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DCI Banks: Aftermath on ITV – Episode 2 summary

Posted on October 4, 2010
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DCI Banks: Aftermath based on the best-selling novel by Peter Robinson.

Please be aware that this summary contains spoilers from the second episode which aired on the 4th October, 2010 on ITV. Please stop reading if you haven’t watched the episode. Episode 1 Summary and thoughts.

So Marcus Payne has died and following an autopsy the medical examiner has declared his death as unlawful – he was killed and had no defensive marks on his hands or arms – leading to an internal disciplinary for WPC Janet Taylor. Janet admits to savagely beating Payne while he was handcuffed and changes her statement admitting guilt.

Banks soon discovers, thanks to an eye witness, that Marcus Payne had an accomplice when Leanne, the only remaining missing girl was abducted. He then sets about hunting his accomplice down with the help of his fellow officers.

Fingerprints lead to Jackie Wray (Barry Sloane) and he is hauled in for questioning and following a heated exchange Banks leaves the interrogation room. Peter Robinson, creator of DCI Banks on Amazon.

Annie Cabbot and Banks come to the realisation that Lucy Payne is the accomplice but when Banks visits Lucy in hospital he finds a confident woman who has “lawyered up”. She lays the blame on her neighbour Maggie claiming she was having an affair with her husband.

Despite promising to keep Payne’s murder in house, Annie Cabbot is sent to arrest WPC Janet Taylor following a positive toxicology report for vodka the night she was on duty.

Lucy Payne we discover was kept in a cage for the first ten years of her life, beaten, abused and systematically raped by her family. Banks forces a confession out of her; she breaks down under the pressure and is arrested for her part in …

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Red Wolf by Liza Marklund (Book Review)

Posted on October 2, 2010
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Red Wolf by Liza Marklund is the fifth title in a series which follows the trials and tribulations of Annika Bengzton a crime reporter for the Evening Post.

This is the first novel I have read from Liza Marklund and although part of a long standing series “Red Wolf” can certainly be read as a standalone novel.

Entirely based in her native Sweden, (born in Pålmark in Northern Sweden) Marklund’s novel is a compelling and taut thriller that oozes class thanks mainly to her wonderfully descriptive narrative, exploring Northern Sweden at winter.

Annika Bengzton begins investigating a thirty year old mystery and with the help of a fellow journalist Benny Ekland from the “Norrland News” newspaper, she discovers that the explosion of an Air Force plane was the possible act of terrorism.

Flying north to meet with Ekland she arrives to discover that the reporter is dead.  Initial investigations lead the police to an accidental death theory but when Bengzton finds a young witness, the case changes from one of accidental to premeditated murder. A grievous, calculating and sadistic murder. Ekland was on the verge of handing over key information surrounding the crime and his premature death complicates Annika’s investigation.

As the case matures, it becomes evident that a psychopathic serial killer is on the loose when Annika ties the brutal murders together. Despite her initial guilt over one of the murders she continues her quest for discovery and justice.

The pace is an interesting one. I found the beginning to be fairly sedentary, Marklund utilising the first 100 pages to set the scene and introduce characters, and although descriptive and powerful it is by no means a fast read. Don’t let this put you off, the pace increases and the story intensifies culminating in a powerful climax.

The characters …

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The Cold Kiss by John Rector – Book Review

Posted on September 29, 2010
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Damn you Rector, damn you! I should have known I was in for a treat when I began reading John Rector’s “The Cold Kiss”. The jacket cover is enticing and mesmerising – much like the book itself – I couldn’t put it down!

“The Cold Kiss” is the début book from Rector and if there was a better way to introduce oneself to the publishing world I honestly can’t think of one, it had me gripped from the very moment we are introduced to Nate and Sara and the mysterious stranger.

We have a young couple on the road to pastures new, Reno as it happens. They’ve run away from home in the hope that life in the new city will be everything they desire, a new beginning. Life is never that straightforward, perhaps to some, but for most of us obstacles are thrown in our way – it’s how we deal with said obstacles that make us who we are, our make up if you will.

Nate and Sara stop off at a diner, a cold front is on its way and with it severe snowfall. They order food and notice a dark stranger (Syl) at the bar coughing and in need of medical attention. When the stranger stumbles to the restrooms Sara strongly suggests that Nate follows him to check he is ok – Mistake number one!

Nate enters the blood soaked bathroom and is greeted with abuse and attitude – the pair locks horns – Nate eventually gives up and returns to the table shocked and angry, desperate to get on his way with the ever increasing snowfall outside.

Moments later and outside in the cold, Syl approaches Nate and apologises for his aggressive behaviour in the restroom. Syl offers the couple $500 for …

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DI Banks – Aftermath on ITV

Posted on September 27, 2010
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Forget ballooning around Australia, Stephen Tomkinson returned to our television screens tonight in the new ITV drama series DCI Banks: Aftermath. The first of a two part pilot series kicked off with a bang, domestic abuse, a copious amount of blood and four bodies in a cellar.

You really can’t ask for much more can you?!!! Episode 2 Summary Here (contains Spoilers)

I heard about the production following my review of Robinson’s latest Bank book called Bad Boy – where Banks’s daughter Tracy has fallen for the wrong boy. Her flatmate’s boyfriend is good-looking, ambitious, and surrounded by an intoxicating air of mystery. He’s also very dangerous.

Produced by Left Bank Pictures and based on the novel Aftermath by crime writer Peter Robinson, the series was shot in Yorkshire earlier this year.

Aftermath tells the story of an ordinary house in an ordinary street, which is about to become infamous. When two young police constables are sent to the house following a report of a domestic disturbance, they stumble upon a truly horrific scene.

When they fail to get a reply, the young WPC peers through the letterbox and discovers a blood-stained body lying on the floor.  Lucy Payne is close to death and while an ambulance is called the two constables search the cellar only to find a locked door and a shadow blocking out the light.

Breaking down the door they come face to face with a serial killer (Marcus Payne) who runs at the constables erratically wielding a machete. Within seconds PC Morrissey‘s neck has been slashed twice and is crumpled on the floor dying, with self-preservation key the WPC brandishes her baton and Marcus Payne is left in a coma.

It’s a rather frenetic start to the series and although the action doesn’t continue throughout …

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“Captured” by Neil Cross – Book Review

Posted on September 26, 2010
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Captured by Neil CrossI have to say, “Captured” surprised me. I’m not sure why. Neil Cross has a proven track record with Spooks and Luther – both television hits with the BBC.

Captured is an imaginative, enjoyable and unpredictable novel, one which leads you one way and then another and just when you think you have it all figured out Cross changes the rules. The characters are gritty and believable, Cross pushing the human boundaries to their limits.

You see how one man’s desire to put things right take over his being, forcing him to make life shattering decisions that affect not only his remaining life but those around him.

Kenny has just weeks to live. Refusing to take the drastic medical help that would prolong his life by a few weeks, he leaves the surgery and makes a decisive decision. He sits down, takes a piece of paper and writes down four names. We discover that he wants to clear his conscience one last time, a sort of closure if you like, before he dies.

Included on the list is his ex-wife Mary, a young lad called Thomas Kintry, a shopkeeper and his best friend from his childhood Callie Barton. We are introduced to numerous characters that are enveloped in his desire for finality – an ex-cop, a downbeat private investigator and Mary’s immediate family.

Time is running out and Kenny has choices to make. Callie Burton had a powerful hold over the young Kenny, she was the only friend he had in junior school, and she was the one that made life bearable. Truth be known, they both supported each other although Kenny was oblivious to this and when she failed to return to school after a break his world changed.

Years later he sets about finding Callie to …

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The Reversal by Michael Connelly (book review)

Posted on September 22, 2010
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For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved courtroom dramas; in fact I’ll go as far to say I grew up on them. There’s just something enticing and thrilling about a good antagonising duel between prosecutor and defence lawyers, both hell-bent on achieving what they see as a just verdict for their clients. Available in the United States from October 5th.

For obvious reasons I can’t remember most of them but a few stick out for me! Take “Murder One” starring Daniel Benzali for example, a classy production and if I recall it made huge waves both in the UK and the US – we won’t talk about the follow up series! We also have JAG (Catherine Bell and David James Elliot), part humour, part drama, and part Navy! Law & Order deserves a mention and finally who could ever forget the classics “A Few Good Men” and “12 Angry Men” – courtroom royalty at its defining best!

This leads me on nicely to Michael Connelly’s “The Reversal”, a wonderfully written tense drama that for the greater part is set in Los Angeles County CCB and its courtrooms.

Jason Jessup was convicted of killing 12 year old [Melissa Landy] in 1986 and has spent the last 24 years on death row in San Quentin State Prison. Following numerous appeals from his isolated cell, Jessup finally gets the break he’s looking for and his guilty verdict is overturned due to new DNA evidence. The District Attorney’s office decides to retry the case, turning to Mickey Haller the prominent defence lawyer who has never prosecuted a case in his illustrious career.

Haller is reluctant to take on the case at first believing he is nothing more than a scapegoat in the eyes of the DA.…

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The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsh (book review)

Posted on September 20, 2010
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I approached “The Attenbury Emeralds” by Jill Paton Walsh with a great sense of anticipation and eagerness, for I have always shared an affinity with all things “whodunit” and the 1920’s angle further whetted my appetite. I began with a cautious optimism but soon realised I would not be disappointed.

Lord Peter Wimsey was an intelligence officer in the Great War. He returned home shell-shocked, struggling to come to terms with ordering soldiers under his command over the top to a certain death, such was the brutality of World War 1. Such was his condition it would take years before he would be introduced to society.

The aristocratic Wimsey was introduced to us by Dorothy L Sayers in 1923 when she wrote “Whose Body”, Lord Peter investigating a naked body and a financier who appears to be missing under strange circumstances.

In 1998 Jill Paton Walsh, who by now is no stranger to Wimsey’s adventures, won critical acclaim for her completion of Sayers’s unfinished “Thrones, Dominations”. “A Presumption of Death” followed four years later and “The Attenbury Emeralds” is her third novel featuring the amateur sleuth, Walsh taking us back to his very first case in 1921.

Sitting at home in the library Lord Peter, together with his wife (the novelist Harriet Vane) and their trusty servant Bunter, reminisce over his very first case of the missing Emeralds.

When Lord Attenbury held an engagement party for his daughter Charlotte, it was decided that she would wear the emeralds to the celebration. A cautious Attenbury, hired local police to ensure the safe return of the emeralds, unfortunately their presence failed to avoid the inevitable. The “King Stone”, the largest gem in the collection, went missing minutes before the party began; it heralded a complete house …

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Worth Dying For by Lee Child (book review)

Posted on September 19, 2010
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Astounding, brilliant, magnificent and dynamic – just some of the superlatives that best describe Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series. His latest offering “Worth Dying For”, out at the end of September incidentally, is another jaw dropping sure fire hit and one you’ll fail to put down. Available in the United States 19th Oct.

The 15th Jack Reacher novel moves on from the explosive end in “61 Hours”, leaving South Dakota our maverick hitches south making his way to the wilds of Nebraska.

Nebraska is flat and cold – it’s winter time!

Jack Reacher has a knack for finding trouble. He doesn’t go looking for it, trouble finds him – it’s that simple. A nomad and a drifter, Reacher is high on moralistic values and tries to do the right thing no matter what the cost. It’s these principles that continually land him in high adventure and low company.

The Duncans rule the town, slowly but surely they’ve sucked the heart and soul out of the farming community – they own the trucking services, the harvesting and the suppliers. If the town had police, they’d own them too, the clan is powerful and dangerous.

The local farmers are stuck, lifeless and without a say in how things are run – the Duncans rule everything. De-spirited over time, the farmers are frightened and with nowhere to run, fight eludes them; they’ve given in, bowing to each and every whim the Duncans desire.

Reacher arrives at a desolate crossroads and makes his way to the only motel in town, Hotel Apollo has seen better days; so has the owner.  After checking in he makes his way to the bar and drinks stewed coffee; not the best he’s had but it’s hot. The only other person drinking is the local …

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Shadows in the Street by Susan Hill (book review)

Posted on September 16, 2010
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Shadows in the Street is Susan Hill’s fifth novel in the Simon Serrailler series which follows the trials and tribulations of the Detective and his family in Lafferton.

Lafferton is a Cathedral town and in recent times has seen an increase in the number of prostitutes found walking the streets. They have started to encroach on the centre of town, an unwritten taboo broken by the introduction of pimps and the trafficking of younger working girls.

Serrailler is on an extended holiday on the remote island of Taransay (most famous for the television series Castaway in 2000). Miles from nowhere and without a mobile phone signal the detective is enjoying a quiet vacation following his draining stint with The Special Incident Flying Task force (SIFT).

The island is a sedate haven far removed from the manic turmoil of SIFT. Gentle walks across the island, a small community and warm log fires help rejuvenate his energy levels. That is until he receives an urgent call from Lafferton calling him back following the murders of two prostitutes.

Shadows in the Street is an intensive character driven novel, well written and although  a crime fiction novel I felt the investigation played a secondary role to character and story building. This is by no means a negative but if you are looking for an  detective led storyline then this may not be up your street.

Hill introduces us to numerous characters via short, sharp and intensely descriptive vignettes; they never appear rushed and add a wonderful depth to the book. Hill’s style is mesmerising and assured pulling the reader in to the grim dark world of prostitution effortlessly.

Abi’s character, a young mother of two and prostitute, desperate to leave the game and move on to better things, surprised me. I didn’t think I’d …

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No Turning Back by Marcus Sakey (book review)

Posted on September 14, 2010
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To use the popular vernacular, “it came from left field” accurately describes “No Turning Back” by Marcus Sakey – I was completely shocked and surprised at its ingenuity, style and pace. It was a breath of fresh air that I honestly didn’t expect.

I read the premise and wasn’t convinced it was my kind of book. Four people, strangers at one time in their lives met and formed the Thursday Drinking Club; it blossomed from humble beginnings into bi weekly get-togethers that included Saturday brunches and Cubs games in the summer. Their lives going nowhere, they were in a rut, always looking for excuses to meet up.

Every Thursday night the foursome met at Rossi’s, a bar-slash-restaurant where Alex worked as a bartender. Ian is a trader, partial to the lure of the white powder and his habit appears to be intensifying. Mitch, a doorman at the Continental Hotel has had his fill of ignorant guests and Jenn, the last of the four is a travel agent who can’t afford to travel to any of the exotic places she persuades her clients to visit.

Truth be told they are all at a crossroads, no one is completely satisfied, something has to give – that much is inevitable. Alex is called into his boss’s office; he spots what appears to be an enormous amount of cash in the safe and casually suggests to his friends they steal the money. What could go wrong, the plan was fool proof, no one would get hurt and their crime untraceable. It was the perfect crime.

The plotline is very well crafted and there is a distinguishable line drawn between good and bad, right and wrong. The characters are believable and although I initially found the strike it rich plan slightly implausible I …

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Deadlock by Sean Black – (Book Review)

Posted on September 12, 2010
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When I first cast my eyes on “Deadlock” by Sean Black, I have to admit I was taken in hook, line and sinker by the cover. It’s one of the most atmospheric and demanding covers I’ve seen for some time.  A black, dark cover, caged high fences and enough barbed wire to ensure no one escapes and a lone man looking towards a solitary blinding light. Welcome to Pelican Bay – Super Max prison!

I know one “cover” doesn’t make a summer but it heightened my anticipation tenfold and I was eager to see if the story could match the quality of the graphic art on display! Round one to the publishers, methinks it had the desired effect!

The tag line for the book “One prisoner, one bodyguard, and one week to stay alive” although enticing, doesn’t cover half the book; there’s so much more to this story.  Ryan Lock is ex-army (special forces) and not a man to be messed with. In a similar vein to Jack Reacher (Lee Child) and Joe Hunter (Matt Hilton) – Lock is a security consultant who generally gets called in to do the jobs no one else can do.

Lock receives a call from assistant US attorney Jalicia Jones offering him a last minute protection job in California and along with Ty, his trusted partner, the pair are “convicted” and sent to the notorious Pelican Bay Super Max prison to babysit a man known only as “Reaper” a leading member of the Aryan brotherhood gang. Only the Warden knows their true identity.

The premise of the book stems from the brutal murder of ATF agent Ken Prager and his young family in the opening salvos of the book. Jalicia Jones receives a collect call from Reaper offering information on the murder …

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“So cold the river” by Michael Koryta – book review

Posted on September 5, 2010
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A man in a bowler hat, a haunting violin and a bottle of curious sulphuric tasting water. Did I mention water? Whatever you do, don’t drink the water. I repeat; don’t drink the water!

“So cold the river” by Michael Koryta is a hypnotic and hauntingly chilly tale following one man’s attempt to chronicle a family’s childhood history in West Baden, Indiana. It’s very hard to categorize into one genre as so many themes are utilized in this 528 huge page turner. Horror, thriller, Crime and supernatural forces are all present in a stunning story of murder, greed and deceit.

Eric Shaw, a has-been cinematographer formerly of Los Angeles and now Chicago, has resorted to making small videos for funerals at the bequest of grieving families. Shaw is approached by Alyssa Bradford at the end of her sister’s funeral and offers him a job to investigate/document her father in law’s (Campbell Bradford) family, long since forgotten.

The video is to be a celebration of his life, one she wants completed before he dies so that the family as a whole can enjoy with him. Shaw accepts not only the $20,000 offer but an ancient blue bottle of Pluto mineral water.

The bottle had never been opened and belongs to Campbell Bradford, the 95 year old multi-millionaire who lies dying in a lonely hospital room. Although hidden away, and until this point had never left Bradford’s side, Alyssa Bradford sensed its importance. The blue bottle sparks a chain of events that would lead to a destructive and devastating conclusion.

Shaw, estranged from his wife Claire, makes his way to the adjoined Midwest towns of West Baden and French Lick armed with a camera and the curious, foul tasting bottle of Pluto Water. Shortly before he embarked on the drive …

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The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor – book review

Posted on August 30, 2010
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The Anatomy of Ghosts is the new spooky and historical novel by Andrew Taylor, set late in the 18th century it’s a tale of ghosts, privilege and abuse in Jerusalem College, Cambridge. An old fashioned crime fiction novel, the plot is cleverly intertwined with a variety of sub plots throughout building to a crescendo at the book’s conclude.

The characters, as you would expect are plentiful and Taylor spends a great deal of time ensuring that the main characters have a wonderful colour and depth.

When I first picked up the book to review for Penguin, it took me a few chapters to find the true pace of the book and all its idiosyncrasies that comes with the old English style it is written in.

With this in mind I found the beginning a little confusing and had to revisit the first two chapters to make sure I understood what had happened!

Let me assure you this is far from a negative, I have never read a period book before and I’m certain the old style confused the left side of my brain!

John Holdsworth has lost everything; his wife Maria who drowned in the Thames, child Georgie and his business – the later ruined by candlelight fire destroying the majority of his valuable books.  Taylor’s magnificent narrative captures the essence of period Cambridge, the sights, sounds and smells of the time truly coming alive. Forced to lodge with the Farmer’s in the house he had previously shared with his wife, Holdsworth struggles to come to terms with his predicament.

Following publication of his very own “Anatomy of Ghosts” Holdsworth receives a curious offer from Lady Anne Oldershaw to rehabilitate her sick son Frank and to take stock of her late husband’s library. The offer sets in motion a …

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The Killing Place by Tess Gerritsen – Book Review

Posted on August 27, 2010
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I have a confession to make! I had never heard of Rizzoli and Isles until I began watching the television series (July 12th on TNT in the United States). Starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Dr Maura Isles, I discovered the series was based on novels by Tess Gerritsen.

With that in mind and thanks to the wonderful publicists at Transworld Publishers, Gerritsen’s latest novel “The Killing Place” landed, ready for me to review.

Despite having watched six episodes of the TV show I decided to the best way to attack the book was to start afresh, forgetting everything I knew from what I’d seen on TNT. I always find a book gives you so much more depth and insight into a character’s mind and personality than the small/big screen could ever do. So with that in mind and En Vogue’s mantra “Free your mind and the rest will follow” playing in my head I turned to page one and began a new journey!

Dr Maura Isles is in Wyoming for a medical conference where she meets up with an old acquaintance (Doug). Over dinner, he invites her on a short trip with his daughter and two friends before she is due to head back to Boston, back home to a strained relationship with Father Daniel Brophy. She decides the time is right for a little spontaneity and accepts his invitation meeting up with the group the following morning.

Hours into the journey they realise they are desperately lost following an incorrect instruction from “Lola” the GPS navigator. With the snow fall intensifying they are forced off the road and end up sideways in a ditch. The road is deserted and no recent sign of life exists and so they abandon the vehicle …

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