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CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
by Peter Robertson
William Morrow, March 2014
352 pages
$25.99
ISBN: 0062240501


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Student revolution was a popular theme of the 1960s and early 1970s, and in his latest mystery, Peter Robinson brings that element forward to the present day. The story begins with a dead body in a remote area, which turns out to belong to a former college professor who left his job disgraced, only to live a life in the present akin to that of a hermit.

The North Yorkshire locals knew of him, familiar with his trips to town and the local pub. Otherwise he was a lone figure, hiding away in his wooded retreat, living meagerly. Even more surprising, then, was the fact that the dead man was found with £5,000 in his pocket.

In investigating the professor's death, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks finds not one, but two slim threads to investigate: One is the loss of the man's job several years back, the result of a false accusation by two young female students; the other is a far more tenuous connection (dating back more than forty years to his own college days) with a woman who writes posh romances under another name and is now the wife of a famous theatrical producer.

Neither story seems a plausible link to the dead recluse, who spent most of his recent days online, seeking to relive his past through music, literature and film. However, as so aptly noted by an

introductory quote, for this man, "The past lies like a nightmare upon the present."

This astute police procedural is a fascinating look at how trace clues become the basis for a theory linking to the motive for one man's death. It's also a book that many Baby Boomers will enjoy, with references back to the music and times of the 1970s, something that feels comfortably in the wheelhouse of Inspector Banks, who loves music in all styles.

It's little surprise that this series continues to be so successful. Robinson brings his characters and their back stories to life through their work (often stepping on a few toes along the way), carefully crafting a solid explanation of the baffling crime. This is an utterly enjoyable, engrossing tale of how the past can never truly be forgotten.

§ Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.

Reviewed by Christine Zibas, February 2014

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