“Was he running? Yes, in a way. Running from a failed marriage and a botched romance, and from a job that had threatened, for the second time in his life, to send him over the edge with its conflicting demands, its proximity to violent death and all that was worst in people. He was seeking a temporary escape, at least.”
I have a lot of new books I want to read and books for book groups that are also vying for my attention, but last night the only thing I felt I could settle down with was with an old favorite. Not a book I’ve read before but a character I’ve come to know pretty well now that I am 12 books into the series.
Close to Home by Peter Robinson is the 13th book featuring Detective Inspector Alan Banks. In this book Inspector Banks is on holiday in Greece but his time spent enjoying the peace, reading Greek classic stories and playing chess in the evenings is about to come to an end.
The skeleton of a boy is discovered and Banks must go back to find out what happened. What makes this discovery so compelling is that Banks knows who the boy was. I can’t wait to see how Banks will solve this mystery.
I think this is what makes good series books so special. You already know the characters so you almost feel like there is no effort being made jumping into a new story. And, what keeps drawing you back in is that you still want to know more of the characters, how they’ll change as time goes by and/or what is coming their way.
What about you? Have you visited with an old favorite series character recently?
I love this series so much, and this book particularly was fantastic. I do think of Banks as an old friend. Have you read the Rebus series?
jenn aka the picky girl – I thought Aftermath (the previous one) was excellent so I can’t wait to see what happens in this one. It is such a good series. I greatly enjoy Rebus too. Oh what a character. I’m only on book 8 or so in that one though. Must catch up!
I don;t re-read as much as I would like, but I will be reading Little Women again this month and I feel that way about those characters. I continue to look for a series that can pull me in the way this one has you.
I struggle to get into series. I find I get bored after a couple. I wish I could find one that kept my interest. I am glad you are enjoying it though.
I do have my favorites that I fall back on, and I know they will entertain me. Like getting together with old friends. Terrance Brennan. Lucas Davenport. Jack Reacher. Kinsey Millhone. There is a whole list!
Robinson is one of my favorites! I haven’t read this one, though, and it gives me something to look forward to!
Nicole – I don’t do re-reads either but series are a great way for me to revisit with characters I love!
vivienne – I think some of the long-running ones can suffer from characters or situations that never change. That gets boring. The series really has to show me a character that is continuing to develop.
Sandy – Exactly, getting together with friends! I can’t believe I haven’t read the ones you like! Well, actually I did try one or two of the Millhone but it’s been a long time.
jenclair – Me too! I think I have the rest of the series on my shelf (maybe just missing one more) and I’m trying not to read them too fast. Want to make sure there are some on hand for when I need to revisit with an old favorite 🙂
I’ve only read one of his books and liked it very much–I always mean to read something else, but I have so many mysteries to choose from it’s hard to squeeze them all in. I’ll keep an eye out for him, though!
I can’t believe I’ve never read Peter Robinson. But now I can have fun playing catch up with the 13 books in the series.
I’ve got a copy of the first book in this series because I’ve heard so many good things, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.
The series I’ve just started to revisit is a shorter one so far, that by Howard Shreir. I read the first volume, Buffalo Jump a couple of years ago, and have just read the first 50 pages of the sequel, High Chicago. I do love settling in with familiar characters. Catching up on their lives and all that.