Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks (b. 1951) is the fictional protagonist in a series of crime novels by Peter Robinson. Since 2010 several of the novels have been adapted for television under the series title DCI Banks with Stephen Tompkinson in the lead role.
Background
The first novel related to Banks was published in 1987, and carried the blurb: "After once living in London and working as part of the Metropolitan Police Unsolved Crime Squad, Detective Inspector Alan Banks now lives in the fictional English town of Eastvale which is located in Yorkshire north of Ripon near the A1. He has two children, Tracy and Brian, and a doting wife, Sandra. Since moving to Eastvale, Banks now works as the DCI for Eastvale Police, with his own small office, containing a metal desk and two chairs, with the window looking out onto the town's busy Market Square. Coming from working-class stock, DCI Banks abhors anything to do with money and wealth, a driving force behind his decision to move from London to Eastvale. His big goal was to not get caught up in the materialism of the big city, and by moving away, has managed to raise a respected family in a bucolic setting. DCI Banks also has an unique but good taste in music, and often, his charming demeanor helps him to relate to his suspects, as well as victims of crime. He can come down hard, though, when he needs to get answers quickly. But his main strength - he uses creativity in his interrogations and investigations."
The majority of the first dozen novels published had a focus mostly on crimes investigated by Banks. In the 1999 novel, In A Dry Season, Banks and his wife, Sandra, are separated and eventually divorce. The character of DS Annie Cabbot makes her first appearance as a member of Banks' team. Subsequent novels have a sub-plot about the on-off romance between Banks and Cabbot.
Awards
The series of novels have frequently been shortlisted for a number of awards, and have won a number of the most prestigious awards in crime fiction, including the Arthur Ellis Award, the Anthony Award, and the Edgar Award.
Adaptation
In July 2010, ITV commissioned a television adaptation of the novel Aftermath, with Stephen Tompkinson playing the role of Banks. The adaptation was broadcast as two one-hour episodes, airing on 27 September and 4 October 2010. The viewing figures were successful enough for three more adaptations to be commissioned - the novels Playing With Fire, Friend Of The Devil and Cold Is The Grave - under a series title DCI Banks showing as six one-hour episodes, which started airing on September 16, 2011.
Novels
- Gallows View (1987)
- A Dedicated Man (1988)
- A Necessary End (1989)
- The Hanging Valley (1989)
- Past Reason Hated (1991)
- Wednesday's Child (1992)
- Dry Bones That Dream (1994) [US title is Final Account]
- Innocent Graves (1996)
- Dead Right (1997) [US title is Blood at the Root]
- In A Dry Season (1999)
- Cold is the Grave (2000)
- Aftermath (2001)
- The Summer that Never Was (2003)
- Playing with Fire (2004)
- Strange Affair (2005)
- Piece of My Heart (2006)
- Friend of the Devil (2007)
- All The Colours Of Darkness (2008)
- Bad Boy (2010)
- Watching The Dark (novel) (2012)
- Children of the Revolution (novel) (2013)
- Abattoir Blues (2014)
Associated novels
- Caedmon's Song (1990)
- No Cure For Love (1995)
Short story collections
- Not Safe After Dark (1998)
- The Price of Love (2009)
References
Interesting Informations
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