New adventures for DCI Banks

Appearances are deceptive, though, as not only is Robinson consistently offering sharp insights into his work and that of his peers, but he’s also able to create and sustain such interesting characters as Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, the hero (or anti-hero) of 22 of Robinson’s books, including his latest release, Children Of The Revolution.

Does the success of the DCI Banks character ever feel constricting, in the sense that his creator is only “allowed” limited creativity if he is to maintain the momentum of his success?

“It’s not as much of an issue as people might think,” Robinson says. “I deal with different topics and themes that interest me every time, and bring in other characters. There will always be certain limits to writing a series of crime novels in particular. The challenge is that people expect both familiarity and innovation.”

Fortunately, in terms of provi-ding fresh angles for Robinson to explore, Banks is the sort of guy around whom bad things tend to happen. “That’s always the elephant in the room,” grins Robinson.

“I have fun with Banks: as he gets older, he gets more isolated; a lot of people don’t want to associate with a guy who deals with death.”

Search for DCI Banks on Twitter and you get more references to the BBC television series DCI Banks than the books on which it is based. Is Robinson concerned that this offshoot will overshadow the original products?

“Readers had been asking for it for ages, but Banks’s ordinariness – he’s just a regular guy – is a tough sell. Now that it’s on, though, the show has five million viewers. I wish I had that many readers… Interestingly, the only people who care to comment on the show are readers who don’t like it.”

Robinson has won awards for both literary excellence and his ability to create page-turners.

“It’s the way I think,” he says. “The books are not thrillers in the normal sense. They’re more about characters and psychology; discovering someone’s breaking point. Sometimes the criminals are more sympathetic than the victims.”

One of the details in Children Of The Revolution is an element of sexual misconduct on the part a character named Gavin Miller, a teacher. In some ways, that’s a touchier subject to deal with than the character getting murdered.

“He wasn’t a teacher at first. That aspect suddenly came out one day, and I dealt with it as it arrived. The sexual misconduct thing is interesting, though – it’s a suggestion that makes the character unattractive to people. And it also creates a situation where the truth can become irrelevant.”