Peter Robinson, The Price of Love and Other Stories

This twelve story collection proves Peter Robinson has a wider range than just the Banks police procedural novels though the great Detective Inspector stars in some of the entries. Banks stars in two bookend novellas, "Going Back" which affirms you can go home even when it turns nasty and "Like a Virgin" in which he left London for Eastvale following a horrific crime he investigated. Both are terrific as are banks' short entries. However what make the anthology even more engaging is the other stories that run the gamut of time and place. During WWII in Yorkshire, Black American GI "Cornelius Jubb" is accused of rape more so because of the color of his skin; also in WW II, but on the continent a soldier relates his fears as "Shadows on the Water" has him wondering whether he has the red badge of courage. In "The Cherub Affair" a Noir downtrodden tough guy private eye hooks up with a femme fatale in need. With a suspense that crosses into horror and two more Banks shorts, THE PRICE OF LOVE AND OTHER STORIES is a winner especially for fans of the Yorkshire DCI as "Like a Virgin" is new and "Going Back" never published in America.

Harriet Klausner