In a Dry Season
 | |
| Author | Peter Robinson |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Series | Inspector Alan Banks, #10 |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Macmillan |
Publication date | 1999 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback), (Paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-330-39201-8 |
| OCLC | 50877992 |
| Preceded by | Dead Right |
| Followed by | Cold is the Grave |
In a Dry Season is the tenth novel by Canadian detective fiction writer Peter Robinson in the Inspector Banks series of novels. The novel was first printed in 1999, but has been reprinted a number of times since. The novel is widely acclaimed as Robinson's best, a large step forward in ambition from previous books, and this was reflected in its critical and commercial response. The novel was nominated for the 1999 Hammett Prize,[1] shortlisted for the American Edgar Award and won the 2000 Anthony Award for 'Best Novel'.[2]
Plot
When a boy finds a skeleton buried in a dried-up reservoir built on the site of a ruined village, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is brought in by his arch-enemy Chief Constable Jeremiah “Jimmy” Riddle to head what looks like being a dull, routine investigation.[3] It turns into anything but. With the help of Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot, Banks uncovers long-kept secrets in a community that has resolutely concealed its past. One former resident, now a writer, reveals her memories of Hobb’s End, the village that died before the reservoir was built.[4] Her first person narrative, touched with both innocence and irony, takes us from 1941 to 1945, recreating another age, an era of rationing, of Land Girls, of American airmen, of jitterbugging and movies. And of murder. As Banks and Annie unravel the deceptive and disparate relationships of half a century ago, suspense heightens and the past finally bursts into the present with terrifying consequences.[5]
Research on the period
After researching the Second World War for In a Dry Season, Robinson wrote two short stories set in wartime (1940s) Yorkshire involving Frank Bascombe a "special constable in the war" and veteran of the First World War: Missing in Action and In Flanders Fields, which were published in Not Safe After Dark.[6] A third story "Cornelius Jubb" in The Price of Love involves "Constable Bascombe", although he could not use the full name "Frank Bascombe" in the collection for copyright reasons; see Introduction and Afternotes to the collections.
References
- ↑ "The Hammett Prize: Past Winners, Nominees, and Judges". www.crimewritersna.org. International Association of Crime Writers, North American Branch. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ↑ "Winners and Nominees 2000s". www.bouchercon.com. Bouchercon. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
- ↑ "Interview | Peter Robinson". januarymagazine.com. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ↑ Bunce, Kim (21 January 2001). "In a Dry Season by Peter Robinson read by Neil Pearson and Anna Massey". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ↑ "In a Dry Season – 1999". Peter Robinson's Official Website. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ↑ Robinson, Peter (2014). "Introduction". Not safe after dark and other works. London: Pan MacMillan. p. 4. ISBN 9781447225515.