Annie Cabbot, the woman in the department Banks had come to regard as his right hand, is on loan to Eastern Division, a deal that Banks himself helped engineer for both personal and professional reasons. Annie is not in complete agreement as to how beneficial this move will be. She doesn’t get along with her superior, Detective Superintendent Brough who seems more interested in his forthcoming retirement than in police work and is nitpicky to boot.

Annie has been called in to assist in the investigation of the murder of a wheelchair bound woman whose throat had been slit. The crime did not require much strength or dexterity on the part of the killer as the woman was practically immobile as well as mute. How the woman in her wheelchair came to be positioned near the edge of a cliff and why are the more important questions to be answered.

As is true of many of Robinson’s Inspector Banks mysteries there is more than one crime in need of a solution. In this case there are some similarities which may or may not link the two cases. Annie, with her penchant for detail, sees a possible relationship between her investigation and that of her former superior Banks. This possibility both lightens and darkens her mood. On one hand, she misses the intellectual camaraderie with Banks but their personal relationship is seriously in need of some space.

Although Friend of the Devil is not one of Mr. Robinson’s stronger entries in the series, his character portrayals are excellent. All of the characters have their own personal demons to confront in addition to maintaining some semblance of civility with the coworker who appears to be a nemesis. Young Kevin Templeton manages to alienate everyone save Banks who can see some promise in him. Kevin especially irritates his partner, Winsome, an extremely capable black woman who considers Templeton crass, uncouth, and insensitive. She correctly believes he makes questioning witnesses much more difficult by offending them.

Mr. Robinson clearly delineates his setting. The small town of Eastvale is painstakingly described lending the reader a voyeuristic place in the action. The scene has as much an impact on the characters as they do on it. Eastvale is not London nor is it a more rural setting as one encounters in the Peak District novels of Stephen Booth.

The weakest part of the novel is the plot. One of the murderers is obvious. The motive almost slams the reader in the face. The means are easily guessed and there is only a slight difficulty with the opportunity part of the scenario. The other murder allows for a little more intellectual stimulation. The clues are there but a little less obvious, though the reader must assume some personality traits not fully developed in the killer.

As one has come to expect from Robinson, the story is delivered in practiced prose. It flows together seamlessly. Even as he switches from one investigation to another, or from one cast of characters to another it is logical and natural. There is no wondering who “he” or “she” is. The context is there to carry you along. Author Robinson isn’t afraid to allow bad things happen to his core cast of characters. It seems more realistic that way.

--Andy Plonka