I know I've already written a post this week, but I just finished reading All the Colours of Darkness by Peter Robinson, and had to write about it. I've read this novel several times since it was published in 2008 but it's been a while and so I've forgotten how really amazing it is. There are nineteen books in the "DCI Alan Banks" series; this is number eighteen, and I believe it is one of his best. It is definitely his "darkest", in a variety of ways. His exploration of the British Intelligence Service, MI5 and MI6, and their (fictionalized) behaviour as it relates to a police murder investigation kept this reader on the edge of her seat. There is a certain murkiness to the way in which people's lives are investigated, intruded upon, and often destroyed, all in the course of duty, or so it would seem. The callousness of these agents' actions is shocking but all-too-believable. But the actions and choices of the main character, DCI Banks, in his search for the "truth", are also questionable, and the motives behind his unwillingness to accept the decisions and directions of his Chief Superintendent may reflect a certain "darkness" in his own character. This novel was not "light", nor did it make me "feel good", but I couldn't put it down; even though I knew the ending, I'd forgotten the details and the excellent ways in which the tone and the mood of the actions and settings, not to mention the depth and complexity of the characters, are created for and presented to the reader. If I had to recommend one of Peter Robinson's books for a reader new to this series, this would definitely be one of the choices, right up there with The Summer That Never Was, and Aftermath.
OK, that's all I wanted to say tonight. I just couldn't wait until next week to pass on my enthusiastic response to and recommendation for this novel, so thanks for indulging me. I'll write a "real" post next week, content "to be determined".
Bye for now!
Julie
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