Book Review: Bad Boy

Should thrillers always provide edge-of-the-seat action and excitement? Not necessarily as long as the story provides a page-turning effect. Well that's exactly happens in Peter Robinson's Bad Boy. When Juliet Doyle discovers a loaded gun in her daughter Erin's bedroom, she panics and decides to get help from Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, who was their one-time neighbor. Unfortunately for her, Banks is on a holiday to the US and so when the police raid the house to retrieve the gun, the operation is botched by an unforeseen complication leading to her husband's death.

Meanwhile Tracy Banks, feeling the emotional disconnect from her DCI father, willingly embarks on a journey with Erin's boyfriend Jaff, the gun's owner, only to realize that she has knowingly walked into a trap and become hostage to a psychopath. Her infatuation for Jaff slowly turns into a nightmare as she fervently hopes her father would eventually come to rescue her from his clutches. Will Banks be able to get his daughter back? Read the book for the answers.

The setting is quite different for a thriller. The 'revenge' angle is more personal and Robinson raises an interesting question of whether Banks will cross the bureaucratic line if he is given charge of the case, and if so, to what extent. The setting is realistic and the politics of police work are brought out nicely. The narration, laced with generous musical references, is swift and packs in decent thrills to keep you interested.

However, the writing is uneven at places and the plot lacks the usual 'whodunit' factor with moments of frisson few and far between. The characters, except for Banks, Erin, Winsome and Tracy, have nothing to speak of, and the antagonists have been reduced to caricatures. Jaff, the bad boy, is frequently mentioned as a cocky player, but his actions seem to be grossly inconsistent and uncertain (his affinity for drugs is perhaps the reason?).

Though the ending is something you can guess miles away, it is satisfying nonetheless. Peter Robinson has written better books in the Alan Banks series, and this nineteenth one isn't probably the one you want to start with. A good read; but don't expect fireworks!

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