Not Safe After Dark audiobook

I'm not a fan of short stories, but I like Peter Robinson's books. Some of the stories are good, some just OK. There are two about his regular character Inspector Alan Banks. Those were good.

This is my first by Robinson and, if this is any indication, he had a deft hand. While all are written in a similar brisk style, there's still a variety of subject and narrator in these stories, some 1st person and some 3rd person. Four, including the concluding novella, feature his recurring character, Inspector Alan Banks; the novella, "Going Back," is probably the best of them, giving a glimpse into how Banks thinks and his family relations and how he grew up. My favorite stories are the two featuring Frank Bascombe, veteran of WWI who survived a mustard gas attack with relatively minor damage, and who during WWII acts as a local amateur cop. (There's an official title I'm forgetting and the book is not at hand.) Both stories, "Missing in Action" and "In Flanders Field," begin with the best Golden Age jauntiness, Frank admitting he's nosy and not liking to leave unanswered questions unanswered, and the conclusions of both stories demonstrate the corrosive results of prejudice. Nearly as good, though a bit lighter, is "Some Land in Florida," featuring a Toronto P.I. on vacation drawn into a murder investigation. And "Memory Lane" features two first person narratives that don't exactly merge, but do echo off each other in an affecting way.I didn't think there were any stinkers in the book, just a couple I like less than the others, which made this a good read.

British author Peter Robinson takes a break from his best-selling DCI Alan Banks series --- a series that Stephen King has called the best on the market --- to put together a bunch of short stories in his collection entitled NOT SAFE AFTER DARK.What I enjoyed even more than the stories themselves was the insight into the short story genre that Robinson presents in his Introduction. He states: 'Short stories offer a wonderful opportunity for the series writer to spread his or her wings and fly to new, exotic places to meet different people and to try out different techniques.' He walks the talk with a nice mix of stories, some of them featuring DCI Banks. I will highlight a few of the standout stories for me. The first one out of the gate was "Summer Rain", a DCI Banks story with a different twist than his usual police procedurals. The theme in this story is reincarnation and that is definitely a unique situation for the stoic Banks. The title story, 'Not Safe After Dark', about a killer who utilizes public parks as the canvas for his evil deeds.The lynchpin in this collection is 'Missing In Action', which won the Edgar Award for best Short Story. It is set in 1939 at the early stages of WWII and depicts both soldiers who are MIA but also young children going missing on the home front. Tough subject matter expertly handled. Another story of note was 'The Good Partner' that also featured DCI Banks. The title can refer to either Banks' partner in this case, DC Susan Gay, as well as the business partner of the key witness in this crime mystery.It is always a pleasure to read anything by Peter Robinson and having the opportunity to see his work in the short form was indeed a treat.

Solid, but really short. I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated very well.The author has my attention. I’ll be looking for his work.

In this collection of short stories and three novellas, Inspector Banks is featured in four of the 20 tales. The longest, Going Back, has Banks returning to the home he grew up in to celebrate his parents’ golden anniversary, only to discover that he can’t escape being a policeman when faced with an evil-doer. He also learns a few things about himself. The various tales demonstrate the range of the author’s talents and writing style. Of course, the long-running Inspector Banks series, which now number 23 novels and counting, have amply shown such abilities over the years.In the Edgar Award-winning short story, Missing in Action, Robinson addresses the horrors of mob mentality when a young lad is found missing and a homophobic bully incites neighbors against someone who appears to be different.The stories are set in different periods of history, from WWI to WWII, and both in England and Canada. In Flanders Fields takes place in the early days of WW II amid the blackouts and bombings of London, and turns out to be a murder mystery involving a veteran suffering from PTSD. A twist of fate and false information are at the heart of April in Paris, a tale of unrequited love set during the DeGaulle period in post-WWII France, which includes descriptions of the student unrest at the timeAlthough the 20 short stories have previously been published in different editions under the same title as the present volume, this special edition makes them available in the United States for the first time. And they are well worth reading. Recommended.

Some good stories, some not so good stories. I enjoyed the Inspector Banks stories the most, though I have two complaints.This collection was read by four different narrators. The last Banks story, a novella really, was NOT read by audiobook boyfriend Simon Prebble but some other guy. Simon Prebble IS Alan Banks as long as he is alive to read him! (The narrator wasn't bad, just not Simon Prebble.)The other thing is that the last story was set around the wedding anniversary of Arthur and Ida Banks, the parents of Inspector Banks. His brother Roy also made an appearance. Robinson must have some kind of rule where he always refers to his main character as "Banks" even though there were many times when it would have made more sense to call him "Alan" with all those Banks around. And it seemed like every time the author referred to any of the other Banks characters he called them "Ida Banks" or "Arthur Banks" or "Roy Banks" instead of just their first names. Maybe it would not have been annoying in print, but it was driving me bloody crazy on audio. Anyway, it was a good listen.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sleeping in the Ground comes this brilliantly nuanced short story collection of twenty stories—most never before published in the US, and one of them an Edgar winner—which also features three Inspector Banks tales.I have not read any of his books before, so I had nothing to base my opinion on as to his writing style. I did enjoy the Inspector Banks tales. Some of the stories were very good with good story lines and catching your interest. Some were just there and nothing spectacular. I would probably look for some of his Inspector Banks books in the future.

I really enjoy Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks novels and this short story collection caught my eye. Like most all short story collections, some appealed to me more than others. Not surprisingly, my favorite stories are those featuring Banks, especially the novella called "Going Back" in which Banks visits his parents for their 50th anniversary. Of the "non-Banks" stories, I liked "The Wrong Hands" about a lawyer and a widowed trophy wife the best.

An excellent collection of short stories by Peter Robinson (Inspector Banks), often violent and macabre they are reflective of the places the author has lived and his career immersion in murder. They include a trip of Banks stories and two based on the actions of a World War II era Special Constable investigating murder near Leeds.

What a fantastic book to read over the holidays. Short stories that you can read when you have 15 minutes free. Some so-so tales, but most of them are wonderful. You won't be sorry you've taken the time to read this book.

Plot Plus....As ever, Robinson packs both great plotting & excellent characterizations into a mystery novel fit for literature fans. 💟. Well done.

A new author to meAlways a treat to discover a new author. Through these short stories and the one novella you get a good idea of the range of the author’s work.

Fun short detective stories. Each with its unique twist.