Piece of my Heart
"…the best crime novel I have read this year."
Synopsis:
It is 1969 and at a music festival in Yorkshire, a young fan of local band ‘Mad Hatters’ is stabbed to death. Straight-laced detective, Stanley Chadwick, investigates the murder, feeling increasingly out of touch with sixties popular culture. Thirty-five years later Detective Inspector Alan Banks is investigating the murder of rock journalist Nicholas Barber who was writing an article on the ‘Mad Hatters’. Banks is convinced that the murder has its origins in the events of the late 1960s but has to convince his new superintendent he is not wasting time investigating the past.
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Review:
I really look forward to every new Peter Robinson and this latest book does not disappoint. The novel shifts between 1960 and the present day, and, unlike many plots which use this device, both narratives are equally fascinating. Peter Robinson seems at home in the world of sixties popular music and interweaves the story of the fictional band with references to characters such as Mark Knopfler, The Who and other more obscure local bands. The character of Alan Banks goes from strength to strength and the addition of a new (female) superintendent adds enough tension to suggest her prominence in future books. Piece of my Heart is by far the best crime novel I have read this year.