Last night on PBS, I watched my first ever episode of the British crime series DCI Banks and bit my nails for an hour and a half. The show's writing and acting were excellent. What tension! If you have a chance to watch the series, I highly recommend doing so.
The DCI Banks television series is based on Dr. Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels. The first TV episodes aired in Britain in 2010 on ITV, and now, this January, PBS is running the series. The show stars Stephen Tompkinson (who, by the way, I think looks a lot like Peter Robinson...) Check your local PBS schedule to see if the series is showing in your area.
The Inspector Banks stories, both novel and TV, feature Alan Banks, a detective who leaves his job with London's Metropolitan Police Unsolved Crime Squad and moves his family to the small (fictional) Yorkshire town of Eastvale. Banks abhors the trappings of materialism and wants a simpler life for he, his wife, and two children. In Eastvale, he works as the DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) for the Eastvale Police in a spartan downtown office.
Peter Robinson's books have won numerous prestigious awards for crime fiction, including the Arthur Ellis Award, the Anthony Award, and the Edgar Award. Robinson was born in Yorkshire and attended University of Leeds in Yorkshire, so his knowledge about his novel's setting is intimate. He now resides in Toronto, Canada, where he earned a PhD in English from Toronto's York University.
Here is a list of Peter Robinson's books (in order of publication date, with most recently published at top of list):
The DCI Banks television series is based on Dr. Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels. The first TV episodes aired in Britain in 2010 on ITV, and now, this January, PBS is running the series. The show stars Stephen Tompkinson (who, by the way, I think looks a lot like Peter Robinson...) Check your local PBS schedule to see if the series is showing in your area.
The Inspector Banks stories, both novel and TV, feature Alan Banks, a detective who leaves his job with London's Metropolitan Police Unsolved Crime Squad and moves his family to the small (fictional) Yorkshire town of Eastvale. Banks abhors the trappings of materialism and wants a simpler life for he, his wife, and two children. In Eastvale, he works as the DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) for the Eastvale Police in a spartan downtown office.
Peter Robinson's books have won numerous prestigious awards for crime fiction, including the Arthur Ellis Award, the Anthony Award, and the Edgar Award. Robinson was born in Yorkshire and attended University of Leeds in Yorkshire, so his knowledge about his novel's setting is intimate. He now resides in Toronto, Canada, where he earned a PhD in English from Toronto's York University.
Here is a list of Peter Robinson's books (in order of publication date, with most recently published at top of list):
- Watching the Dark
- Before the Poison
- Bad Boy
- The Price of Love
- All the Colours of Darkness
- Friend Of The Devil
- Piece Of My Heart
- Strange Affair
- Playing With Fire
- The Summer That Never Was (US title: Close to Home)
- Aftermath
- Cold is the Grave
- In a Dry Season
- Not Safe After Dark
- Dead Right (US title: Blood at the Root)
- Innocent Graves
- No Cure For Love (Non-series book)
- Dry Bones That Dream (US title: Final Account)
- Wednesday’s Child
- Past Reason Hated
- Caedmon’s Song (US title: The First Cut – Non-series book, but related to Friend of the Devil)
- The Hanging Valley
- A Necessary End
- A Dedicated Man
- Gallows View
This short DCI Banks trailer gives a feel for the tone of the show....
