Mike wrote:
>anyway, i don't make enough money to make the mistake
of buying books >that
>aren't remotely something that i would
like.
there are no libraries where you live? ;) I'm not sure if
you're saying Robinson isn't something you'd like; if so I
wouldn't write him off just because he doesn't fit in the
hard-boiled box. For the record, I find PD James unreadable,
and Rendell doesn't do much for me, but I think Robinson is
great. I don't mean to say that you have to like James and
Rendell to like Robinson's books, just that he doesn't really
come out of the hardboiled tradition. In any case, the first
half or so of "Cold is the Grave" seems clearly to be modeled
on a PI story - the protagonist, Alan Banks, is a police
inspector but in this book he is asked by his superior to
conduct an "unofficial" search for his missing daughter and
is pulled into London's sleazy underbelly. Plenty of stuff
for a hardboiled fan to like. And from there the plot goes in
some interesting directions. I suggested reading the previous
book because there's some history between Banks and the
superior that is worth knowing, but it's certainly not a
requirement. Anyway, my main point is that if you like HB,
you'll probably like "Cold is the Grave," even though the
majority of Robinson's work doesn't really fit in that
category. I'll just add that Banks is one of my favorite
characters, and that I found the young femme in "Cold" to be
particularly beguiling (and I don't even swing that way ;)),
a very refreshing twist on the "little girl lost".
carrie
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