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All the Colours of Darkness | 
 enlarge | Author: Peter Robinson
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Category: Book
List Price: £11.99
Buy New: £11.05
You Save: £0.94 (8%)
New (9) Used (4) from £9.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  24 reviews
Sales Rank: 247547
Media: Paperback
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.3
ISBN: 0340836938
EAN: 9780340836934
ASIN: 0340836938
Publication Date: August 7, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 19 more reviews...
 Such a disappointment! December 19, 2008
Having read all the previous Alan Banks novels and loved them, I bought "All the Colours of Darkness" as soon as it came out - but what a disappointment! Very weak plot, a lot of "filler" material that served no purpose, myriad annoying references to music - all the colours of boring. I hope Peter Robinson does better next time out or he'll have lost a reader...
 Enjoyed it, but not one of his best December 7, 2008
My reviews of other books by Peter Robinson bear witness that I am a great admirer of his books. I enjoyed this one to the point I read it in one sitting, but it left me feeling slightly disappointed and unsatisfied. Why?
With favourite authors the expectation rises higher and higher with each book, so perhaps my expectations were a little unreasonable. After all, it was not a bad book, but still I didn't get into it as much as I would have liked. I have identified a few reasons.
Credibility. The story revolves around a murder and suicide. The perpetrator is soon established, but not the motive. When it comes to light that the murder victim was in the Secret Service, there is strong pressure from the spooks to close the case, despite there being many unanswered questions. Banks of course does no such thing. Fair enough, but I find it hard to believe that the Secret Service these days have no qualms about intimidation and even murder, just to protect the government's credibility (especially this one!). In fact Annie Cabbot says the same on this last point when arguing with Banks. Nor do I believe a policeman would put his own life and the lives of people he loves at risk merely to prove his theory about why the murder happened, when he knows who did it. Some suspension of disbelief is of course necessary but here, unlike his other books, there were times I found myself saying "Come on, that could NEVER happen!"
He's started to overdo the music references. I love music and it's nice to have the occasional reference to works by my favourite composers. But I don't think we need to be talked through Shostakovich's 13th Symphony in such detail - those who aren't interested in Shostakovich will surely become bored, and those who are won't be too chuffed that the text mentions a tenor solo when in fact there is no tenor solo (only a bass) in this symphony. That might sound a bit nitpicky but if we are given so much detail, it should at least be correct. In fairness to Robinson, he usually gets the details of some very obscure works absolutely right, so maybe the blame lies with some cloth-eared editor.
I'm a bit tired of the obligatory love interest too. To be fair, Robinson keeps the latest girlfriend out of the way most of the time, but if I want to read a love story I'll buy a romantic novel.
Finally, I noticed an element of sloppiness in the writing that is uncharacteristic of this author. For example, two consecutive sentences started "Annie imagined that..." and while that's not bad English, it is not quite the fluent, well thought out style I normally associate with Peter Robinson.
This author on an off day is still a heck of a lot better than many authors at their peak, and I would still recommend this book, especially if you have enjoyed the series so far. Be warned though that it is not, in my opinion anyway, one of his best.
Terrible November 29, 2008
I've said in previous reviews that Peter Robinson is an expert in plot. So what happened here? This was nowhere near his usual standard. The plot was paper thin and all disjointed. The MI5 / MI6 element was very unconvincing. There were other sub-plots which I thought would eventually tie in to the main plot but they didn't. I expected there to be some kind of surprise at the end but there wasn't. In order to remind myself of Peter Robinson's abilities I re-read one of his earlier works, "Dry Bones That Dream" which is a top-class detective novel with a brilliant twist at the end. It shows that he is capable of writing better than this - a lot better.
Needed to be much better than this November 26, 2008
I became a huge fan of the Inspector Banks novels after picking up Aftermath in a second-hand shop a few years ago. However I totally agree with most other reviewers that this book falls a long way short of the rest of the series.
It's commendable that there are no repetitions of old storylines throughout the Banks series, however, it seems that Peter Robinson is starting to run out of ideas for plots that can be set in North Yorkshire, with which he is obviously familiar and Banks and his colleagues are well established. Much of this novel is set in London and involves Banks undertaking investigation of MI6 activities when he's supposed to be on leave, despite orders from his superiors not to. He's also witness to a fictional terrorist attack, which appears to have no relevance whatsoever to the rest of the book. And how likely is it that Banks would be able to request to stay in the same hotel room as a suspect did a couple of weeks previously, then find a clue on a piece of paper dropped behind the radiator?
Banks does find time to get back to Yorkshire and solve a murder and suicide that are highly improbably centred around an Othello plot, yet he somehow manages to latch straight onto when he sees a production at his local theatre. The ending is completely far-fetched and I agree with a previous reviewer that it seems rushed.
Robinson also seems to be running out of ideas for Banks' relationships - when we were first introduced to him he was married, then seemingly out of the blue his wife left him and a romance with Annie Cabbot started. Soon afterwards that ran out of steam and now his relationship with new girlfriend Sophia also seems to be failing. Am I the only one getting a bit bored with this?
Almost every book I buy I keep for a second read, and maybe a third. This one I gave away to a friend straight after finishing it. I think that probably says it all.
Hopefully a little breather October 22, 2008
I am a great fan of Peter Robinson's Alan Banks novels. I have read all, except one, and would rate him as one of the five best crime writers of all time. However, this one was a real disappointment.
The atmosphere, the conversations and the characters are as good as ever, but the plot is just plain poor and dull. The result is that it reads quite a bit like a 'contractual obligation novel'. The ideas are just not there, just the characters, setting and the skills of a seasoned writer.
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