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    Gallows View
    Gallows View
    Gallows View
    Audiobook8 hours

    Gallows View

    Written by Peter Robinson

    Narrated by Mark Honan

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Former London policeman Alan Banks relocated to Yorkshire seeking some small measure of peace. But depravity and violence are unfortunately not unique to large cities. His new venue, the quaint little village of Eastvale, seems to have more than its fair share of malefactors-among them a brazen Peeping Tom who hides in night's shadows spying on attractive, unsuspecting ladies as they prepare for bed.

    When an elderly woman is found brutally slain in her home, Chief Inspector Banks wonders if the voyeur has increased the awful intensity of his criminal activities. But whether related or not, perverse local acts and murderous ones are combining to profoundly touch Banks's suddenly vulnerable personal life, forcing a dedicated law officer to make hard choices he'd dearly hoped would never be necessary.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateAug 17, 2009
    ISBN9781400182695
    Author

    Peter Robinson

    One of the world’s most popular and acclaimed writers, Peter Robinson was the bestselling, award-winning author of the DCI Banks series. He also wrote two short-story collections and three stand-alone novels, which combined have sold more than ten million copies around the world. Among his many honors and prizes were the Edgar Award, the CWA (UK) Dagger in the Library Award, and the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Martin Beck Award.

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    Reviews for Gallows View

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      In this, the first of Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks series, we are introduced to Banks who has left London for the Yorkshire Dales where he finds things aren’t as quiet as he anticipated and he must investigate a series of robberies, a peeping tom preying on local women and the death of an elderly lady.

      Having just finished one of the early Jack Frost novels I did find myself comparing these two English police procedurals from around the same time (late 80’s, early 90’s) and I like this one a lot more primarily because the Banks character is far more likeable. He’s less of a caricature and, thankfully, not the misogynist that Frost appears to be. Banks is intelligent (although I do wonder if there are there really a plethora of opera loving coppers in the world), shows his frustration when things move slowly and worries about the consequences of his decisions.

      The crimes here are not particularly grizzly or noteworthy by today’s standards but by delving into the psychology of criminals and their victims the story sets itself a cut above the run-of-the-mill crime novel. In particular it looks at the way women can be intensely affected by relatively innocuous crimes such as being ‘peeped on’ in a way that men might never be able to understand.

      All in all this was a surprisingly entertaining read.
    • 4/5
      Seeking a calmer existence than their residence in London, England, Inspector Alan Banks relocates with his wife and two children to Eastvale, a quaint town in Yorkshire County. While some aspects of their life in Eastvale are peaceful, Inspector Alan Banks continues to be faced with the same depravity and crime that he experienced in London. A Peeping Tom, random violence and murder are what Alan must tackle, along with personal issues that could clutter his mind and heart.While I am happy to have met Alan Banks, I'm not so sure that I know him very well. The lack of background information left me uncertain as to who Alan Banks really is. I know what he does, I know who he lives with, I know his hobby, but I don't feel like I got to know what drives him, what makes him tick. I'm thinking that's a good strategy in setting up a series - can't divulge too much in the first book, right? Other than that, I really liked Gallows View. The mystery kept me curious in its complexity, and learning about the town and its surroundings was pleasant. I'm not sure where I first discovered this author, but I'm glad I did. The only daunting aspect is that this year he published his 18th book in this series. Yikes! I have 17 more to catch up! That's okay though, I'm up for the challenge. :) (4/5)Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."
    • 3/5
      In the first novel in the Inspector Alan Banks series, our chief inspector learns life is not always as quiet outside of London as he expected when he removed to the town of Eastvale in Yorkshire. The murder of a woman most people liked may or may not be related to a rash of robberies in the area. A "Peeping Tom" is invading the privacy of women. Frankly, the author took the scenes of sexual nature a bit further than they needed to go for this genre. Fortunately the most graphic ones were limited to a few isolated places. The book suffered from some of the usual problems of first installments in series. I did not really enjoy the story line about Banks' interest in the female psychologist called in on the case. I felt it was a totally unnecessary element in the story. The mystery itself showed promise. I think Sgt. Hatchley may be my favorite character. I listened to this on the audio book from Tantor Media. I was not impressed with the narrator who seemed to lack enthusiasm.
    • 4/5
      One could almost call this one a cozy-- set in England where Detective Inspector Banks has moved from London to York in search of a less hectic workload and lifestyle. There are lots of things to like about this book: there is a wide range of characters, from the peeping Tom to an attractive police psychologist who is called in the help solve some of the crimes. Banks gets along well with his boss, who seems a nice enough chap, he adores his wife, he's committed to solving crimes, and all around we see people and relationships that work.The plot revolves around two different crimes - the peeping Tom and a murder (or is it a series of crimes?) At times, Robinson leads us to believe that they might be connected. And when Bank's wife becomes a victim, the action really picks up. The York setting is pleasant, but very much in the background. All in all, this series looks like one that has potential to catch and hold a reader's attention for at least 2 or 3 more books, without causing lack of sleep or great anxiety. The series currently has over 20 volumes
    • 4/5
      More of a 3.5 listen. The narrator was good & there was more to the story than I expected. No mystery here except how Banks will wrap it all up, but at least the author didn't try for any except in one case & that was well done.

      What made this an interesting listen was the setting, a large town in England, & the characters, pure English. It seemed to be a very realistic snapshot of their life & issues.

      I have another, but I'm not in a rush to get to it. The writing was very good, but it wasn't really my sort of book. The fact that I liked it so much was kind of surprising.
    • 4/5
      This very first Inspector Banks novel fills in a few bits of back history for the Inspector that I didn’t know. For instance he was in the Metropolitan Police Force before he moved to Eastvale in Yorkshire. I had always thought he was a native Yorkshireman. Banks is happily married and living with his wife and two children in this book but in later books he is a solitary man so I am curious as to when that happens.This book starts out with Banks and his team involved with two different cases. One is of a Peeping Tom who has been looking in women’s windows as they undress at night. The other is a series of thefts on elderly people by two young men. And then the body of an elderly women is found in her home that has been burglarized so the heat is on for the police force. The title of the book is from the name of the street that the dead woman lived on. She lived very close to the latest victim of the Peeping Tom and appears to have died the night the woman saw the Peeper. Does that mean the Peeping Tom has turned to murder? Or might the Peeping Tom have seen the actual murderer? In any case solving one case might lead to solving the other. The police force is under some heat from the women’s rights organizations to solve the Peeping Tom case so a psychologist who teaches at the University is called in to advise as to the profile of the yoyeur. This is the first time that Jenny Fuller appears in the Inspector Banks novels but not the last. I am currently listening to the third in the series and Dr. Fuller has a role in that book as well. Banks is attracted to Fuller but in this outing he resists her charms. Will that always be the case?I like going back to the beginnings of a long running series to see how the characters develop. This is an excellent introduction to this series. If you are a fan of the Robinson books and haven’t read this one I recommend picking it up. I read this book while we were staying in Yorkshire so it was doubly interesting to me to read names of places that we had travelled through.
    • 4/5
      Gallows View is an okay introduction to the British mystery series featuring Inspector Alan Banks, who lives and works in Eastvale, Yorkshire. As the novel begins, the local police are trying to find a peeper who is frightening some of the town's women. As if that's not enough, an elderly woman living alone has been killed, and there are a series of unsolved break-ins. Banks, who has moved to Yorkshire to get away from the high-stress levels of police work and of life in general in London, takes the lead on all of these cases -- which may or may not be linked together. As with most first novels in a mystery series, Banks' character isn't as well developed right away as it will hopefully be in the next ones. I expect this, though; it's very rare that a character comes fully fleshed out in a series opener. However, the crime plotting is solid, and the way Robinson writes his story leaves readers guessing until the end. I can recommend Gallows View. If you like British mystery, or if you're looking for a solid police procedural (with some personal touches) and you haven't tried this series yet, it would be worth your while to do so. It's not on the cozy end of mystery novels, but it's not really hardcore either. Overall -- a good read, and I'll definitely be coming back to this author.
    • 3/5
      I just reread this book, and am amazed at all the sex and foul language. I enjoyed the characters and Robinson's presentation of the characters. I felt that many events remained unresolved at the end of the novel. The story presents a dismal view of British teens and healthcare system at that time. The allusion to Jimmy Carter's comment on adultery bought a smile to this reader. Is a sin committed just by the thought or by the resulting action? Peter Robinson utilizes setting to portray the story and the characters. The story begins with Inspector Alan Banks faced with a peeping Tom, the murder of an elderly woman, and series of breaking and entering situations. Are the cases related? Will Banks discover the culprits? The story moves along like the operas that Alan Banks must hear throughout the day, with the criminal asking for forgiveness and mercy in the end.
    • 3/5
      Read. Liked. Can't remember great detail, because my brain is slightly fried of late.
    • 5/5
      Banks has recently moved from the city to the town of Eastvale and he's found that town life is no less work for the police. Eastvale is having a rash of burglaries which are increasingly becoming more destructive. When an elderly woman is found murdered the police wonder whether the burglars have moved up to the next level. At the same time, Eastvale women are being plagued by a peeping tom and the police call in a psychologist to help them with a profile hoping the tom won't escalate into violence. This was a wonderful read. I really enjoyed it. There were so many levels and side stories fabulous intermingled here and not only the crimes but relationships with the characters as well. Robinson definitely ranks up there with best such as Dexter and Rendell.
    • 5/5
      This is the first in the Chief Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson. It follows a Metropolitan inspector in what at first seems a minor crime but as he and his team delves into it the web gets thicker. This review is for the audiobook version of the story.

      I am always on the lookout for a new series that take place in foreign places. I like the Yorkshire backdrop and the interesting cultural differences. The English have a certain mentality that is very different from American POV. Granted that mysteries, by nature, are less action packed than thrillers it is even more pronounced foreign books. I liked the pace of the story. It wasn't rushed or lagging in any area. The character development is good and but I felt that the secondary characters were more developed than the protagonist. Mostly I think this is because we are seeing it through his eyes. I can't say much more without giving spoilers.

      The quality of the audiobook is very good. The reader Mark Honan seemed slow in the beginning but as new characters were introduced he did an amazing job of creating unique voices and accents for each.

      I highly recommend this story to anyone who is looking for a new series to start and I look forward to reading the next book
    • 3/5
      An average start to a series. The narration is smooth, and the story good. I have some hope that the series will be satisfying.
    • 3/5
      This is the first in the Inspector Banks series. For a first, it has compelling plot and action, and the characters are pretty well drawn. I particularly liked the relationship between Banks and his wife, Sandra -- it was mature and complex enough to be interesting. Banks' attraction to a psychologist his police department has pulled in adds some depth here too, as he acknowledges the attraction but still behaves like a grownup. The resolution of this potential 'triangle' is handled in a way that makes the ending of this book really satisfying -- complex, unexpected, and showing a depth of understanding of how people really behave. The wife and the psychologist end up bonding over issues and commonalities that transcend any love-conflict (the latter remaining pretty minor since it was not acted on) -- they find they can talk to each other about attacks each has separately been victim of, and share with a depth they couldn't share with a male. BFF! So their friendship ends up making Banks feel a bit like an outsider at the end, but it is delicately handled and very authentic. For first in a series, this is a very good read.A minor criticism, which I believe the author (Peter Robinson) will outgrow quickly, is that dialogues in the book are more like lectures gone on at length, and not very much like people actually talk.
    • 4/5
      I have seen Peter Robinson's work recommended highly on LT and when looking at his list of novels was never that intrigued. But as I realized I had inadvertently picked up some of his later works at sales I decided that I should pick up the first Inspector Banks and at least give it a try. I fell in love on page five as Banks declares to his wife Sandra 'For someone who appreciates artistic representations of the naked human form, you're a proper philistine when it comes to music, you know.'. I was hooked:) This moves along nicely with several crimes of varying degrees intertwined among the characters. Robinson doesn't give too much of Banks away in this first installment, but enough to show what a fascinating character he must be.
    • 3/5
      I'm a great fan of the Banks series, but can see that Robinson took some time to hit his stride from this shaky start. I'm not sure I would have remained a fan if this had been the first I'd read; shaky character development and reliance on titillating imagery aren't enough to shore up a thin plot. Not horrible by most standards, but not what I've come to expect from this talented storyteller.
    • 1/5
      I'm nearly halfway through the book and I'm just not connecting with any of the characters.
    • 3/5
      This book reminded me a lot of Dorothy Simpson's Luke Thanet series. It had that same blend of the small English town with the police procedural feel (rather than a "cozy") and the author's writing style seemed very similar.I enjoyed this first one. I won't rave about it—Banks is still a bit unfleshed and there's nothing particularly unique or suspenseful about the particular mystery here. On the other hand, a series gives ample time for the main character to be revealed and the book had a pleasant, "normal" feel to it...no extravagant situations or implausible inhabitants.I'll hunt out the second one, A Dedicated Man.
    • 3/5
      “Gallows View” is the first book in the Inspector Alan Banks series by Peter Robinson. I own most of the books in the series, but never got round to reading any of them. I think I’m going to embark on a mini project of reading them all (almost) in one go. See how much detective fiction a human body can take before rebelling…Banks, for those not familiar with the series, is a detective who moved from London to peaceful Yorkshire, hoping for a more peaceful job. In this book he tries to track down a Peeping Tom as well as solving the murder of a old lady. Are the two related? Well, that’s for you to guess and for Inspector Banks to find out.There is also the inevitable attraction of our hero to a member of the female species who is not his wife. In this case it is Jenny Fuller, a psychologist who helps the police put together a profile of the Peeping Tom. No worries though. This being an English novel, the attraction does not mature into any physical contact between the cop and the shrink. He remains faithful to his wife, Sandra, who (surprise!) becomes friends with Dr. Jenny. Perhaps Yorkshire has a dampening effect on people…
    • 4/5
      Former London policeman Alan Banks relocated to quiet Yorkshire seeking some small measure of peace. But as he soon learns, evil and violence are not unique to large cities.When an elderly woman is found brutally slain in her home in the quaint village of Eastvale, Chief Inspector Banks wonders if a local voyeur has crossed the line from menace to murderer. And before long, Banks finds himself caught in a web of increasingly deadly crimes—a net of danger that threatens his suddenly vulnerable personal life, forcing this dedicated law officer to make hard choices he'd dearly hoped would never be necessary.
    • 5/5
      An Inspector Alan Banks novel and well up to the standard we've come to expect from this talented ex-pat crime writer now living in Canada. As usual, the setting, in fictional Eastvale, in Yorkshire, is finely drawn with a cast of believable characters, especially the hero. Events include a peeping tom, glue-sniffing youths and Banks attraction to a young psychologist working for the police.
    • 4/5
      Well done contemporary British mystery. Very similar to Midsummer Murders or Inspector Lewis.
    • 4/5
      Peter Robinson's first Inspector Alan Banks mystery, Gallows View, was published in 1987 and has been on my TBR almost as long. We are introduced to Banks who is the Chief Inspector in Yorkshire. He's investigating a number of crimes, including a Peeping Tom. In an effort to convince the local women that the police are taking the crime seriously, Banks's boss brings in Jenny Fuller, a female psychologist who is working on a profile of the suspect.

      There have also been several home robberies that appear to have been the work of teenage boys. Before long elderly resident, Alice Matlock, is killed. Banks assumes that it's the work of the teenagers, but further investigation makes him wonder if it was done by someone else.

      The English setting for this novel is very atmospheric. As a first in the series the characters are still in development, but the books are very suspenseful and well written. I can see why this is such a popular series and I'm looking forward to reading the next one, A Dedicated Man. I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys well-written police procedural thrillers.

    • 5/5
      For a book that was written before my birth, I found Gallows View entertaining and enthralling from start to finish. Inspector Banks is an incredibly likeable character, and the traditional focus on police procedure rather than complex forensic practice makes this novel reminiscent of classic British mysteries. Simple, engaging, timeless... a novel for anyone with a longing for crime novels of the past, with a modern concept and a creepy list of crimes.

      For all its positive attributes, the novel itself is slightly confusing. Well, confusing for some. I thoroughly enjoyed the pace, and the variety of crimes that Gallows View presents us with. Inspector Banks has recently moved to a small English town with his wife, Sandra, and two children. He expects the pace to be somewhat slower in his new position, but within weeks he finds himself dealing with a peeping tom, a string of non-violent burglaries, and the murder of an old woman in her home. With no clues and no leads to follow, and under incredible pressure from local womens activist Dorothy Wycombe, Banks' department enlists the help of Dr Jenny Fuller, a local psychologist. Dr Fully, an intelligent and attractive young woman, provides the department with a deeper insight into the motives behind peepers, but she also provides a distraction for Banks as he finds himself more attracted to her.

      This complicated web of events plays out in spectacular fashion and it's not long before some of the culprits start to escalate their activities. A personal attack on Banks' family makes him question the thin line between his work and private life, and the investigations heat up when an unfortunate incident brings about a lucky break in the case. Robinson sets up his characters masterfully, with a great amount of detail. It's hard to say if he knew when writing Gallows View that he would still be writing Inspector Banks novels some 24 years later, and I look forward to watching his characters grow and change over the years.

      The climax to the novel, where all the loose ends tie up, is brilliant! While we follow a couple of culprits throughout the novel, the killer responsible for murdering the old woman does not reveal themselves to the final pages, and what a revelation it is! A fantastic novel. It's effortless charm and intriguing characters have persuaded me to carry on with the series, and I will await the arrival of book #2 eagerly!
    • 3/5

      This is one of the early novels in Robinson's Alan Banks series of detective novels, and lacks the psychological depth and sense of dark claustrophobia that make the more recent entries worthy of their place on the shelf alongside books by the likes of Ian Rankin and Ruth Rendell. Still and all, it's a rattlingly readable yarn: I gobbled it down in little more than a day.

      The Yorkshire town of Eastvale is being plagued by a peeping tom and by a spate of house invasion-style thefts, in which a couple of thugs push their way into the homes of old dears and petrify their victims into silence as they strip the place of cash and valuables. Then one of the old dears is killed in the course of such a robbery . . . or is that really what went down? In trying to solve any one of the crimes, Banks and his colleagues manage to solve all of them, while Banks solves also the problem of his adulterous yearnings for consultant psychologist Jenny Fuller. Some of the tying off of ends seems a bit contrived, as indeed does some of the rest of the plotting and characterization; I'm not sure that, had I read this back in 1987, I'd have guessed how good Robinson was going to become, but I'd certainly have felt myself entertained agreeably enough to have tried another.
    • 4/5
      Women are being terrorized in the small English town of Eastvale by a peeping tom who likes to stare at women while they undress. There has also been a series of robberies affecting this small town but the police start taking notice when they find the body of Alice Matlock. The police cannot help themselves to wander if this was the work of outsiders or if the peeping tom passion has gotten to be deadly. Inspector Banks is in charge of the case and is working together with Dr. Jennifer Fuller to try to help him understand the mind of the voyeur and to see if there is possibility that he could be dangerous.

      This book is a police procedural that does not carry a lot of surprises or revelations. What makes this book great is how the author takes what could be considered an ordinary day in the life of a police officer and make it interesting. Inspector Banks has some personal problems and he is attracted to the doctor. He wants to yield towards temptation and he knows it would not be right. The author does a good job also in showing life in a small town by showing the townspeople and involving them in the story. He adds everything from a camera club meeting all the way towards two teens heading into a life of trouble.

      As a first novel, it is a very good book and will help in the understanding of Inspector Banks. There are quite a few of the author's work that follow this novel and it will be a pleasure to continue reading them in the future.
    • 3/5
      Inspector Alan Banks has moved from London to nmore rural Yorkshire, hoping to reduce the stress produced by his job. In this first of numerous volumes, he works on cases involving a peeping Tom, the death of an old lady, and several break-ins. He is tempted by an attractive psychologist who is brought in to help on the voyeur case. The novel is a police procedural, that is, we see a lot of how the force tackles the cases and works toward solutions. We learn that he likes opera and traditional folk music. Some additional interest is added by Banks's relationships with his wife and underlings. Overall not a great start to a series, but I'll try at least one more.
    • 4/5
      A good introduction to the series, giving good background and information about Inspector Banks.
    • 5/5
      "Gallows "View" is Peter Robinson's 1987 debut of the now famous Inspector Banks series that is still going strong today. Robinson is not only debuting Banks here, but is also introducing the fictional Yorkshire town of Eastvale, a place that the Chief Inspector hoped would offer him a slower pace than he had known in the past. Thankfully for fans of the genre, that was not to happen, and before he knew it, Banks was simultaneously trying to solve three serious crimes."Gallows View" is remarkable in several ways: Robinson is talented enough to make it relatively easy for the reader to juggle several plot lines at once until they finally intersect near the end of the book; Banks, his wife Sandra, and various members of the Eastvale police all ring true and feel like real people; and the city of Eastvale soon becomes familiar in the reader's mind. This is a very well executed introductory novel, and likely had readers of the time eagerly anticipating the second book in the series.Bottom Line: I have now read the first and latest novels in the series, and I'm looking forward to filling in with all the ones in between.
    • 4/5
      This is my first reading of an 'Inspector Banks' book and I think I am going to enjoy reading the rest. John Banks is a combination of sensitive, tough, romantic and brave.He is called on to solve the case of a peeping tom, robberies from old peoples' houses, break-ins at properties in owners' absencies and the murder of an old woman. No leads seem to be forming and the frustrated police force bring in a female psychologist for profile purposes who adds to Johns problems when he finds himself with a growing attraction to her.In the end, all the cases come neatly together but not before endagering his wife and the psychologist at the same time which leaves John with a dilemma. The solution to the problem has already been carved out by his training, ethics and sheer common sense.An all-round excellent story, easy-read and holds the attention.
    • 3/5
      Continuing to read this enjoyable series out of order. Fun to come across the first one with Banks still married but beginning to feel conflicted when he needs to come to the rescue of his wife and also an attractive work colleague. Various story lines - a Peeping Tom, burglaries, a murder, neatly become connected.