Written by Peter Robinson

All the Colours of Darkness

By Peter Robinson

Book Synopsis:

A beautiful June day in the Yorkshire Dales, and a group of children are spending the last of their half-term freedom swimming in the river near Hindswell Woods. But the idyll is shattered by their discovery of a mans body, hanging from a tree. DI Annie Cabott soon discovers he is Mark Hardcastle, the well-liked and successful set designer for the Eastvale Theatres current production of Othello.

Everything points to suicide, and Annie is mystified. Why would such a man want to take his own life? Then Annies investigation leads to another shattering discovery, and DCI Alan Banks is called back from the idyllic weekend he had planned with his new girlfriend. Banks soon finds himself plunged into a shadow-world where nothing is what it seems, where secrets and deceit are the norm, and where murder is seen as the solution to a problem.

The deeper he digs the more he discovers that the monster he has awakened will extend its deadly reach to his friends and family. Nobody is safe.

Reader's Review:

This is a really fast, pacey 'read' with engaging characters, snappy dialogue and easily delivered detail. I enjoyed it so much that I have already started to read one of his earlier novels!

Having said that, I do have a couple of points;

First, because the plot involves the secret services and numerous cover ups 'in the interests of state security' we never find out exactly why the crime was committed, a bit of a frustrating ending to the book.

Second, the book jacket describes the novel as set round a production of 'Othello', it might therefore be expected to appeal to a theatrically minded reader like myself, and yet the sections involving the theatre, crew, productions, are confusing and very unconvincing. I spent mindtime (fool that I am!) trying to work out how the two productions, 'Calamity Jane' and 'Othello' could be showing at the same time, does the theatre have two studios, ..... and what kind of children could actually pick up the song 'Deadwood Stage' after one hearing? ..Why use a second production at all - perhaps to muddy the waters and draw out the development of the Othello theme? does not work I'm afraid!

Lastly, I dont know what the local theatre is like in Canada where the writer lives but here in the UK a local theatre would be lucky to have three paid staff, let alone a whole gang of them!!! Get your facts straight Peter, or leave them out, unnecessary detail!!

Reviewed by Lynette de Jonge on 12/08/2008