A Necessary End

Inspector Banks #3

by Peter Robinson

One rainy March evening, an anti-nuclear demonstration outside the Eastvale Community Centre turns the mood of the crowd begins to darken as the weather worsens. Finally the police lose control and violence erupts, leaving one policeman dead with almost a hundred suspects. Detective Chief Inspector Banks is back, investigating his third case in Yorkshire. But things become difficult for him when Superintendent Richard “Dirty Dick” Burgess is sent from London, for political reasons, to lead the investigation. Sifting through a host of unusual suspects and disturbing discoveries about the police themselves, Banks is warned off the case. But the only way he can salvage his career is by beating Burgess to the killer. As the two head for a final confrontation, Banks pieces together the full story behind his most tragic case so far.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Audiobook, Detective, British Literature, Mystery Thriller

356 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Peter Robinson was born in Yorkshire. After getting his BA Honours Degree in English Literature at the University of Leeds, he came to Canada and took his MA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor, then a PhD in English at York University. He has taught at a number of Toronto community colleges and universities and served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Windsor, 1992-93.

Series:
* Inspector Banks

Awards:
* Winner of the 1992 Ellis Award for Best Novel.
* Winner of the 1997 Ellis Award for Best Novel.
* Winner of the 2000 Anthony Award for Best Novel.
* Winner of the 2000 Barry Award for Best Novel.
* Winner of the 2001 Ellis Award for Best Novel.

Reviews

[Jeffrey Keeten · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Banks drove through Keighley and Haworth into open country, with Haworth Moor on his right and Oxenhope Moor on his left. Even in the bright sun of that springlike day, the landscape looked sinister and brooding. Banks found something magical about the area, with its legends of witches, mad Methodist preachers, and the tales the Bronte sisters had spun.

Banks slipped a cassette in the stereo and Robert Johnson sang ‘Hellhound on My Trail.’ West Yorkshire was a long way from the Mississippi delta, but the dark, jagged edges of Johnson’s guitar seemed to limn the landscape, and his haunted doom-laden lyrics captured its mood.”


The Crossroads Man himself, Robert Johnson.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks is an introspective man. He likes a good bitter in the pub, but when he is at home listening to jazz or blues, he likes a few fingers of Scotch while he relaxes with a good book. If the fact that Banks is slipping a cassette tape in his car’s music system didn’t properly tip you off, this book is set in the 1980s, otherwise known as the age of Thatcher and Reagan.

There is unrest all across Britain as young people are discovering that their futures are being mortgaged and destroyed by a cold, unfeeling, conservative government.

A nuclear protest march gets out of hand, leaving PC Edwin Gill stabbed to death in the street. A hotshot detective from London named Burgess is sent out to help Banks and his team track down the killer. Dirty Dick Burgess, his name says it all, is all bluster and threats, which doesn’t mesh well with Banks’s more cerebral and respectful interrogation methods. Burgess wants a quick resolution so he can bunk off back to London, but as Banks keeps reminding him, I have to live with these people.

The investigation quickly centers around the ex-hippies living out on a place they call Maggie’s Farm. This is a nod to the Bob Dylan song, but also an ironic jab at Margaret Thatcher. After all, she is doing her level best to help give everything of value to the top 1%. The serf system of the Middle Ages wasn’t so bad after all, was it?

Banks starts to realize that the line of investigation needs to shift back to the murder victim. Who did he know? Did he have any enemies? From what Banks has gathered, Gill was a right bastard who volunteered for riot duty every chance he could so he could indulge his thirst for cracking heads. In other words, he had been a natural born thug. Maggie Thatcher would never be caught dead having a pint with such a man, but she wouldn’t hesitate to release him from a cage to go hurt people she considers to be the scum of the earth.

You know, people like you and me.

Burgess wants to keep the focus on Maggie’s Farm. He doesn’t want to muddy the water with Gill’s backstory. He knows there are too many hooks and crooks in that story that would only confuse a jury. Banks isn’t one to let a string go without giving it a tug, and as he keeps pulling on that particular thread, a clearer picture of events emerges.

The first Alan Banks mystery I read was In a Dry Season, which is fabulous. It is the 10th book in the series. I read the next one Cold is the Grave and loved it as well so I decided that I really needed to go back to the beginning of the series and catch up all that happened to Banks before In a Dry Season. The early books are more like Agatha Christie who-done-it mysteries. The later books are plotted and written more like thrillers, with more physical action. I happen to appreciate both styles. The interesting thing for me, as I get caught up on the series, is discovering which novel is going to prove to be the moment when Peter Robinson changed his style.

It is a mystery within a series of mysteries, and I am the detective who happily is gathering information for a grand reveal. May we all assemble in the library, and everyone leave their candlesticks, knives, ropes, bent pipes, and monkey wrenches on the table in the hallway.

Here are just a few blues musicians that Banks plays during the course of this investigation:

Blind Lemon Jefferson
Charlie Patton
Sara Martin
Leadbelly
Scrapper Blackwell
Blind Willie McTell
Leroy Carr
Walter Davis
Robert Johnson

I have a feeling that most of you will not be listening to them on cassette.

Next up in my tour of the Yorkshires is The Hanging Valley.

If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

“ … the thick of a political demonstration seemed the ideal cover for murder.”

Chief Inspector Alan Banks, CID, recently transferred from London to Eastvale, a town in the Yorkshire Dales, is no Harry Bosch or Harry Rebus. But then Eastvale isn’t New York City, London or Edinburgh either. Alan Banks is a real man with real characteristics – he loves his music, opera, choral, jazz and blues; he enjoys a jar or two of his favourite beer; he’ll even indulge in a scotch if the problem he’s considering is a little deeper or a little more pressing; he’d much rather deal with the nuts and bolts of policing and crime solving than getting sidetracked with the right-wing attitudes of some of the officers around him; and he’s happy to be in a small town. But this small town has a couple of big city surprises in store that Banks would rather not have to deal with.

A NECESSARY END (Inspector Banks #3) was actually written in 1989 – fully thirty years ago – but its major themes could hardly be more timely. Constable Edwin Gill is a serious hard-core right wing misogynist who volunteers for any policing opportunity that might give him the opportunity to bash heads of any far left Bolsheviks who presume to express their Commie left-wing peacenik attitudes. But when the dust clears after a protest against the expansion of a nearby American air force base that got out of hand, Gill is discovered to have been stabbed to death and such clues as exist point in the direction of a local “family” group. Back in the 60s, they would have been called a “hippie commune”. It doesn’t make Banks’ life any easier when he discovers that Dick Burgess, the superintendent called in from London to oversee the investigation, proves to be even further to the right in his outlook on life than Gill was.

Robinson does a superlative job making his hero walk a difficult line between his personal politics and the necessity to follow the clues that continually seem to point in a direction that Banks would prefer to avoid. And, just as Michael Connelly has done with the Harry Bosch persona introduced in THE BLACK ECHO, Banks continues to grow and evolve as a person and skilled investigator. In A NECESSARY END, while his devoted wife is out of town dealing with a family emergency, Banks wrestles with the niggling attractions for a colleague that his psyche simply refuses to put to rest.

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small anti-nuclear demonstration in Eastvale turns into a brawl between protestors and police, and in the melee, someone stabs a police constable from neighboring Scarborough to death. Chief Detective Inspector Alan Banks immediately begins processing the 36 protestors who were arrested, interviewing the 10 who went to the hospital, and trying to track down the other four dozen or so who were at the protest. With all the confusion of the protest-turned-riot, Banks knows that the investigation into the murder of Police Constable Edwin Gill will be hard enough.

But it doesn’t mean things can’t get worse: The brass in London send down an old nemesis of Banks’ to investigate, one CID Superintendent Richard Burgess. His nickname, “Dirty Dick,” tells you all that you need to know: He’s a man who makes up his mind first and then shoehorns the evidence to fit — the opposite of the patient, tenacious, honest Banks. The misguided right-wing Burgess has set his sights on the denizens of a commune-like farm called “Maggie’s Farm,” and, obsessed as he is with imaginary “Bolshies” and terrorists, he’s not about to listen to reason. So Banks, aided by some of his most trustworthy men, begins his own parallel, surreptitious investigation because, should Burgess find out, Banks’ career would be at an end.

I liked the first novel in this long-running series, Gallows View, and I liked the sequel, A Dedicated Man, even more; however, author Peter Robinson really pulls out the stop with the third book, A Necessary End. Highly recommended.

[Lawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Necessary End: Banks and the Inevitable Conclusion

This is my third outing with good man Inspector Alan Banks. I'm coming to rather like him. I've followed Banks from the beginning in Gallows View, published in 1987. To date the series strikes me as a fine ,well written police procedural told from a more gentle perspective, in a more peaceful and bucolic setting. In Yorkshire. The fictional town of Eastvale, more specific.

For Banks, in his debut, had left his more high pressure job in London as a member of the Unsolved Crimes Unit, and transferred to Eastvale, hoping to find a quieter life. A better place to raise his two children. Spend more time with his doting wife Sandra. All's well. Until Banks discovers that no place is immune to crime, not even the idyllic Eastvale.

Banks is quick to involve himself in investigations. He has a knack for interrogation. Some might suspect him of being a bit soft. But that would be entirely a mistake. Banks is capable of coming down as hard as necessary to uncover a killer.

Music is a passion with which he relaxes himself. And I have rather humorously followed him from his opera phase to his current fascination with classic American Blues and Jazz. Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Billie Holliday. He's quite informed.

Banks dotes on his children. He misses his wife when she is away.

Contemporary readers, much younger than myself, might find A Necessary End quite dated. It is a novel revolving around a demonstration by Eastvale Villagers against a Nuclear Power Plant and also the presence of a new United States Airforce Base carrying nuclear weapons. You see, the Cold War is still quite real at the time of Robinson righting this case.

However, being a child of the late 1960s, I found no problem falling into the atmosphere of demonstrations, the exercise of civil disobedience. I who was a college student with a low lottery number was staring the possibility of heading to Vietnam with a forboding sense of my early demise. I attended my own share of demonstrations in my younger years. A member of the Student Mobilization Committee, allied with Vietnam Veterans against the war. Interesting thing about protest groups, how polarized they can be. And the bonds formed among folks for a common cause though of disparate personalities.

But enough of that. There is a Hell of a demonstration. A Bobby sent in from another district, Eddie Gill is killed. Stabbed. Over a hundred protestors are present. In otherwords, over a hundred suspects.

London sends out its own whiz kid from the Yard to quickly solve the copper killing. Consider him Banks opposite. Dirty Dick Burgess is an ultra right wing conservative. His immediate solution is that the dead Constable was killed by a terrorist. Possibly Communist, Possibly IRA, Possibly a Maoist. Never mind that Burgess has no proper head for politics and mixes contradictory philosophies at will, he sees conspiracies everywhere.

Alas. Banks has to face the problem in his beloved village without his wife or children who have gone away to aid Sandra's mother in the care of her ailing stepfather. So Banks finds himself with little excuse not to spend extra hours with the obnoxious Burgess.

There's a group of idealistic folk who live outside Eastvale at Maggie's Farm. The march to the beat of the different drum. The oldest are true children of the sixties. Mara, the perfect image of the earthmother. Her partner, Seth, a maker of fine furniture. Richard, a bitter man, an artist caring for his son Julian, while his wife is attempting to recover a life from drug addiction.

There are two younger among the crowd. Zoe, a modern day flower child who lives by giving Tarot reads, writing the local horoscope, and delving into the I Ching. She is an idealist of the New Age. Not really political, but happily at home in a new day form of communal living. And of course, there's Paul. The social outcast. The product of an abused home. Raised in foster care.

Mara, who was incapable of bearing children extends kindness to Paul. So, soon, does Seth, who takes Paul on as an apprentice in the fine art of carpentry and wood work.

Outside Maggie's Farm there is a true activist named Ozmend. Not at all foreign to organizing demonstrations. And Ozmend clearly has a past showing him capable of violent behavior. A younger couple are also in the Ban the Bomb/Ban Nuclear Power movement. However, they appear to be pure idealistic hangers on.

The point of all this? Thanks to Burgess who will have his agitator's guts for garters and ballocks for sport, the above named parties are his sole suspects. That and any other agitator he can manage to create.

But, Banks, always the thorough careful one wonders if there might have been a personal motive for Eddie Gills murder. He launches his own investigation, kept from his supervising officer. Gill was not a good clean cop. He loved to volunteer for Demonstration Control. He was a head banger of long standing. Any number might have their motive. Of course, the problem is the most likely suspects are those whom Dirty Dick harries for purely political motives.

All things must come to an end. Unfortunately, an end must be necessary. However, it is an end that may solve a crime and at the same time offer a deeply human reason for taking another person's life. Unfortunate. But, I must say, I've had my dealings with enough victims to reach the conclusion they deserved killin' as we might say in the South. Problem is, the law allows no one the right to do that.

On an interesting side note, I'm discovering that our Inspector Banks is all to0 human. He's exhibiting a distinct attraction to Dr. Jenny Fuller, who first appeared in Gallows View. And that attraction appears to be returned to Banks.

So, without doubt, I will continue with Inspector Banks' Investigations. No Sturm und Drang series. Not at this point. However, Peter Robinson has a distinct knack for realistic dialogue, the establishment of place in Yorkshire, and deeply introspective abilities to portray men and women at their best and worst.

You can't find a thing wrong with that. And you younger, folks. Don't be deterred that this title isn't hot off the racks. It remains as relevant today as the issue of brutality by police remains a front burner topic. And, beware. Not all nuclear weapons have been destroyed. You might find yourself wanting to "Ban the Bomb," too.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad to have discovered this series this year because it is really working well. It takes place in the British countryside, there are many recurring characters I'm interested in learning more about, and they're not too gory or violent (considering they're all police procedurals involving a murder). Also, it's a nice, long series and most of them are available on Hoopla. Big bonus there.

I missed Banks's wife, who was out of town for this installment, and I'd like to see more depth from the main police characters, but I'm going to trust that comes in time. I just love Yorkshire. Just hearing about old stone walls and sheep really makes me happy, even when there is a murderer afoot. 💙😬

The audio versions of these books all seem to be good as well. Not stellar, but I'd say 3.5 stars for the audiobooks across the board so far. Definitely a series to look into if you shy away from gore and violence, but enjoy the British countryside.

[Deb Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the blurb on the back of the book describing this almost monstrous man who is sent from Scotland Yard to aid Chief Inspector Alan Banks solve what may have been the politically-motivated killing of a police officer, I had second thoughts about reading this one. I'm happy to report that I did read it -- and I'm glad I did.

Enter Richard Burgess from Scotland Yard, a man who sees Communists behind every bush and prefers to solve problems with aggressiveness rather than any sort of finesse. Fortunately, a monster he is not, but also no where close to the ideal copper in the eyes of protagonist Alan Banks.

A small demonstration had turned violent without warning. PC Gill is found dead of a stab wound once the area is cleared. Burgess and Banks must find a way to work together to solve the case, but each man has his own definition of justice.

This was a strong plot and a good story well told.

[Natalie M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was far more enjoyable than #2. The series is back on track! DCI Banks is fantastic; his character, fairness, intelligence and then his doubts about his relationships make this a very engaging read. The characters all progress from Book 1 and the plot which begins with a riot is so much more than a demonstration. There is something unique about Banks and it will keep me reading. That and the realism of crime-solving, vs the often inane murders and explosions of other crime novels, make this very British read, very compelling.

[Jack Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars. It's a simple case, but well written by author Peter Robinson. My favourite in the series so far. I should clarify; it's a simple case is an observation which only became apparent after finishing! It's about the death of a police constable during a small but ugly riot which ended an anti-nuclear demonstration in Eastvale. Because the melee was extremely confusing, no one from Inspector Banks on down was certain who had knifed the constable. Not a big gathering, only 100, but no witnesses could be found to the attack on PC Edwin Gill. He was with the Scarborough constabulary and brought in to assist with crowd-control. Thus, each of the demonstrators becomes a suspect! Here's a hint - don't lose sight of Constable Gill, his actions that day and his unsavoury enthusiasm for the physical side of policing. Not a model officer. But that doesn't elevate 'A Necessary End' to 5 Stars. Why it deserves the extra star is the conflict that comes with the appointment by London of Superintendent Richard Burgess to handle the investigation up north. 'Bloody hell,' says Banks. The two have clashed previously. So well written. (May2024/Mar2025)

[Jaksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another in the Inspector Banks series, set in rural England among cottages and pubs, moors and meadows, with good cops and bad cops and lots of red herrings...

The good inspector (DCI Alan Banks) is searching for a killer, that is, whoever stuck a knife up inside police officer Edwin Gill during a protest outside the community hall in the small town (village?) of Eastvale. It's a timely tale, set circa 1989, a period in which a lot of those caught up in the 'hippie culture', or vibe of the 1960's are now firmly into middle age. Some are still carrying their free love, save the world, police are pigs philosophy along with them, and it's this particular group that Banks must deal with as several of their members - who live on a small farm a mile from village center - become suspects.

But it can never be this simple with an Inspector Banks novel. London sends out Detective Superintendent Richard 'Dirty Dick' Burgess, who will oversee the entire investigation. He's a big, brawling, braggart of a fellow with a quick eye for anything in a skirt. (Yeah, I said that and maybe a Scotsman in a kilt would get him going, too. Who knows?) Sorting out who had the murder weapon - a knife usually kept in the farmhouse of this aforementioned small group - and what he/she did with it, where and when, and then the interminable interviews of a whole lot of terribly uncooperative witnesses lead DCI Banks on a weary chase. As I've said before with books set in rural England, the English - in general - seem to have this long-lived dislike and suspicion of the police. Getting answers out of ANYBODY is like pulling the canines off a saber-toothed cat. And though I know Americans can be just as testy, but really...it happens so much in novels set in England there must be some truth behind it.

Anyhow, a handy tale, and what I liked best about it was the good inspector's sense of right vs. wrong and his unflagging determination to get this one right all the way.

Four stars.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Robinson's third DCI Banks novel is full of fascinating characters . I loved the five years of the DCI Banks TV series & must admit I do find it hard to get Stephen Tompkinson's portrayal of the character out of my mind, even though he is quite different to the man in the novels.
The books are developing well & hopefully I will end up enjoying them as much as I enjoyed the TV series.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Necessary End (Inspector Banks, #3) by Peter Robinson.

There a few issues necessary for me to get hooked on a series. #1 is the inspector/detective. Count me in for Inspector Banks. I had long been ignoring these books due to the fact I didn't latch on to the TV series in the least. So glad I gave it a try. #2 are the characters. Are they believable? Do they interact with each other in a realistic way? #3 Does the story keep me focused without being repetitive?

The answer to all three is Yes, Yes and Yes. These 3 are the most important elements in a mystery series for me to become a fan. Peter Robinson, an extraordinary author , brings them all together.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a small riot breaks out at a small demonstration in the normally quite quiet Eastvale, the town is a bit shaken up. When the dust clears and one of the Police officers at the scene turns out to be dead, everything and everyone in the community is affected. DCI Banks struggles this time with investigating members of his community, some that he has befriended, most of which he has built relationships with, at least trust and/or mutual respect. At the same time he tries to learn about the fallen policeman himself, something that is not looked kindly upon by co-workers or superiors. And to top it off, the chosen investigation lead (which of course must be a 'neutral' outsider) turns out to be "Dirty" Dick Burgess, who treads gently like a bulldozer and won't make any of Banks ambitions any easier. I have enjoyed all Bank books I've read this far, and this is certainly no exception, great cast of characters, a good and plausible plot and good narrative.

[Melani · Rating 2 out of 5]

...not my favorite Inspector Banks novel. The pacing was so slow that I felt I was the one having every mundane conversation with each suspect and fellow officer, except I didn't have any cigarettes or pints to get through them.

[Larraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the reasons I prefer British police procedurals is because of the lack of "action" and the complexity of the stories by so many British authors. There aren't car chases or shootouts in most of them. If there is shooting, it's limited. Peter Robinson is one of those authors. I enjoy his Inspector Alan Banks, a nuanced and interesting character, who likes all kinds of music (except pop which includes crooners as the author calls them), is educated and thoughtful and doesn't go for the easy answer. That makes him unpopular in some quarters.

This book is early in the series when he is still married to Sandra and his children are still fairly young. My introduction to the series was when he was divorced and his children were both young adults. So I got my hands on some used copies. This is the second. I've read the third. Somewhere around here I've got his first. Doesn't matter. I know enough about the character now so I don't get confused!

This story is one that seems simple at first. During a anti nuke demonstration, a young police officer is killed. It seems as if one of the demonstrators must have done it, but who? There are over 100 suspects initially. Robinson's boss is put on "vacation" and an investigator from London named Burgess is sent. He isn't named "Dirty Dick" for nothing. He'll doing what it takes to solve a case even if it means pinning it on someone who may be innocent. Plus he hates "bolshies" as he calls people who aren't in line with the current Thatcher regime.

This is an era of no cell phones or internet. People are still using paper files and manual typewriters.

Of course, nothing is as simple as it seems. Banks is stubborn and is not willing to bend to Burgess' dirty tricks. I didn't see the ending coming in this one at all. Excellent.

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Necessary End is not my favorite of Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series, but is still a good read.

A policeman is stabbed to death in an anti-nuclear demonstration in Eastvale, Inspector Bank's new home territory. Because it is the death of a policeman, an old colleague, Detective Superintendent Richard 'Dirty Dick' Burgess, is sent to head the investigation and wastes no time in alienating the locals.

"Dirty Dick" is one of the old school policemen - the sort who pick a likely suspect and will make the case fit. Alan Banks has more of a softly, softly approach; and resents the way "Dirty Dick" is riding roughshod over his authority and his local friends.

This is not so much of a "whodunnit" as a study in human nature, and I found the ending somewhat anti-climatic.

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ster

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Setting: Yorkshire Dales, England; 1980's.
In this third book in the series featuring Inspector Banks, a demonstration in Eastvale turns violent - and a policeman is fatally stabbed. There are a number of possible suspects, several of whom live in a local community at Maggie's Farm, including carpenter Seth and his partner Mara, artist Rick, spiritualist Zoe and former down-and-out Boyd. Several of them were present at the protest, as well as a couple of local students and another local agitator, Desmond. When Superintendent Burgess is sent up from the Metropolitan Police to lead the investigation, his abrasive and aggressive tactics immediately rub people up the wrong way and Banks is at his wit's end trying to keep the peace whilst at the same time working with Burgess to solve the crime....
A great Yorkshire setting but a story that is very much of the era - no mobile phones or CCTV, no interviews under caution or recorded, no solicitors present and giving a quick clip round the ear if they wouldn't answer a question(!), smoking in the workplace and everywhere else, Banks and his colleagues are always 'adjourning to the pub' after work or after a visit or interview for a pie and a pint (with only lip service being paid to the issue of drink-driving!) - those were the days, eh?!!
Still a good crime story and a satisfactory resolution - 8/10.

[Carol McKnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t Banks’ best book. I don’t like Dirty Dick, Hatchley and Jenny Fuller.
Banks was on his own for this investigation, other than DC Richmond. Sandra was away with the kids, so Banks is on his own at home.
Of course Banks solves the murder of the bad cop Gill. It is always interesting to watch/read the way his mind works.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 3rd book in the Inspector Banks series.
During a Anti Nukes demonstration, a policeman is killed.
Banks has to deal with a crude Superintendent from London as he tries to solve the case.
Another winner, IMO, though a bit of a downer at times.

[Deanna]

How many books of this series am I’m going to DNF before I stop telling myself that it will grow on me the way I expect it will? On the surface, seem to check many of the right boxes for me, but in practice I keep trying to talk myself into picking them up again.

[Bicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has become apparent now that I have read several of the DCI Banks series that while writing police procedurals, Peter Robinson likes to vary the tale and the manner in which he writes it while keeping the reader in a comfort zone because the same characters persist and provide familiarity. Otherwise, this book belongs to a different genre as say compared to A Dedicated Man.
Here the basic plot involves a small demonstration of 100 people protesting against the policies of the Thatcher government in the late 80s. In particular, the building of a new nuclear power station and allowing a new American base. Somehow, the police and demonstrators start clashing and once the rubble has been cleared a constable lies dead having been stabbed in the heart.
Obviously, this leads to an intense investigation which means that for this case Banks’ boss is Superintendent Burgess otherwise known as Dirty Dick and not because of his sexual proclivities. For Dirty Dick, a true blue Tory who has arisen from the working classes, this is a case of straightforward terrorism of the bolshie variety allowing for strong armed tactics. Furthermore for him virtually all anti-Thatcherites are incipient bolshies and hence terrorists whether they belong to the women’s movement, peace movement or CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament}.
For Banks, a mild socialist though not a bleeding heart liberal, this situation represents all that is wrong with Thatcherism and the anti-people role the police have been called in for. This in part is the reason why Banks has left London. It is refreshing that here we have a policeman with a political sense though Banks too hates all politicians.
Banks does not agree with Dirty Dick’s conclusions but that is irrelevant for this is not a police procedural in the sense that the focus is not on how the killer is identified and caught because in essence this is a tale about emotions heading inevitably towards a tragic end. At times Peter Robinson likes having clever titles and this book is a very good example because in context the title A Necessary End has so many meanings.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Necessary End is the 3rd book in the excellent Chief Inspector Banks mystery series by Peter Robinson. Each story has been excellent. In this one, a police officer is murdered during a protest against nuclear plants and a new US Air Force base being considered for the area of Banks's town. The protest turns into a riot and results in physical interaction between the protesters and riot police.
The investigation results in Superintendent Dirty Dick Burgess being sent from London to run the murder investigation. Banks knows and dislikes Burgess from previous encounters while he worked in London. Burgess is a rabble rouser, heavy drinker and carouser. He runs an investigation as a bulldozer, upsetting suspect and causing turmoil.
Banks has to work around Burgess in trying to solve the murder. Burgess suspects left wing instigation in the murder while Banks has his own ideas. The case revolves around a group of people who live in a sort of commune nearby and varied other people who helped organize the protests, Banks begins to find out some disturbing things about the murdered police officer and wonders whether this might be a reason for the murder. He has some small side investigations being conducted by other police officers which slowly come to light as his ideas firm up.
It's an interesting story. We find out more about Banks's life and his relationships. He's an interesting character. I like the small discoveries about Banks even if I don't necessarily like his taste in music. The ending comes a bit out of left field but at the same time is very satisfactory and believable. I continue to enjoy this series and look forward to continuing the series. (4 stars)

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, A Necessary End, is aptly titled. It is the third book in the Inspector Banks Mystery series, a time when Alan Banks is still happily married and living with his family in their Yorkshire home. However, his wife and kids are conveniently out of town during the couple of weeks the action of this book takes place, so Banks can go home, listen to his music, and guzzle his scotch in peace after a hard day of sleuthing.

The deaths of two characters act as bookends to the plot, with the second death neatly wrapping up the mystery of the first. These deaths don't seem to have any relationship to each other, but Banks thinks there is more to the killing of a policeman during an anti-nuke demonstration tham appears on the surface. When he starts looking into the lives and backgrounds of the disparate people living in a commune, he finds parallels between the two deaths that his less diplomatic, more go-for-the-kill colleague Dirty Dick Burgess has missed, partly because he's too involved in getting a married barmaid into bed.

As with all of Robinson's books, atmosphere plays a large role in the events of the story. In his later books, Robinson uses the atmosphere to better effect, but the dark, cold, gloomy Yorkshire spring works to underscore the isolation of the characters as they grapple with their demons.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A demonstration against a political speaker in Eastvale turns violent and a policeman is killed. Is it the work of terrorists of whatever persuasion? Or is it just an unfortunate accident with tempers flaring and things getting out of hand? The powers that be are keen to avoid a political scandal and fear anarchic elements. A former colleague of DCI Banks is sent to investigate and doesn't go down well with the locals or with Banks himself.

This is a well plotted and interesting crime novel. The characters are believable and I liked the way the community at Maggie's Farm was brought to life. I didn't like Burgess - the Superintendent sent from London to investigate the murder but then I don't believe he's meant to be liked. His tactics border on police brutality and he strikes sparks of Banks who is much more in favour of a softly, softly approach to questioning witnesses and suspects.

This is the third novel in the series and so far I am enjoying them. I'm always interested in crime novels set outside London and knowing Yorkshire quite well the background to this series is of interest to me. The book can be read as a standalone novel but I think it is probably best read as part of a series.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this 3rd Inspector Banks novel, a political protest in Eastvale turns rowdy and a policeman from a nearby town is knifed during the fracas. Detective Dick Burrows (or Dirty Dick as Banks calls him) is brought in from London to investigate the murder, to Banks' dismay. Suspicions are placed on some aging hippies living in a place called Maggie's Farm 4 miles from Eastvale. Burrows antagonizes everyone he talks to, and annoys the women at the farm with his lewd talk and leering glances. Jenny, Banks' friend and the woman he's attracted to, is also a victim of Dirty Dick's mouth. Finally, the blame is placed on Paul, a young troubled man from Liverpool who has been living at the farm for only a year - his fingerprints are found on the knife, which a shepherd has found on the moors. Banks has to go around Burrows to find out the truth.

[El · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is worth reading just for the look back at how things were in the sexist, politically incorrect days of yore. The story didn't grab me particularly and Robinson really doesn't write women well but it's fun to hate the vile misogynist Superintendent Burgess who thinks that police brutality is the norm and women have no other purpose than to serve him. All the men wear car coats and driving gloves, DNA hasn't been discovered yet, an Amstrad is the height of modernity, everyone smokes eveywhere and men don't lift a finger in the home. It's another world.

[Mark Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very standard crime novel. Cop killed in a riot but was in a random act?? A hard line policeman from London comes to assist but he feels like a caricature he is so bad. Plot meanders on and the conclusion is obvious from about half way. Readable but only just.

[JZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good story, but a little uneven on character development in this one. Appealed to my aging hippy soul.

[AndrewP · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a policeman is killed during a protest the powers that be send a superintendent up from London to take over the case. DCI Banks knows from experience that this bloke is a member of the heavy handed brigade and as you might expect they butt heads.

I found the investigation in this one to be very engaging and kept me guessing right up until the end. Event's in this book may be the groundwork for future conflicts within the Police Department, I will be interested to see. More than in other books, the main characters seems spend more time in the pub than in the Police Station :)

James Langton once again does a fantastic job narrating the audio book. He does a lot of accents and really gets the feel of the Yorkshire folk just right.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a demonstration results in the death of a police officer from another jurisdiction, Supt. Burgess, aka "Dirty Dick," is sent from London to lead the investigation into the homicide. Attention begins to focus on the residents of Maggie's farm as two residents were among those arrested at the demonstration. Burgess' reputation precedes him. Chief Inspector Banks begins investigating on the side when it becomes clear, Burgess is willing to stick the murder charge to the first suspect for whom he can make a case strong enough to possibly stick. With many of the protesters already suspicious of police, Burgess' actions jeopardize the rapport Banks built with the people of Eastvale since his arrival.

The installment compels the reader, but some things seem to drag down the plot. Readers do not need to know every time a character lights a cigarette, particularly when all the characters seem to be chain smokers. If a future installment doesn't feature some of the characters developing lung cancer, Robinson missed out on the plot he's setting up.

I listened to the audio version narrated by James Langton who did a good job with the voices although they were perhaps not as British sounding as they could be.