This book explores all sorts of issues. The issue of family violence, the issue of sexuality, the issue of a troubled psyche. And we have the wonderful Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks trying to find his way through the minefield. Inspector Banks is a wonderful character. He is very real, and he is such an ordinary guy. That is part of his appeal. This book is set around the Christmas season in the northern part of England (Yorkshire) where Banks has taken up residence. A young woman is found dead in her flat. She has been brutally stabbed to death and Banks and his team try to find the murderer. There are far too many suspects, and far too many motives for Banks' liking, but he does manage to get to the answer in the end. Mr. Robinson knows how to write a British procedural, and I really am enjoying this series.

"Past Reason Hated" is the only book I have read by Peter Robinson. I won't read another unless I'm stuck on a island and one washes up on the shore and I am out of matches.
I understand that his later works are better than his earlier works. One reviewer recommends "In a Dry Season." I can only recommend that this not be the first of his books to read. The plot is slow, the sentences are cumbersome and the characters are poorly developed, and he is not funny.
The only reason I finished the book was so I could write this review and warn others not to waste their time. I wanted to be sure that I didn't miss out on a great ending. I am now certain that the ending is not work the labor of the read. Next time the urge to read a British mystery comes upon me as it does from time to time I will go to R. Hill or P.D. James, but I will not return to Mr. Robinson. This is one book you should take your time reading selected pages before you purchase. If you like it, buy it, read it, review it and let me know what other books you like. Life is short and I like to know about other books I should avoid.

With this novel in the Inspector Banks series, Robinson has taken his work to the next level. His magnificent ability to use everyday situations in his plots, to provide insights regarding the motivations of his characters, and his cleverly-crafted mysteries are complemented with a deeper look at the main characters. This last element is the one that does the trick for me and lifts this effort from very good to excellent.

Inspector Banks has to find Caroline's killer, which is not an easy task, especially due to the number of people that had both opportunity and motive for committing the crime. The fact that she was living as a life-partner with another woman, who is not yet divorced, complicates matters and allows for some very interesting insights into the prejudices of some of the characters involved. When you add a piece of music playing repeatedly at the crime scene, which seems to have a clear symbolism, the elements are set for a compelling mystery.

This novel has all the characteristics that have made this author one of my favorites in the genre, but it goes even beyond that. This is the first time I see several passages with some fine humor, which works very well to provide the story with variety and to lighten the mood. Since before this work Robinson has been compared repeatedly with P. D. James, he just could not refrain himself and I almost started to laugh out loud when Banks thinks to himself: "I'm getting just like that Dalgliesh fellow..."

Robinson also makes great strides in terms of the development of the main characters, giving them even more depth. Not only we get a glimpse of some of Banks' reasons for leaving London and settling on the countryside, but there is considerably more material dealing with the personal relationship among the characters than there was in the previous novel, The Hanging Valley. Another aspect that helps is the inclusion of a new character. Susan, a new constable that has just joined the Eastvale team, possesses a complex personality and a few prejudices that allow for some enlightening contrasts with Banks. She reminds me a little of Sergeant Barbara Havers, the beloved character in the series by Elizabeth George.

There is no question in my mind, this is the best book in the series so far and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and is the author of thirteen previous novels featuring Inspector Banks. He is the winner of numerous awards in the United States, Britain and Canada, and in 2002 he won the CWA Dagger in the Library. As I also come from Leeds the background to his stories is something that I have experienced first hand and because of this I have a special affection for his books. However they would be first class crime fiction wherever they were based. This particular novel is one of the author's earlier books in the series.

The scene looks like a typical Christmas in many households, a log fire, sheepskin rug, lights twinkling on the tree, the all is not as it seems. Caroline Hartley, the attractive woman lying on the couch is dead, brutally murdered. Inspector Banks is allocated the case and he soon has more suspects than he can handle. As he looks into Caroline's past he realises that secrecy was a way of life and her death is no different . . .

The novel just before this one in the DCI Alan Banks series, _The Hanging Valley_, was pretty lackluster, but Robinson springs back in this one with a major winner. A young woman is found murdered in her own parlor by her lesbian partner, Veronica, a classical recording playing over and over on the stereo. Caroline had been involved in a local amateur theater production of _Twelfth Night_ -- nice bit of irony there, and a plot-point as well if you pay attention -- and the director and the other cast members are all suspects. So is Veronica's ex-husband, so is the husband's current girlfriend, and so is Caroline's emotionally strained teenage brother, all with different and quite reasonable possible motives. The plot becomes more complex but it won't necessarily stay that way, a point the author has the Chief Inspector make several times. Banks is a humane man, not ordinarily quick to judge, and his growing regard for Veronica is very nicely rendered. Also heavily involved is newly-promoted DC Susan Gay -- an unfortunate surname, in the circumstances -- who was only a spear-carrier in the earlier installments. She's young and bright and has a great deal to learn, not least of which is to distrust her prejudices. The writing is smooth, the plotting holds together, the pace and the atmosphere of Eastdale in a rather bleak Christmas season are very well done, and the characterization is excellent. The best of the series so far.