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    Friend of the Devil
    Friend of the Devil
    Friend of the Devil
    Audiobook13 hours

    Friend of the Devil

    Written by Peter Robinson

    Narrated by Simon Prebble

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling and Edgar award-winning author Peter Robinson—a riveting double homicide leaves two seasoned detectives baffled as they race against the clock before more corpses surface.

    Two murders . . . two towns . . .

    A woman sits in a wheelchair perched on a cliff high above the sea, her throat slit from ear to ear . . .

    In a maze of narrow alleys behind a market square, a teenaged girl has been murdered after a night of drunken revelries with her friends.

    The seemingly senseless Cliffside killing falls to Inspector Annie Cabbot, on loan to a local police department. The terrible death of young Hayley Daniels becomes Chief Inspector Alan Banks's investigation. But shattering revelations threaten to awaken the slumbering demons of earlier, darker times, and more blood is in the offing when the two cases brutally and unexpectedly collide.

    Friend of the Devil is a chilling, brilliant, and utterly mesmerizing novel of suspense.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 26, 2008
    ISBN9780061579592
    Author

    Peter Robinson

    Peter Robinson's DCI Banks became a major ITV1 drama starring Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks and Andrea Lowe as DI Annie Cabbot. Peter's standalone novel Before the Poison won the IMBA's 2013 Dilys Award as well as the 2012 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. This was Peter's sixth Arthur Ellis award. His critically acclaimed DCI Banks novels have won numerous awards in Britain, the United States, Canada and Europe, and are published in translation all over the world. In 2020 Peter was made a Grand Master by the Crime Writers of Canada. Peter grew up in Yorkshire, and divided his time between Richmond, UK, and Canada until his death in 2022.

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    Reviews for Friend of the Devil

    4/5

    53 ratings39 reviews

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    • 3/5
      i like this series-Alan Banks and Annie-enuf personal detail to be interesting and the mysteries are good too
    • 3/5
      Spoilers ahoy –This was my first Peter Robinson and while good, I don’t think I’ll be adding this series to my reading list. Just too many other books to read and series I’m committed to and this one didn’t grab me. It wasn’t bad though, just felt familiar. While reading it, impressions of other books and even a TV series came to me; Dalgliesh from the P.D. James novels, Jane Tennyson from the Prime Suspect TV series, Lucas Davenport from the John Sanford series. All those are police procedurals and Friend of the Devil is just as good, albeit a bit ‘scene driven’. The two cases came together in a way that was predictable, but plausible. A couple of things bothered me about how the cases were run though. Annie didn’t strike me as aggressive enough in her dealings with the lawyers who knew Karen Drew’s true identity. That kind of thing is usually like meat in front of a starving dog. A similar failing of Banks’s drew my attention as well. Much was made of The Maze and its intricacy and impossibility to police. When it was evident someone entered without being captured on CCTV, I immediately thought that there must be a connection between an entrance that is filmed and an entrance that isn’t. The buildings were ganged together and must connect somewhere. Lo and behold, that’s just what solves the case. If they had thought of it when I did, the book would have been a lot shorter.This definitely read like part of a series and a lot of detail was omitted or alluded to. It wasn’t too hard to fill in the blanks, but it was definitely noticeable. Not a bad thing if you’re into a series. I find it quite irritating to be told the same information over and over again. Characterization seemed to be thorough, if a bit clichéd. Annie kept the furthest away from outright cliché and it surprised me. Banks however, was a fair amalgam of a lot of detectives I’ve read.The constant brand name dropping of items, terms, songs etc. drove me crazy. I understand using specificity to create atmosphere and time and place, but this was just laying it on too thick. iTunes this and Google that – enough! Ten years hence it will make this book very dated. It also feels like the author is simultaneously showing off with his esoteric musical knowledge and setting up a private joke most of his readers won’t understand. I find it much more effective for my imagination to read the words laptop computer rather than MacBook. But that’s just me.Overall I liked Friend of the Devil. It just isn’t unique enough to add to my series addiction.
    • 4/5
      In Peter Robinson's 17th mystery starring DCI Alan Banks, Banks is investigating the murder of a young woman found strangled in a storage shed in Eastvale. Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabot is investigating the murder of a woman who was found on sitting in her wheelchair with her throat cut. For readers new to the series, Friend of the Devil isn't a great place to start because it picks up on the events of one of Robinson's previous mysteries, Aftermath. This connection works against Friend of the Devil, because while this is a good, solid mystery, it suffers in comparison to the outstanding Aftermath. The mystery is engaging, and it was interesting to catch up with several characters from a previous mystery. I was less happy with some of the development in the detectives' personal lives - Annie's treatment of a guy she's gotten involved with is appalling, and seemed out of character to me. But overall, I enjoyed the book and I will certainly stick with this consistently good series.
    • 4/5
      Another book in the Inspector Banks series and I enjoyed this. For most of the novel there are two stories that weave in and out of each other until they come to a climatic conclusion.

      The background to the later books in this series is the relationship between Alan Banks and Annie Cabbot continues in this book. It is the story of the characters that makes the books so enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      The best of his I've read (Dead Right, In A Dry Season). Good characters and plot, and not so wordy as the other two. There's still an awful lot of description that doesn't advance the plot, and an overfondness for musical referesces which end up seeming more list a list than anything else. Nevertheless, this one moves along fairly well, whereas the earlier two mentioned were hard reads for me. I still expect to go back to the how the characters developed to here, and expect the next one to be even better. Unfortunately, I also expect the backlist to be more of a slog, so I'll save them for when I'm running low on titles.
    • 5/5
      Sunday morning brings with it the discovery of two murders, both women, one in a seedier part of the town of Eastvale, and the other in a wheelchair on a headland near Whitby.DCI Alan Banks attends the Eastvale crime scene while his former colleague DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern Area, takes on the wheelchair murder.The body of nineteen year old Hayley Daniels is discovered in the storeroom of a leather good shop in the Maze. CCTV shows Hayley entering the Maze on her own, so was her murderer waiting for her?The body in the wheelchair, on the other hand, is that of a quadraplegic. Her murderer appears to have collected her from the care facility where she has been living, taken her to the headland, and slit her throat. Annie Cabbot's search for clues to the woman's background and identity unearths a connection to an old case that both she and Banks were involved in.Annie is not handling her current situation at all well. She misses working with Banks and her search for personal reward is leading her down paths fraught with disaster. From the moment it is revealed that Banks and Cabbot are working apart, it is inevitable that their paths will cross. This does give THE FRIEND OF THE DEVIL a certain sense of predictability, although the nature of their relationship when they meet is problematic for both Banks and Cabbot. I enjoyed the expansion of the other characters including Detective Superintendent Catherine Gervaise, DS Kevin Templeton, and DC Winsome Jackman. Jackman in particular acts as a bridge between the investigations of Banks and Cabbot.THE FRIEND OF THE DEVIL is the 17th Inspector Banks novel, and Robinson shows that he still has the capacity to surprise even while plumbing new depths in the Banks/Cabbot relationship. Annie Cabbot first appeared in 1999 IN A DRY SEASON, eight books before FRIEND OF THE DEVIL. Through her, Robinson has been exploring the parameters of successful detective partnerships. It is an issue which other authors like Ruth Rendell, Reginald Hill, and Colin Dexter avoided with their male duos. The relationship between Banks and Cabbot is not that of two equals: he after all is the "boss", and he is also quite a bit older than her. Robinson asks questions about whether the relationship between male and female detective duos needs to be emotional and whether it can ever be sexual. The changing landscape of the Banks/Cabbot relationship is part of what keeps fans coming back to this series.
    • 1/5
      I was looking forward to reading this book. I have loved the others in the series. I only go half way through this book. There were two story lines and by the middle of the book I couldn't care who the murderers were.
    • 5/5
      A quadriplegic is found with her throat slit on the beach and at the same time a young girl is found raped and murdered behind a local pub. As the police follow the individual cases, the author skillfully spins a web that brings these two unrelated crimes together. This the first book by Peter Robinson that I have read but it most certainly will not be the last. This is a smart, intelligent British detective novel. Even though I am a stranger to Inspector Banks, I felt as though I was meeting with an old friend. I found Banks to be a deep, multi-layered character and reminiscent of Inspector Morse. I actually found myself putting this book down as I was reading it, simply because I didn't want it to end. I wanted to stay within it's pages as long as possible. It has been a very long time since a book has affected me that way. Highly recommended! Now I must go back and start this series from the beginning.
    • 4/5
      I had never read anything by Peter Robinson and quickly realized we have continuing characters here. However, that did not ruin the book for me. I found it to be well nuanced, with well-developed characters and an intricate and detailed plot. It is the story of what appears to be two separate murders. As each is investigated facts come to light that show they are actually related. As the book moves to a conclusion, I did get somewhat lost - there were a lot of names and motives that seemed to confuse me. And when we finally got to the end, the book stopped. I was a little dissatisfied at the conclusion - it needed a bit more resolution for me. I will, however, based upon this book, go back and read more Peter Robinson. I liked the police procedures and the murder mystery very much.
    • 5/5
      This is the 3rd or 4th PR book I've read, and I think his most assured so far. (I do prefer the haunting IN A DRY SEASON for its unique atmostphere which is like a fable turned cautionary tale.) I'm not a huge fan of pure police procedural, but PR does it as well as anyone. (I don't think it much matters if it's british or us; after a while, you get the lingo down and it's all essentially the same at the core.) What I look for is the way relationships are developed over the course of the book and the series. They must be made to work in both senses, and this is a difficult thing to do. PR succeeds largely because Banks is a very likeable character who nonetheless posesses sufficient melancholy, introspection and depth to keep him interesting - and because he gives Banks truly interesting women to mess around with. This is hugely important to me! Nothing turns me off like a poorly-developed love interest.Annie's arc in this book was my favorite element. How PR gets straight to the core of her pain is beyond me - she's complex: on the cusp of middle age (and that pains me to say because I'm 4 years older than her), lonely, and unsure of herself, she embarks on a series of self-destructive behaviors, but at the same time she shows a peculiar defiant strength when provoked. I really love this character.I believe it's Ian Rankin (?) who also peppers his work with references to music I've never heard of. I marked a bunch of pages to check out later; will have to hit itunes to see what it's all about. It gives Banks a sort of uber-hipness that's appealing.
    • 4/5
      Overall, an intriguing read.I was excited about getting this book, because I enjoy mystery novels, and this was set in Great Britain--the locale of many excellent mysteries. I had a little trouble getting into this book, however, because of all the acronyms and names. If you're not familiar with the British police system, it takes a while to figure out which officer does what job. Also, I think too many characters were introduced at the same time in the beginning. I spent a lot of time turning pages back and forth to refresh my memory.There were also a few typos (does no one edit anymore?), which drive me crazy, but I'm probably in the minority on that issue.I liked the way the narrative alternated between the two main characters, but it should have been more clear in the very beginning that there were two different threads (maybe by using chapter titles or subtitles?).There were a couple of throw-away characters (what happened to Sophia? what was her purpose in the plot?), although they were interesting side stories.But having said all that, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read--I couldn't put it down!
    • 4/5
      This was my first Peter Robinson book, and I was very happy with what I read. The crimes within were very intriguing and kept me reading well into the night. The characters and their relationships were interesting and even though this was my first book in the series, I quickly felt as if I was with old friends. The end of the book left me a little disappointed, it works well with the entire story, but seemed as if there was more story totell. Having read this book, I will be finding and reading the previous books in the series.
    • 5/5
      Friend of the Devil is another excellent novel by Peter Robinson. It keeps you interested the whole way through, and makes you care about and understand the characters. Some shocking crimes are revisited, but the story is excellent as usual.
    • 4/5
      Friend of the Devil has one of the best opening paragraphs I've ever read for this genre and immediately I was hopeful that, yes indeed, this was going to be a great book. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to those hopes, but I still found it entertaining nevertheless. Two murders; two different investigations and two different lead detectives. I would recommend it, but it is definitely the type of read you really must devote yourself to great chunks of time to make sure you ingrain the characters into your memory. I dabbled with this book in small doses as life kept interrupting, and in all fairness, that really did take away from the smooth flow of the story. I kept losing track of who was who and found myself backtracking. The writing itself was good, but a little bit wordier than what was needed. I did like the lead characters and I would read another Peter Robinson book featuring them. If a varied cast of characters is Mr. Robinson's M.O., I will definitely make sure I have plenty of time to lose myself in his stories and stay in the moment with him.
    • 4/5
      Peter Robinson knows a good formula when he sees it, and so in this latest of his mysteries featuring Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, he applies his familiar template: a parallel murder investigated by DI Annie Cabbot (in alternating chapters), crimes in the past linked to those in the present, sex associated with the violence, and angst associated with the detectives. He writes very much like an updated and masculine version of P.D. James: the characters, settings, and plot layout are similar, but there are differences: "atmospherics" are greatly toned down (what? no fireplace with two comfy chairs on either side topped by bookshelves?!); his vocabulary does not contain any challenging surprises; and references are strewn throughout Robinson's books to show that he is part of modern times. DI Cabbot "googles" suspects, for example, and DCI Banks uses an IPod, drinks Chilean cabernet, and has "pizza funghi" as leftover dinner.Like James, who pairs Adam Dalgleish with Inspector Kate Miskin (with whom there is a certain sexual tension), Robinson's Alan Banks works with Annie Cabbot (with a similar sexual tension). Banks is as fond of his Porsche as Dagleish of his Jaguar. Like James, Robinson quietly inserts sly humor into his stories. The man who found the first murder victim was walking his dog named "Hagrid." A local constable reports that a witness was "pale as a ghost and shaking like a leaf." The Superintendent interjects: "Spare us the cliches, constable, and get on with the story." Later in the report the Constable gives the name of the witness as Chelsea Pilton and says "Funny name, I thought. Sounds like an underground stop, doesn't it?"Robinson, although born in Yorkshire, has spent over twenty years in North America, and it shows. His brisk pace is in tune with American attention spans, and the short chapters and page-turning plot recall Ridley Pearson more than any British writer.The two related murder investigations in this book involve a quadriplegic woman found dead in a wheelchair on a cliff near Whitby with her throat slit, and a young girl found brutally raped and murdered in a sleazy area in Eastvale. Cabbot draws the first, and Banks the second. It won’t spoil the plot (since it follows a familiar route) to say that both investigators find to their surprise that collaboration is a fruitful way to solve these crimes.There are some lovely turns of phrase, like this thought from Annie: “In her experience, killers who wanted to make statements were like bores at a party, a bugger to shut up until they’d finished what they had to say.”I don’t know if I shall remember this novel at all in a year, but it makes a fine companion for a long boring plane trip, and often that is all that a book should be.
    • 2/5
      I borrowed this on a recommendation from a friend. The mystery itself was interesting but the writing is weighted down with far too many pop culture and self-absorbed references to types of wine, play lists on the character's MP3 players, etc., etc. It was almost to the point of feeling like written product placements throughout. Compare to Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse, whose character is fleshed out with likes and dislikes but the reader isn't beaten over the head with them.Acceptable for beach or single reading but not worth keeping on the shelf.
    • 3/5
      Decently written thriller, a little heavy on the f-word and sex for my taste, and it seemed as though the author was constantly talking about Banks' music. It got old quickly. Hastily sketched characters as well, but enjoyable overall.
    • 3/5
      I liked it, but I guessed the major twists.
    • 3/5
      I've never read anything by Peter Robinson before this. I do enjoy mysteries but I found this one remarkably easy to solve. I knew the killer by the third Chapter...well one of the killers (no, I'm not ruining anything for you, the jacket copy clearly states that there are two different killers at work). I found myself completely indifferent to the discovery of Hayley's killer and I find that sad. I was more concerned about the person who killed the killer. I found the point of view jumping to be quite disorienting.That all being said, I was interested enough to read until the end, which was far superior to the rest of the book, in my opinion. All in all it wasn't a waste of time but I don't know if I'd bother to read anything else by him.
    • 5/5
      Another excellent Banks story, as usual set in and around the fictional Eastvale, but with substantive mentions of real locations in Whitby and Leeds. Di Annie Cabbott is on secondment in Whitby and her and Banks' murder cases suddenly appear to be linked. A very ingenious plot and the usual strong characterisation make you want to read to the final pages as quickly as possible.
    • 5/5
      You know, you just can't go wrong with Banks and Cabot. Though this one was just a bit heavy on Annie's personal demons, as always Robinson delivered a well written story - truly a non-formulaic mystery.

      I may be kinda simple, but I was mildly surprised at whodunit.

      Especially after a recent string of unsatisfying, shortcut-taking so-called mysteries, the 11 hours listening to this book was time very well spent.
    • 5/5
      Book DescriptionChief Inspector Alan Banks and Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot must work together to solve two chilling crimes in a stunning new novel by New York Times bestselling author Peter RobinsonOne morning in March, on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea, a woman named Karen Drew is found in her wheelchair with her throat slit. Back in Eastvale on that same morning, in a tangle of narrow alleys behind a market square, the body of Hayley Daniels is found raped and strangled.Two murders . . . two towns . . .On loan to a sister precinct, Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot draws the first case. Karen Drew seems to have lived a quiet and nearly invisible life for the past seven years. Try as she might, Annie turns up nothing in the woman's past that might have prompted someone to wheel her out to the sea and to her death.Meanwhile, in the Hayley Daniels murder, Chief Inspector Alan Banks has suspects galore. Everywhere she went, the nineteen-year-old student attracted attention. Anyone could have followed her on the night she was out drinking with friends, making sure she never made it back home.Then a breakthrough spins Annie's case in a shocking and surprising new direction, straight toward Banks. Coincidence? Not in Eastvale. Banks and Annie are searching for two killers who might strike again at any moment and with bloody fury.My ReviewThis novel was about 2 separate murders that in the end came together and were linked to murders from 18 years ago. The plot had lots of twists and turns and kept the pages turning right up to the very surprising ending. I would recommend reading Aftermath and Caedmon's Song before reading this one as some of the characters were connected to the characters in those two books. I now look forward to reading the next installment in the Inspector Banks series and I highly recommend this series to those who like mystery suspense thrillers and suggest that you read them in order.
    • 4/5
      Take this review with a grain of salt. Why do I say that? Because I did something I never do—I jumped into the middle of a long-established series without reading any of the prior books. And it was really obvious that I’d missed a lot. It was almost as if the novel’s strengths had become weaknesses for me. The characters were so complex that I couldn’t catch up on their history through a few paragraphs of exposition. Likewise, the British setting was so realistic that I found myself struggling to figure out the police officers' jobs and hierarchy, as well as to decipher the meaning of slang and pop culture references. I feel so American, LOL.The novel has two protagonists. Annie Cabbott is a homicide detective in crisis. Her current state does not make her especially likeable, and I find myself wondering how she became the mess she is. Currently she’s on temporary loan to another city, taking her away from familiar surroundings. Personally, she’s drinking like a fish and having ill-advised sexual liaisons. Professionally, she’s investigating the murder of a presumably harmless, helpless quadriplegic. Although, as my phrasing suggests, there’s more to the case than first meets the eye. The other major character is Alan Banks. Where Annie is in crisis, Alan is at a turning point. He is also investigating a homicide, a violent sex crime with a 19-year-old victim. The narrative jogs back and forth between the investigations of these two cases, which was a little challenging at times. It’s a lot of names and details to keep track of. And being a somewhat more realistic procedural, you really get a feel for the frustration and drudgery of looking at the same clues, statements, and details over and over, trying to see something new. Trying to find a new trail to follow. Trying to see what you’ve previously missed. Eventually, it begins to seem that these two disparate cases may be linked somehow. I was gratified that the author didn’t rely on too improbable a coincidence to explain this. The resolutions to the crimes were both sad and satisfying. The novel ended quite abruptly after the murders had been solved, leaving me wanting a little more dénouement. And as challenging as it had been to figure out the characters' past based on clues in the text, I was left very much wanting to know what would happen to them next. While I doubt I’ll invest the effort into reading a lengthy backlist, I have a feeling I may be reading the next book in this series. What more can an author ask; I appear to be hooked.
    • 5/5
      Once again we have two separate murder investigations going on here. In my opinion, his writing gets better with each book. So far there are currently 23 DCI Banks books out and I’m on a mission to catch up with the series. Then I can eagerly await publication of the newest book in the future.This book, Friend of the Devil, is number 17 in the series.DI Annie Cabbot has been loaned out to neighboring police force but she is in touch with Eastvale Police as the two investigations appear to relate to one another.Alan Banks is paired with obnoxious DS Kevin Templeton and one of my new favorite characters, Winsome Jackman. Winsome is a 6 foot black female detective hailing from Jamaica. You can imagine the stir she causes in the quiet Yorkshire dales since they’ve never had any ethnicity in the police force before.In Banks’ investigation we have a collage-aged drunken female who was found raped and murdered in The Maze. There are many suspects but the murderer wasn’t who I thought it would be. Great job of keeping that a mystery up until the end. I wish he had written about the murdered girl’s family again though, see them have closure.Detective Inspector Annie Cabbot’s investigation involves a wheel-chair bound woman who had her throat slit. Why would anyone want to harm a paraplegic? That is revealed, as well as a blast-from-the-past from a previous book, when they discover the murderer in this case.At the 60% mark there was a huge twist and surprise! As always what I love about Alan Banks is the dedication to the job as well as his personal life interests of literature, music and food. Reading some reviews there are folks who only want the murder investigation and have zero interest in the personal life and loves of our detectives. I like the balance of knowing who these people are when they aren’t working. It makes them more rounded characters for me.There was quite a bit of food mentioned in this book as many discussions take place in a pub. At one point Banks meet someone in a wine bar and enjoyed a good wine and baked brie with toasted baguette. Yorkshire puddings, sausages, vegetarian meals, Black Sheep ales and more.
    • 4/5
      A good entry in this enjoyable series, which still seems fresh and not too formulaic even though this is about book 18. Banks investigates the murder of a young woman in a warren of crooked streets, whilst Annie is seconded, investigating the murder of a paralysed woman. And both become involved in other people while still trying to negotiate their own relationship.w
    • 4/5
      Complicated murder mystery with the two detectives working separate cases that come together in the end of the book with a surprise, gruesome and violent death.
    • 4/5
      Not one of Peter Robinson's best in my opinion. A sort of follow-on from Aftermath with the widow of the serial murderer in that book involved. I felt the book dragged and could have been 100 pages shorter. Nevertheless Robinson remains one of my favourites and there is a new love interest with Sophia, definitely a formidable rival for the omnipresent Annie.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed Simon Prebble's interpretation, and I like the characters in the book. However, I do feel that the mysteries were solved by the protagonists without having given sufficient clues to the reader. It didn't leave me with an I-should-have-seen-that feeling which is the hallmark of truly great mysteries.
    • 4/5
      This is the 17th book in my beloved DCI Banks series. As usual, it was well-written with a plot that moves along at a reasonably fast pace. In this book we have Banks working on a rape and murder that occurred really close to his police headquarters, and we have DI Annie Cabbott working from another police station and she's trying to find the murderer of a quadriplegic woman. Who would slit the throat of a quadriplegic woman who hasn't even been able to speak for years? Annie digs deeper and discovers a whole secret life for this victim, and the suspect pool incrases exponentially. Eventually these two separate investigations appear to be linkied somehow, so Banks and Annie work together to try to solve them both. I love Robinson's writing. He is methodical and his character development is thorough and complete. After 17 books, I have really come to like Robinson's characters. And he always winds everything up in the end and leaves no loose ends. Another good entry in this very strong series.
    • 4/5
      I used to read mysteries by the truckload, but over the past few years have fallen a little out of love with the genre and now only read a few mysteries a year. Peter Robinson is one of the authors I can always count on to write a compelling story with tight plots and interesting characters.I came into this book knowing the back story between Inspector Alan Banks and Annie Cabbot. If you haven't read any of Robinson's previous books, there's plenty of information in this book to let you know what's been going on, but I think having read a few of his others helped me jump into this story right away.In this book, Banks and Cabbot each have a murder case to solve, conveniently (but believably) the cases are intertwined. I found Banks's case the more interesting of the two, but that may have been because of its location. Robinson really knows how to make a setting come alive.If you're a regular mystery reader, you should definitely give Robinson's books a try. And even if you just need the occasional whodunit to pass the weekend, you really can't go wrong with him. I'll be passing this copy around my reading group and expect that they'll be reading more in the Inspector Banks series soon.