DCI Alan Banks's team is miffed at having been sent to investigate a stolen tractor, albeit such an expensive one that the theft is considered a major crime. It's not easy to steal a piece of equipment that size, and the detectives believe that the theft may be tied to a major smuggling operation. Suspicion falls on a neighbor's troubled son, as the young man and a friend have disappeared. Robinson's latest mystery (after
Children of the Revolution) finds the team investigating farmers and employees of the local slaughterhouse, offering the author an opportunity to provide abundant descriptions of the unsavory side of the meat industry.
VERDICT The focus here is less on Banks and more on the no-nonsense DS Winsome Jackman, her background, and the possibility of a romance. The series remains absorbing, and procedural fans will be satisfied. Robinson's portrayal of the realities of slaughterhouses will, no doubt, inspire new commitments to vegetarianism. [See Prepub Alert, 2/23/15.]
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