Not Safe After Dark by
Peter Robinson
pbk out November 05
(Pan)
at £6.99
Robinson fans who have already invested in the collection of his stories published
with a similar title six years back by that excellent American firm Crippen & Landru
may assume that this is the same book. In fact, it is significantly expanded, containing
all Robinson's short crime fiction to the present day, and including an Inspector
Banks novella, 'Going Back', that has never appeared before. So even those who have
the earlier book will not regret investing in this one too. For those who have not
previously encountered Robinson's short stories, a treat is in store. Banks features in
three stories in addition to the novella, while a further sixteen tales show the author's
range. As he explains in an introduction, short stories 'offer a wonderful opportunity
for the series writer to spread his or her wings and fly to new, exotic places, to meet
different people and to try out different techniques'. The standard is consistently high,
and the title story is just one of several that will stay in the reader's mind. It is good to
see the appearance of any single-author short story collection in an age when,
supposedly, 'short stories don't sell'. This book is bound to sell in considerable
numbers and deservedly so. One hopes that its success, like that of Ian Rankin's
'Beggar's Banquet', will persuade publishers to invest more regularly in making
quality short fiction available to the widest possible readership.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
Not Safe After Dark by
Peter Robinson
