally ignorantly puts herself in the killer’s crosshairs.
Despite the well-crafted plot and complex characters, I found a point about midway through the book when the story started to drag. Harry doesn’t make for the most interesting murder victim because he didn’t seem to have any secrets, vices, or problems. Sally, the self-appointed sleuth, makes a far more interesting character, and the story picks up when she does her own investigating. The ending is satisfying, and the case is a challenging one to solve. The reader may find the conclusion to be a little bit of a data dump, as the case’s fine details are sewn up in an almost too tidy package. Most readers who like police procedurals and don’t mind a little bit of uneven pacing should enjoy this book. Although it’s second in the DCI Banks series, it can be read as a standalone book.

3 people found this helpful

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Alina Radu

Good mystery

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 27, 2014

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I love a good mystery, from A Christie to E George and Jo Nesbo, I've read lots of them. This was my first P Robinson book. I thought it was quite good, good attention to detail, atmosphere, and a good main character. Unlike other similar characters he seems to be quite a normal guy, with a normal familiy life and a normal, very human boss - which is not so usual in this kind of books and which I liked for a change :))
I liked the way the story was developed, the course of the investigation and the relationship between the characters. I have already downloaded my second P Robinson - I guess this means something :)

7 people found this helpful

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Steph s

Awesome as always

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 23, 2020

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Peter Robinson has become my favorite mystery author! I started 30 years with the classics such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers, began getting interested in more modern-day English policing. This was one of the few I hadn't read by this author yet, and loved it as always. Can't help but get very wrapped up in Banks's life , so well written!

2 people found this helpful

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zorba

Very Delightful Police Procedural

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 6, 2007

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Peter Robinson is a winner. He quickly immerses you in his story, tantalizes you with suspects and plot twists, and accompanies it all with excellent description of the Yorkshire countryside. He makes you feel you live there. He makes you feel you know the people he writes about. And beyond that, he rarely indulges in cheap plot tricks and serendipitous gimmicks to move his plot along. He unfolds the story at a nice, slow (but not too slow) pace. All in all, he's a masterful writer who puts a lot of effort into delivering a top-notch novel. And this is one of his best.

One person found this helpful

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Heather wain

Second book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 1, 2016

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This is my second Peter Robinson book and I enjoyed it as much as the first. One murder then another and only a few characters in the storyline as suspects. We were given snippets of information which lead us to the believe we knew who it was. And we did. I will purchase his next book to see if Peter Robinson makes it harder for us to sift through the evidence. Definitely worth reading.

One person found this helpful

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Mark Hunter

Love Peter Robinson

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 3, 2022

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Just as good as the mini series

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 31, 2022

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I just started this book...not sure whether or not I like it.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 12, 2021

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Moderately interesting but I kept getting characters confused. Banks, Barnes, Barker; Harry Hatchley, Harold . several characters were well developed
Like Penny and Sally, but we
knew surprisingly little aboutut the perpetrators. A slow moving story could be expected to yield more. I would read more of this author for the details of geography but would like some help with characters.

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Stephen Clynes

A Dedicated Man was written way back in 1988 but do not let that put you off!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 3, 2022

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The body of a well-liked local historian is found half-buried under a drystone wall near the village of Helmthorpe, Swainsdale. Who on earth would want to kill such a thoughtful, dedicated man?

A Dedicated Man is the second book in the DCI Alan Banks series and I feel that it can be read as a standalone, although I prefer to read books in order of publication date, whether they are part of a series or not.

A Dedicated Man was written way back in 1988 but do not let that put you off! It has stood the test of time and I enjoyed reading about how DCI Alan Banks solved this crime. Strange going so back in time though as DCI Alan Banks drives a Ford Cortina - remember them? Peter Robinson does not go into detail over which of the 4 versions of the Cortina Alan drove but it did have a cassette tape player for music - remember them?

I liked the Britishness of this story and how Peter wrote about the details of our culture, for example…

He rhymed ‘scones’ with ‘on’, not, like a southerner, with ‘own’.

… A Dedicated Man shows how difficult it is for the police to solve a crime. The police are limited to the evidence found at the crime scene but if a murder was committed somewhere else to where the body was found, what chance have they got of solving the crime?

I enjoyed reading A Dedicated Man, it is written in the same comfortable British style as the first novel and with the private and professional lives of the police team. There was good character development and plenty of suspects to tease the reader. All leads and suspicions were explored and still it seemed that this murder would not be solved. Nothing pointed strongly to any character, anyone could have done this murder. Perhaps the murder was not done by anyone the victim knew but a stranger? I could not work out who committed this murder and was at a loss. Then when I read page 317 of 356, a comment made by one character gave me the answer to who committed the crime! However, when I got to the end of this book, my suspect was innocent! Whether Peter put this comment on page 317 as a deliberate piece of misdirection or I simply took it out of context, I will never know!

I enjoyed reading A Dedicated Man and consider it to be a GOOD 4 star read.

Bumblebee

Old Fashioned

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 17, 2021

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‘A Dedicated Man’ by Peter Robinson
An old fashioned tale of old fashioned characters set in the dales of Yorkshire where one of the locals has been murdered and there appears to be many suspects but little evidence to convict anyone. Plenty of flowery overpowering descriptions throughout of the Yorkshire dales, villages and countryside such ‘the walls stood out like pearl necklaces on an emerald velvet cushion’. The book meanders on like the local streams and eventually a solution to the murder is happened upon when it was obvious it could only be one of four locals. A simple murder mystery if you would call it that.

2 people found this helpful

Alan in Durham

Unhelpful perspective

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 31, 2018

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I read GALLOWS VIEW and did not enjoy it.
Since then I have read latest Ann Cleeves with her 2 central protagonists whose TV characters do not live in communities populated by all who appear in her books. Those differences came to mind as I started to read A DEDICATED MAN and hit the first description of BANKS. A man just about tall enough to make required height. Not Stephen Tompkinson physique. Shades of Tom Cruise being Jack Reacher.
And that was my problem reading the first book, I think, in not being able to set aside the very urban TV series for Sgt Cluff-like rural Yorkshire. I have managed that with CLEEVES and once I ignored the comparison it was an enjoyable read.

3 people found this helpful

Damaskcat

A Dedicated Man

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 10, 2014

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Harry Steadman is found dead under a partly collapsed dry stone wall. This isn't just an unfortunate accident as it first appears to be but murder as he was dead before he was partly buried by the wall. But no one has a bad word to say about him so why was he murdered and who by? DCI Alan Banks naturally starts with his nearest and dearest and his close circle of friends but nothing obvious comes to light and everyone seems to have had an alibi anyway.

Gradually as Banks and his team keep asking questions a complex web of relationships in uncovered which may have a lot more hidden tensions than it at first appears to have. What about a teenager who may know more than she thinks she does and is it wise for her to start investigating on her own?

This is a complex story with a well constructed plot and some excellent writing and likeable characters. The Yorkshire fell background is well realised too. This series is definitely growing on me. I like Banks himself as a character with his tendency to find himself attracted to female witnesses and his liking for classical music. I don't think that the series necessarily needs to be read in order of publication and this novel could definitely have been read as a standalone story.

7 people found this helpful

pphillips

A slow burner

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 29, 2013

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A Dedicated Man is the second Peter Robinson book to include Alan Banks his Yorkshire based detective. Banks is now fully settled in Yorkshire and in this book he is chasing the killer of a local historian who seems to have been universally popular. Banks soon realises that the answer to this murder may lie in the past and begins to dig deeper into the past of the victim and his friends.

A Dedicated Man was a good read. Robinson is a master at painting the scene in his books and this book was very much set in Yorkshire. The descriptions of the Yorkshire Dales are a real highlight and provide a wonderful backdrop for the story. Sadly I found the story itself to be a little lacking this time around. The book is set at a very slow pace and the middle section seemed to drag a bit. Banks as a character is very likable and I look forward to reading the next book to see where Robinson takes him next.

I would recommend this book to people that are a fan of the crime genre. However I personally felt it was a step back from the first book Gallows View. It was in no way a poor book but the pacing was an issue for me.

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