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Peter Robinson

Gallows View: An Inspector Banks Mystery Hardcover – December 1, 1990

by Peter Robinson (Author)

3,473 ratings

Book 1 of 28: Inspector Banks

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Yorkshire Chief Inspector Alan Banks, helped by psychologist Jenny Fuller, uncovers startling secrets in the town of Eastvale, which is troubled by a Peeping Tom and mischievious teenagers on the verge of violence

Print length

225 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Scribner
Publication date

December 1, 1990
ISBN-10

0684192667
ISBN-13

978-0684192666
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The considerable appeal of this first novel, an English village police procedural, lies in Robinson's updating of the genre with realistic treatment of contemporary violence and sexual issues, while maintaining the charm and civility of the setting. Chief Inspector Alan Banks, a big-city detective newly arrived in the Yorkshire town of Eastvale, is suddenly confronted with a minor crime wave. A Peeping Tom is alarming his victims and arousing Eastvale's strident feminists. Then a pair of young toughs take to harrassing and robbing the elderly. When an old woman is murdered in her home, Banks must determine if yet a third criminal--a killer--has surfaced, and if any or all of these events are related. Complicating matters is his attraction to the psychologist brought in on the Peeping Tom case and the fact that his own wife has become one of the Peeper's targets. In a climactic moment, these two women are in simultaneous but separate danger and Banks must try and save them both. There is one final secret to be revealed in this impressive debut.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; 1st edition (December 1, 1990)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 225 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0684192667
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0684192666
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds

Best Sellers Rank: #713,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #12,923 in Police Procedurals (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3,473 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

3,473 global ratings

5 star		47%
4 star		32%
3 star		15%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Alfred H. Herget

Crisp and Clear

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 8, 2023

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Every literary element from plot, to story line, to character development, to local color, to syntax…author wastes no words, no sentiment, no confusion creating his protagonist and antagonists, their separate and opposing roles and the evolution from the commission of criminal acts to their earnest pursuit and successful solution.

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The Alan Banks character as he begins to unfold.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 3, 2013

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This novel, first published in 1987, isn't old enough to make it classify as historical fiction yet it is old enough to make the issue of women's liberation seem dated. I'm glad to say that the lack of technology and forensic investigative resources never bothered me because it was so clear that they were not yet widely used. I wanted to begin reading this series with the first book in order to decide whether to continue with the rest and before I began buying them up. Now I'm slightly confused. When viewed strictly as a police procedural it was very enjoyable and I thoroughly liked the setting of the smallish English village of Eastvale in Yorkshire. There are just enough descriptions of the countryside and places nearby to allow me to understand the geography and the types of people native to that part of England. Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks has only been in Eastvale for less than a year after transferring from London. Watching how he and his wife and two children are adapting to their new surroundings is a large part of this story. On the other hand, I didn't like the way Banks and several other characters were portrayed in their private lives. I have a clear view of Banks as a policeman, but not as a man.

You would not expect such a small town in the north of England to have quite so much crime, but there seems to be something of a crime spree going on. Since the incidents begin with seemingly small occurrences it takes a little while for the police to have enough information to effectively work on the cases. Then it becomes necessary to figure out exactly how or if they are related or connected. Pulling in the female psychologist to help with profiling the peeping tom seemed to come much too early in the story and explaining that it was done to head off any criticism from the local women's liberation movement fell rather flat when that argument over whether a man or woman should be consulted was never used by anyone.

When you read this novel you have to take into account the time period in which it was written and first released. The women's lib arguments did not seem particularly effective to me, but perhaps that is simply from hindsight. The police procedural aspects were quite well written so the novel was very much a success for me from that standpoint. I had planned to read the books in chronological order if this one proved satisfactory. Instead I think I will skip ahead in time and see if I like the way the author has grown the Alan Banks character. After all, it is Banks who must carry the story and if I find myself not wanting to read about the main character there really is no need to continue the series. Here's hoping the next book I read will give me what I'm looking for in a mystery novel. Also, I keep seeing reviews calling these novels "quick, easy reads". I read this book in less than a day. That isn't exactly what I'm looking for. If I am so involved that I just can't stand to put a book aside, that's one thing, but just being "quick and easy" is something quite different. I was involved in the portions of this book I was thoroughly enjoying so I hope the series becomes more developed along the police procedural lines.

19 people found this helpful

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S.M.C.

Enjoyable start to a series.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 24, 2022

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I assume this first book takes place between the 70s and 80s because of the references to things like cassette tapes.

Interesting characters and well plotted.

On to the next.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 7, 2022

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How does one begin a career of writing? The writer begins with their first. Alan Banks mystery series. Peter Robison's, Gallows View is THAT novel. Chief Inspector Banks is transferred from London to Eastvale, UK. Suspence is at the heart of Gallows View. Peeping Tom, Burglaries, murder, are these related in some strange way? Banks gets help from a very attractive, single, young phyc. Bank's wife becomes a peeping Tom victim. There are many avenues to investigate. A thriller in deed. Rated: "R". Very strong language and discriptive sexual activity. DP. Castro Valley, CA.

4 people found this helpful

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Tina in Florida

First in a long series

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 17, 2021

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This is the first book I have read by Peter Robinson and I can tell you, I am a fan of his work as well as the main character, Chief Inspector Alan Banks. Happy to see there are 19 in the series (so far).

Robinson’s first book, Gallows View, was written in 1987, but the material is not dated at all. Alan Banks is police detective who lived and worked in London until moving his family to a quiet Yorkshire community. But it isn’t as quiet and laid back as Banks had thought. Right off he is investigating escalating burglaries in the village, a murder and a Peeping Tom. Some of the crimes seem to be related. The burglaries get progressively more violent with one involving a rape.

Robinson fleshes out Alan Banks character so you can emphasize with him. He’s just an ordinary guy…with well honed detective skills and a keen intellect. You can see his ambivalence to give up cigarettes. You can picture the working relationships he has with his boss, Gristhorpe, and with the sergeant who had hoped to get the job Banks is in. He loves his pint, he is attracted to the pretty psychologist (Jenny) assigned to work with him and is completely devoted and faithful to this wife Sandra.

Believable characters, even the “bad guys”, and you are rewarded with a nice tie up of all the crimes. Some of it you can’t see coming until near the end of the book. I like that, when it isn’t so predictable you know all that will happen. I look forward to spending more time with Robinson’s novels.

While he is working Banks is able to stop and enjoy lunches at local pubs. What a nice way to work – stop for a few pints and have a steak and kidney pie for lunch before returning to duty. As I won’t make that particular pie, How about a nice beef, mushroom and leek pie with gravy? Check out my recipe at Squirrel Head Manor.

8 people found this helpful

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AMSTJEOWOO

Not what I thought I was buying

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 17, 2022

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I thought I was buying a new book. I got a used book. The condition was supposed to be good but I guess good condition is very subjective. The cover was a little tattered but it was there. The pages were quite yellow and several looked to have been wet but the pages were all there (I think) and not rippled or torn. There is obviously an expectation gap here between what I thought I was buying and what I got but it appears to be complete and is readable.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Alan

Boring.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 9, 2019

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I bought the first 2 books in this series. I managed to read Gallows View through to the end, somehow. I thought that maybe the 2nd. book would be better, it wasn't. I gave up half way through. I am sure that if I cared to get a guide book for the area that is written about, the buildings, fields, how to build a dry stone wall, how to try to pack & smoke a pipe, (I had the same problems 50 yrs. ago), I could read the book in about an hour. I just couldn't be bothered to miss out the padding to read the salient points. I have better things to do with my time, like watching paint dry or my lawn growing. I LOVE reading, but not these books.

13 people found this helpful

Stephen Clynes

Hooked me in from the first page.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 17, 2022

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Okay, Stephen is once again late to the party and I have never read a Peter Robinson novel before. His popular DCI Alan Banks series now runs to 27 books and when this series popped up on the Kindle Daily Deal at just 99p each I snapped some of them up. So what better place for me to start but the first book in this long running series called Gallows View.

Gallows View was written in 1987 but this story does not seem dated. It is a very British police procedural set around the fictional small town of Eastvale in the Yorkshire Dales.

I found this novel easy to read and follow, his writing style is clear and the story has an even flow. Gallows View is quite ordinary and makes for a comfortable read. There is a mix of the private and professional lives of the police team that is standard for most crime thrillers. Burglaries are routine police investigations but Gallows View is sexed up by the chase to catch a peeping Tom.

Nothing stands out with Gallows View yet it is a very pleasant reading experience told with the familiarity of an old friend. I read a lot of crime thrillers and although Gallows View is not special in any way, but what I really liked was the very British, comfortable feel. Gallows View has that beat and feel you get when listening to your favourite music genre. When I listen to Armin van Buuren do his weekly programme on You Tube - all his Trance tunes flow through me with the same pleasure I get from drinking an English Pale Ale.

Peter Robinson has written a good novel that hooked me in from the first page probably because his format and style is used in many popular television crime dramas. I found nothing special about Gallows View, it is a bread and butter police procedural but do not let that put you off. I think Gallows View is a GOOD 4 star read and I am pleased that I have bought other books in this series at a bargain price.

2 people found this helpful

Robert Crouch

Absorbing and intelligent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 12, 2018

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First published in the late 1980s, Gallows View focuses on the characters and day to day police work in a provincial Yorkshire Dales town. The story follows a series of petty crimes that escalate into more serious ones, dealing with the effects on the victims, perpetrators and police officers.

The story is well-observed and written, easy to read and follow with a gentle pace that allows you to engage with the characters and the issues they have to deal with. In many ways, it reminds me of the Frost series by R D Wingfield, which took a similar approach to the police procedural.

While I prefer the pace, tension and issues covered by today’s crime fiction, Gallows View is still an absorbing and intelligent tale that sustained my interest to the last page.

12 people found this helpful

JAYESSE

Enjoy the original Banks !!! Tv did it no favours.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 7, 2014

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Like many others I watched some of the DCI Banks series on TV and hated it first time round.
Second time round I found it pretty much the same but knew it had been rebooked for a fresh season and that piqued my curiosity as I wanted to see if the books were as bad as their screen portrayal. So I decided to start at the beginning and read my way through without having any prior knowledge about publishing dates etc.

And I am so glad I did.
I am genuinely surprised at just how good this book is. I realised quite early on that this was written a while ago,language,style etc and but when I looked at the publishing date I was again,surprised at just how early it was

What delighted me was the characterisation of not only Banks and the main characters in the story but also of the 'bit' players who were sketched in just enough to make them realistic as people.
I felt that I almost know people like them in reality.

This is not a crazed gore,high powered serial killer type read but it is a realistic look at ordinary crime and ordinary people in a rather beautiful place.
Perhaps the subtlety of 'ordinary' almost everyday crime doesn't translate to TV as it's not car chases and roaring round but as a read it's a rare treat.

This Banks has depth and is interesting and I'm sure as I read through the series there will be much more to learn.
Loved it.

13 people found this helpful

Joan C

I hated the TV programme

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 5, 2018

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I came late to Inspector Banks. I hated the TV programme, and just tried this, book 1, "in case". I have just finished book 13, about to download the next 2. Enough said?

.

14 people found this helpful

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Gallows View: An Inspector Banks Mystery Hardcover – December 1, 1990

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