View source for Abattoir Blues by Peter Robinson

{{infobox
|title=Abattoir Blues
|author=Peter Robinson
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=The 22nd book in the DCI Alan Banks series sees a return to the form I loved in the earlier books.  Some might find the descriptions of working in an abattoir upsetting.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=384
|publisher=Hodder
|date=January 2015
|1444704982=978-1444704983
|website=http://www.inspectorbanks.com/
|video=x8Zuobf6LIU
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1444704982</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1444704982</amazonus>
}}

When DCI Banks returned from a weekend away in Italy the theft of a tractor (even if it was a very expensive tractor) didn't seem all that important.  It was difficult to be enthusiastic about what seemed to be simple case of rural crime.  Then an ex-soldier walking his dog discovered what looked like a pool of blood in an abandoned warehouse and the two young men who seemed to be the prime suspects for the theft of the tractor both disappeared without trace.  Suddenly 'another rural crime' began to take a very much more sinister turn.

About seven Christmases ago I discovered DCI Alan Banks.  I read them back to back until I had exhausted the supply.  I loved the feeling of place - possibly because I'm living on the edge of this fictional area - and the CID team with its mix of personalities and ethnicity came off the page brilliantly.  I believed in them.  The plots were to my taste - not so complex that you felt the need to make notes or so simple that you'd worked out 'whodunnit' by page fifty.  I put Peter Robinson on a par with [[:Category:Ruth Rendell|Ruth Rendell's]] Wexford novels.  Then something rather disturbing happened: I felt that tiredness began to creep in with [[Friend of the Devil by Peter Robinson|Friend of the Devil]] and in [[All the Colours of Darkness by Peter Robinson|All the Colours of Darkness]] I sensed a struggle to think of a fresh plot.  I stopped reading the series, preferring to remember the earlier successes rather than the later, rather average books. 

Then, just before Christmas 2014 ''Abattoir Blues'' dropped onto my desk and despite the disincentive of realising that I would almost certainly be reading about the killing of animals I decided to give DCI Banks another go.  And I'm glad that I did.  I ''did'' find some of the descriptions of what goes on in an abattoir unpleasant - but that's down to me being fearty fearty about such matters.  It was great to meet up with members of the CID team again, particularly Annie Cabot and Winsome Jackman - feisty women who are a match for most men.

The plot was satisfying.  I did work out the name of the villain, but it was on the basis of probabilities rather than logic and didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book at all.  In fact, I was still reading at four o'clock this morning because I was so reluctant to put the book down.  I think I'll continue with Banks - and I might even look at the books I've missed.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.

It's set in a different part of the country but if DCI BAnks appeals then we think that you might also enjoy [[Sins of the Father by Graham Hurley]]. 

Peter Robinson's Chief Inspector Alan Banks Novels in Chronological Order

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