# Peter Robinson (novelist)

Peter Robinson (17 March 1950 – 4 October 2022) was a British-born Canadian crime writer who was best known for his crime novels set in Yorkshire featuring Inspector Alan Banks. He also published a number of other novels and short stories, as well as some poems and two articles on writing.

## Early life

Robinson was born in Armley, Leeds, on 17 March 1950. His father, Clifford, worked as a photographer; his mother, Miriam (Jarvis), was a homemaker. Robinson studied English literature at the University of Leeds, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with honours. He then emigrated to Canada in 1974 to continue his studies, obtaining a Master of Arts in English and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor, with Joyce Carol Oates as his tutor. He was later awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in English at York University in 1983.

## Career

Robinson taught at several colleges and universities in Toronto, and the University of Windsor (his alma mater) as writer-in-residence from 1992 to 1993. He was best known for the Inspector Banks series of novels set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Eastvale. His first novel, Gallows View, was published in 1987. It garnered him the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award, which he went on to win six more times during his career. The series was eventually translated into twenty languages by the time of his death. He also wrote two collections of short stories – Not Safe After Dark (1998) and The Price of Love (2009) – as well as another novel, Caedmon's Song, released in 1990.

## Personal life

Robinson resided in the Beaches area of Toronto with his wife, Sheila Halladay, and he occasionally taught crime writing at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies. He also taught at a number of Toronto colleges and served as Writer-in-Residence at the University of Windsor, 1992–1993. Robinson and his wife had a holiday cottage in Richmond, North Yorkshire. He died on 4 October 2022, at the age of 72.

## Awards and honours

In 2020, Robinson received the Grand Master Award from Crime Writers of Canada, and in 2010, he received their Derrick Murdoch Award. Two years prior, he had been honoured with the Toronto Public Library Celebrates Reading Award.
Awards and honours for Robinson's writing :
| Year | Title | Award | Result |
| 1988 | Gallows View | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 1989 | A Dedicated Man | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 1990 | The Hanging Valley | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 1990 | "Innocence" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story | Winner |
| 1991 | Caedmon's Song (The First Cut) | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 1991 | "Innocence" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story | Winner |
| 1991 | Past Reason Hated | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel | Winner |
| 1992 | Past Reason Hated | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Winner |
| 1993 | Wednesday's Child | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 1994 | | TORGI Talking Book Award | |
| 1995 | Final Account | Author's Award, Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Letters | |
| 1995 | "Lawn Sale" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story | Finalist |
| 1995 | "Summer Rain" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story | Finalist |
| 1995 | Wednesday's Child | Edgar Award for Best Novel | Finalist |
| 1996 | "Carrion" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story | Finalist |
| 1997 | Innocent Graves | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel | Winner |
| 1998 | Dead Right (Blood at the Root) | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 1998 | "The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story | Finalist |
| 1998 | "The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage" | Macavity Award for Best Short Story | Winner |
| 1999 | "The Two Ladies of Rose Cottage" | Anthony Award for Best Short Story | Nominee |
| 2000 | In a Dry Season | Anthony Award for Best Novel | Winner |
| 2000 | In a Dry Season | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 2000 | In a Dry Season | Barry Award for Best Novel | Winner |
| 2000 | In a Dry Season | Edgar Award for Best Novel | Finalist |
| 2000 | In a Dry Season | Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel | Finalist |
| 2000 | "Missing in Action" | Edgar Award for Best Short Story | Winner |
| 2001 | Cold is the Grave | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Winner |
| 2001 | In a Dry Season | Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière | |
| 2001 | In a Dry Season | Martin Beck Award | Winner |
| 2001 | "Missing In Action" | Anthony Award for Best Short Story | Nominee |
| 2001 | "Murder in Utopia" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story | Winner |
| 2002 | Aftermath | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 2002 | The Hanging Valley | Spoken Word Bronze Award | |
| 2004 | The Summer That Never Was (Close To Home) | Anthony Award for Best Novel | Nominee |
| 2004 | The Summer That Never Was (Close To Home) | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 2005 | Playing with Fire | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 2005 | Playing with Fire | Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel | Finalist |
| 2006 | Cold is the Grave | Palle Rosenkrantz Award | |
| 2006 | Strange Affair | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 2006 | Strange Affair | Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel | Finalist |
| 2007 | Piece of My Heart | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Finalist |
| 2007 | Piece of My Heart | Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel | Finalist |
| 2009 | "Walking the Dog" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Short Story | Finalist |
| 2012 | Before the Poison | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Winner |
| 2012 | Before the Poison | Martin Beck Award | Winner |
| 2017 | "The Village That Lost Its Head" | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novella | Finalist |
| 2018 | Sleeping in the Ground | Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel | Winner |

## Publications
### Inspector Banks series

The novels are set in the fictional English town of Eastvale in the Yorkshire Dales. Robinson has stated that Eastvale is modelled on Ripon and Richmond and is somewhere north of Ripon, close to the A1 road. A former member of the London Metropolitan Police, Inspector Alan Banks leaves the capital for a quieter life in the Dales. Since 2010 several of the novels have been adapted for television under the series title DCI Banks with Stephen Tompkinson in the title role.
* Gallows View (1987), ISBN 9780425156728
* A Dedicated Man (1988), ISBN 9780380716456
* A Necessary End (1989), ISBN 9780140115451
* The Hanging Valley (1989), ISBN 9780684193939
* Past Reason Hated (1991), ISBN 9780330469401
* Wednesday's Child (1992), ISBN 9780684196442
* Dry Bones That Dream (1994), ISBN 9780094744400 (published in the United States as Final Account)
* Innocent Graves (1996), ISBN 9781743031681
* Dead Right (1997), ISBN 9781743030905 (published in the United States as Blood at the Root)
* In a Dry Season (1999), ISBN 9780380975815
* Cold Is the Grave (2000), ISBN 9781743031636
* Aftermath (2001), ISBN 9780333907429
* The Summer that Never Was (2003), ISBN 9780333907443 (published in the United States as Close to Home)
* Playing with Fire (2004), ISBN 9780061031106
* Strange Affair (2005), ISBN 9780060544331
* Piece of My Heart (2006), ISBN 9780340836873
* Friend of the Devil (2007), ISBN 9780340836903
* All the Colours of Darkness (2008), ISBN 9781551991450
* Bad Boy (2010), ISBN 9780062008763
* Watching the Dark (2012), ISBN 9781848949058
* Children of the Revolution (2013), ISBN 9781444704914
* Abattoir Blues (2014), ISBN 9781848949072 (published in the United States as In the Dark Places)
* When the Music's Over (2016), ISBN 9780062466389
* Sleeping in the Ground (2017), ISBN 9780062395078
* Careless Love (2018), ISBN 9780771072789
* Many Rivers to Cross (2019), ISBN 9781444787030
* Not Dark Yet (2021), ISBN 9781529343120
* Standing in the Shadows (2023), ISBN 9780062994998

### Other works

Although Caedmon's Song is a standalone novella, it is related to Friend of the Devil, which is also related to Aftermath.
* Caedmon's Song (1990), ISBN 9780143043331
* The First Cut – American edition of Caedmon's Song (1993), ISBN 9780060735357
* No Cure for Love (1995), ISBN 9780143173281
* Not Safe After Dark (Crippen & Landru, 1998 & Macmillan Publishers, 2004), ISBN 9781743032312 (Short stories; includes three Inspector Banks stories)
* The Price of Love (2009), ISBN 9781848944374 (Short stories; includes an Inspector Banks novella and three Banks stories)
* Before the Poison (2011), ISBN 9780771076220