Peter has written up some answers to a few of the most frequently asked questions he gets about the Inspector Banks novels, and a new page has been added to the site. Check it out; even if you haven’t asked these questions yourself, you may find the answers interesting.

Nineteen original stories–including a new contribution by New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly–about riveting showdowns between cops and criminals.

From Hawaii at the turn of the twentieth century to the post-Civil War frontier, from smoggy Los Angeles to the woods of Idaho, these gripping stories trace the perils and occasional triumphs of lawmen and -women who put themselves in harm’s way to face down the bad guys. Some of them even walk the edge of becoming bad guys themselves.

Peter’s story in this volume is called The Price of Love. You should check this book out for Peter’s great story, but also the many other wonderful stories by 19 of the best crime authors around.

The longlist was announced today for one of the most prestigious awards in the international crime writing calendar – the 4th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the only literary prize of its kind to be voted for by the general public.

Peter’s 2007 installment in the Inspector Banks series, Piece of My Heart, has been nominated for the coveted Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year Award, which is presented at the Harrogate festival, at which Peter will be present. The award includes cash and a small hand-carved oak beer cask.

This year’s winner of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year will be annouced at an award ceremony on the opening night of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate on Thursday 17th July.

Readers can vote for their favorite book from 2007 on this page, so cast your votes for Peter’s novel now!

Toronto is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario and has a population of 2,503,281 (or about 3,113,149 U.S.). Comprised of wetlands, concrete parts, and futon stores, the city is home to some of Canada’s most notorious criminals.

A multicultural nexus, Toronto’s Indian, Portuguese, African, Italian, and Chinese neighborhoods are backdrops for Toronto Noir’s corrosive exposes. In tales of stressed Beaches yuppies, jazz musicians stuck in the limbic Humber Loop, and high-rollers committing lurid acts in Rosedale mansions, sixteen of the city’s best literary and crime fiction writers lay bare the scars of a city that loves to hate itself.

Peter has a story in this collection that features more than a dozen authors writing about the town Peter calls home. Find out more about the book here.

Peter also has two readings/signings scheduled for this book:

Wednesday, May 7 – 6pm-8pm
Ben McNally’s Books,
366 Bay Street, Toronto, ON.
Reading/signing for Toronto Noir.

Friday, June 6 – Time TBA
World’s Biggest Bookstore
20 Edward Street, Toronto, ON.
Reading with Andrew Pyper for Toronto Noir.

The UK edition of Friend of the Devil has just been released in paperback. If you haven’t read the latest Inspector Banks novel yet, now’s a good time to do so. It’s available from Hodder for £6.99. You’ll find it in good bookstores everywhere. Find out more about Friend of the Devil on this page.

Peter has received the Crimespree award for best series, for his Inspector Banks series of novels. Awarded by Crimespree Magazine, this award recognizes the quality of the seventeen books in the Banks series, and Peter beat out some tough competition: Lee Child, Ken Bruen, John Connolly, and Barry Eisler.

Make a note of this in your diaries: Peter Robinson, together with a full line-up of international crime-writing authors, will be stopping over at Harrogate, England, from 17-20 July, 2008. The Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival features four days of meetings, discussions, book-signings and much more. Dozens of other authors, including Jeff Abbott, Jeffrey Deaver, Joseph Finder, Tess Gerritsen, David Hewson, Val McDermid, Anne Perry and many more will make this one of the most exciting events of the year for mystery fans. Take advantage of this chance to see Peter and all your other favorites in one spot.

Peter recently participated in an event in Munich, Germany, and, among other things, answered questions together with Canadian author Giles Blunt. While this takes place in Germany, the questions and answers are in English, with the moderator slipping in some explanations in German from time to time. You can see the photos and video on this page (the video follows the text “Gespräch und Lesung mit Peter Robinson”. Hear Peter read from Strange Affair, and talk about living in Canada and writing about England, whether he’ll ever set an Inspector Banks novel in Canada and much more. At one point, Peter says, of Inspector Banks, that he is “an everyman who does a superman’s job.”

Hello, and welcome to the new InspectorBanks.com!

First of all, I would like to thank Ken Fletcher for handling the site for more years than I care to remember, and J. Alec West for being so much more than the host he started out as. Both have moved on to other things.

I would now like to welcome Kirk McElhearn and his son Perceval, who have designed and put together this exciting new version of the site. The new look and set-up is almost entirely due to them (all I had to do was pick a colour and a typeface now and then). It was designed for ease of use as much as for anything else.

Here we plan to keep you up to date with what’s happening in the world of Inspector Banks – events, new publications, interviews, reviews, awards, tours and so on – and provide in-depth information on the previous books through descriptions and links. There will be musical playlists for each book (starting right now with Friend of the Devil), links to mystery bookstores and, whenever possible, information about foreign editions. We will also introduce an FAQ section, where we will deal with such constantly recurring questions as where you can get hold of No Cure for Love and Banks’s progress towards the small screen.

Most of all, it is also your site, a place you can keep coming back to for up-to-date information. You can also e-mail me and the administrator through it, as before, and we will do our best to reply. And if there are any links or content you think would be useful and interesting to display, please let us know.

For now, though, have a stroll around and get the feel of it. Enjoy.

Peter Robinson
25 February, 2008
Richmond, North Yorkshire

The latest Inspector Banks novel, Friend of the Devil, has just been released in the United States. US readers have had to wait for this one, which was published in the UK last summer, but the wait is over. Inspector Banks is faced with one of his most complex cases yet, as he and Annie Cabot investigate two different murders in two different cities, and search for links between them. Find out more about Friend of the Devil on this page.