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Bad Boy

The 19th DCI Banks novel from The Master of the Police Procedural

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About this listen

 When Juliet Doyle discovers a gun in her daughter's bedroom, she turns to old friend DCI Alan Banks for advice. But Banks is taking a much-needed holiday, and it's left to DI Annie Cabbot to deal with the removal of the firearm. No one can foresee the operation's disastrous consequences, or that the Doyles will not be the only family affected.

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. When Tracy warns him that the police might be on his tail, he persuades her to go on the run with him, and flattered by his attention, she agrees. Before she knows it, a deadly chase across the country is set in motion.

And on his return, completely unsuspecting of Tracy's perilous situation, Banks is plunged into his most terrifying, personal case yet.

(P)2010 Hodder & Stoughton©2010 Eastvale Enterprises Inc. Crime Thrillers Mystery Police Procedurals Thriller & Suspense Banking Suspense Fiction Exciting

Critic reviews

It's neither the setting nor even the characters that makes Robinson's work so satisfying, but the plottning of Swiss-watch precision
Superbly cinematic from the beginning to the explosive finale, this would be a thrilling movie
Riveting
Brilliant! . . . Gut-wrenching plotting, alongside heart-wrenching portraits of the characters who populate his world, not to mention the top-notch police procedure
'Brilliant! . . . Gut-wrenching plotting, alongside heart-wrenching portraits of the characters who populate his world, not to mention the top-notch police procedure. This one will stay with you for a long time.'
'Excellent . . . Robinson deftly integrates Banks's personal life with an acute look at British attitudes about police, guns, and violence in this strong entry in a superb series.'
'A murderous psychopath presents Alan Banks with the most intensely personal challenge of the maverick detective's storied career. Superbly cinematic from the beginning to the explosive finale, this would be a thrilling movie.'
Praise for PIECE OF MY HEART and FRIEND OF THE DEVIL
'Peter Robinson has for too long, and unfairly, been in the shadow of Ian Rankin; perhaps PIECE OF MY HEART, the latest in the Chief Inspector Banks series, will give him the status he deserves, near, perhaps even at the top of, the British crime writers' league . . . PIECE OF MY HEART brilliantly interweaves past and present . . . further enhancing Alan Banks's reputation as one of crime fiction's most appealing cops'
A police procedural that grips like pliers
All stars
Most relevant
This is Peter Robinson at his best to date. A fast-paced tale packed with action, suspense and nail-biting situations with Bates cleverly in the background.

An excellent story and very well-read. If you are sitting by the fire, thinking about action, this is the story to listen to to get the adrenalin pumping.

Over hill, over dale

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Please, no more awkward musical references that spoil the narrative flow. Otherwise this is an excellent story,

Out of tune?

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I’m totally hooked DCI Banks and am going through the whole series one after the other. This one was one of the best. Narration by Mark Hadfield was better than books 17 & 18, but I prefer Simon Slater who’s narrating book 20. Yippee.

If you like DCI Banks and his cohorts, you’ll love this.

Gripping

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Not his best what ever happened to the colloquial edge they used to have
This could have been sooooooo much better
Well on to the next one fingers crossed
Q

Average

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This was a complete departure from Alan Banks' normal cases and this time it's personal!

Far from being formulaic (a word that reviewers seem to throw in with gay abandon) this is an adventure story which has all the elements of a good thriller, a "kidnap", drug pushers, last minute evasion, but all mixed such that you won't guess which character will move next and where.

I am a big fan of Banks (I hope the TV do not wreck his character) and have enjoyed most of the books. This book is fast paced and gritty and you will want to hear it in one sitting!!

One of Robinson's best.

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