Inspector Banks Books In Order

Publication Order of Inspector Banks Books

Publication Order of Inspector Banks Short Stories/Novellas

Inspector Banks Biography:

The fictional central character, Inspector Alan Banks, better known as Inspector Banks is a detective chief. He is the protagonist of a series of novels based on crime. Peter Robinson, the much popular and acclaimed writer created the character, who later became very famous. The series still remains one of the finest till date. The crime series was later adapted to television under the title DCI Banks, wherein Stephen Tompkinson played the role of the protagonist, Alan Banks. Inspector Alan Banks first came into the picture when the novel was published in the year 1987. The novel carried a blurb that gave the background of the character, Alan Banks. As mentioned, he once lived in London. He worked as a member of the Metropolitan Police in the Unsolved Crime Squad. The blurb further mentioned that the Detective Banks then lived in Eastvale, the imaginary English Town situated in Yorkshire, north to Ripon, next to the A1.

Alan Banks are blessed with two kids, Tracy as well as Brian. He has a loving wife by the name of Sandra. He works as the DCI for the Eastvale Police ever since he moved there. As described, the detective has an own tiny office, complete with the metal desk and a couple of chairs. The window in the office opens up to the view of the town’s Market Square, which remains quite busy. Inspector Banks belong to the working class and just like most of them coming from that class, he hates getting things done with the clout of money or wealth. This remains to be the main driving force that persuaded him to move to Eastvale from London. His major objective was to remain away from the materialism that is present in the big cities. His moving away proved to be good for him as he succeeded in nurturing his family with due respect in a country like setting. Detective Banks have a different yet fine taste in music. His pleasing personality helps him in relating with the suspects in the cases he is involved in. He even gets along well with the victims of the crime.

The main strength of Detective Banks is his creativity that he uses appropriately. His innovative style of interrogations helps him in his investigations. Although he is amiable, he can become quite tough when he wants the answers quickly. The majority of the novels in the series had Inspector Banks investigating the crimes. However, in the year 1999, the novel titled ‘In a Dry Season’ the story focused on the divorce of Alan Banks with his wife. His married life with Sandra, his wife, had started growing apart. His children, Tracy and Brian, had already flown the nest. Post this novel, the subject of the crime series based on Detective Alan Banks changed slightly with a sub focus. DS Annie Cabbot became the love interest of Alan Banks and the subsequent novels mentioned their romance. Cabbot had first appeared in the series where Detective Banks underwent a divorce with his wife. Cabbot appeared to investigate the member of the team of the Detective, who is charged with manslaughter. Later in the novels, Cabbot becomes a regular as she becomes the member of his team. Even Since, the duo, Banks and Cabbot share on and off love relationship.

In his series of novels, Peter Robinson describes Inspector Banks as the dedicated man who is also paid thinker. Detective Banks are considered to be a compelling character, which gets evolved with time in the continuing novels. The series created by Robinson has even won a number of prestigious awards and nominated for many others. The Arthur Ellis Award, the Edgar Award, the Anthony Award are some of the awards conferred on the series in a crime fiction category. The series was so interesting that in the year 2010, the ITV adapted it to television. The first in the series was ‘Aftermath’ where Stephen Tompkinson plays the leading character of Detective Banks. The first adaptation was broadcast as two episodes, each an hour long. The first episode was premiered on September 27 and the second on October 4. The show was an instant hit. It was later continued by making three additional adaptations of different novels. The series of the adaptations was titled as DCI Banks. This series had six episodes, each an hour long. DCI Banks began airing on television from September 16 onwards in the year 2011.

The first novel by Peter Robinson is also the first novel where Detective Inspector Alan Banks are introduced. Titled as ‘Gallows View’, the novel was published in the year 1987. It was even shortlisted for the award of the best first novel in Canada in addition to John Creasey Award of the United Kingdom. The entire series of Inspector Banks has proved to be very popular. The series has extended to thirteen novels at present. The setting of most of the novels in the series is Richmond as well as the Yorkshire Dales. Richmond is actually titled as ‘Eastvale’ in the series. However, Eastvale is slightly larger than Richmond and is inflicted with more crime that Richmond. The Dale is a creation of the author. He wanted to add all his most loved places from Wensleydale, Swaledale, Whafedale into the series including Reeth, Gayle as well as Hawes. The locations used in the series are at times real and other times created. However, all the places, fictional and actual co-exist in the series.

Author Peter Robinson even won the award by the Crime Writers Association. He was credited for giving the most pleasure to his readers with the series of Inspector Banks novels, which were getting gritty, dark and popular with every release. Inspector Alan Banks, the protagonist are the maverick, as they used to be in traditional times. Alan Banks is a genuine detective who is passionate towards solving cases. His objective to hunt the criminals and do justice by solving crime cases take him on tough journeys. He is not afraid of taking dark and dangerous paths for solving the crimes and doing justice. Inspector Alan Banks remain one of the most popular characters on a mission, which ultimately benefits humanity by bringing an end to crime. Even though based in Eastvale, people can easily relate to the novels and the settings of crime scenes.

One Response to “Inspector Banks”

1. Anne Smith: 3 years ago

   What happened to Bank’s ex wife Sandra’s daughter to Sean, her second husband. She is not mentioned. Has she been ‘written out’?

   Reply