When the Music's Over

June 27, 2016
In Edgar-winner Robinson’s timely, sobering 23rd Inspector Banks novel (after 2015’s In the Dark Places), Det. Insp. Annie Cabbot investigates the rape and murder of 15-year-old Mimosa “Mimsy” Moffat, a white girl found naked on a country road, who lived in the nearby estates in Wytherton, York, and ran with a crowd that included several older guys of Pakistani descent. While Cabbot must tread carefully in the racially charged atmosphere during her investigation, Banks, recently promoted to detective superintendent, looks into claims made against a beloved British variety star, Danny Caxton, a 1960s-era crooner known for the catchphrase “Do your own thing,” which seemed to include raping 14-year-old Linda Palmer in 1967. Banks must decide whether Palmer, a poet who now wants to pursue a case against Caxton, is credible, and whether she’s his only victim. Robinson takes hot-button topics—xenophobia, sexual assault, and celebrities—and turns them into uniquely compelling cases for Banks, who remains a stalwart of justice in crime fiction. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency.