A complex mystery that throws together Detective Chief Inspector Banks and Detective Sergeant Annie Cabbot, in a story that brings the wartime years back to life.
A boy, out for fun, accidentally falls through a rotting roof and into the mud, where he finds part of a skeleton. He was playing in an area only recently exposed because of dry weather. The small, abandoned, Yorkshire village had been deliberately flooded years ago.
The skeleton is of a young woman whose disappearance was never reported. She died in the early 1940s. Now, many years later, Banks and Cabbot try to piece together her story.
Fortunately for us, Gloria's story is told bit by bit, sections interwoven with the present-day story of the investigation. The two stories move forward together, making this one very long book (468 pages in this version). But it does not make for tedious reading.
Well-plotted and written and with believable characters. I have not become fond of Banks myself, and am not quite sure why.
This is probably the best Banks novel that I have read so far. The story line is filled with details from the past and the present that cleverly intertwine into a wonderful investigation. As you read, you are drawn into the story and wonderful characters that hold your interest right down to the last page. The sub-plot of his developing relationship with Sergeant Abbott as well as his disintegrating relationship with his ex-wife is an interesting part of the novel. If you haven't read Robinson, you don't know what you are missing. I'm looking forward to my next Robinson read.
I am currently reading the book and it is fantastic. I have read most of Peter Robinson's books and they are all entertaining, characters well formed and wonderful this reads. This book is one of his best - dealing with two different periods in history and filled with wonderful details and interesting characters on both sides of the pond. He has become one of my very favorite authors and is right up there with P.D. James, Elizabeth George and yes, even Agatha Christie. This is a fast and sensational read.
A terrific English crime novel, not really a procedural. It has lingered with me all weekend. Loved it.
"In a Dry Season" is a brilliant piece of fiction. It's a well-written, taut novel peopled with terrific characters. Robinson interweaves present and past to give readers a picture of life in rural Yorkshire during the way years, as well as a ripping good detective story...a rich, beautiful novel. -- The New Brunswick Reader
