I read this book about 15 years ago and enjoyed it then, so I thought I'd give it another go. I don't know if my reading preferences have matured or changed over the last 15 years, but I have to say I found this a very unsatisfying read, pretty bland fare.

The overall plot is spot-on for a novel in this genre: three interleaved stories linked together by Banks and his team and family. Where the book falls down for me is the clunky dialogue, cardboard characters and rather pedestrian pace.

The book also deals with the subject of violence against women, and while I give credit for addressing it, it is treated in a rather heavy-handed way. There is also a sort of contridiction: Banks and the psychologist discuss at (seemingly interminable) length the profile of the peeping tom, while elswhere in the book the narrator seems to have a fixation with breasts (for example Dr Fuller stands "...with her arms folded across her breasts" - surely 'chest' would have done).

Saying all that, I appreciate this is the first in a long-running and popular series, and other reviewers have said not to judge the other books by this one, so I'll definitely be giving the later books a go.

Slightly clunky but alright for a quick read. Especially clunky character introductions

I read this book because I had seen an episode of the tv show. The book was fine but I didn't like it enough to continue with the series.

It's not terribly exciting as crime fiction goes; rather, the attraction lies in the character of Banks, and his relationships with the two female characters. The attempts by Banks to juggle family life with police work is nicely done, as is the description of The Dales. Had there been a bit more tension in the story, I would have given it 4 stars.

The edition I read (an American version) contained at least 3 spelling/grammatical errors which is unacceptable, and which I found annoying.

A solid crime novel. I never had a problem putting it down, but I also wanted to know who committed the crimes.

Förutom det självklara problemet med helt värdelös och ospännande plot bakades sexism och kvinnofientlighet in på ett fult sätt: genom att låta de kvinnliga karaktärerna uttrycka dem.

Four stars. I almost gave this three and a half stars because of the rather (well, extraordinarily) dated language and theories presented. Inspector Banks, a recent arrival from London to what he expects and hopes will be a quiet job in "sleepy" Yorkshire, is paired with a comely female psychologist to help solve a string of Peeping Tom incidents. Before you can mutter 'Bob's yer uncle,' he finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation, a series of robberies, and investigating a rape.

While Banks enjoys a progressive view of equality between the sexes, the same cannot be said for his superiors or his own charges...in fact, one might feel everyone else in the provincial Yorkshire Dales town he serves. This would be considered quite topical if it weren't for the very 1970s-sounding equal-rights moans and groans and howling about "these bloody women's libbers." The dialogue is an anachronism, as the book was written (and presumably takes place) in the late 1980s.

Although that's a bit of a complaint, it's also refreshing to read this sort of book in comparison with the what we consider high-tech today. Our age of computers and cell phones comes to a screeching halt when we hear of Bates's love for his Walkman and listening to his opera cassettes as he walks to and from work. If you're in the right mood (and of an age), it can be almost charming.

Will I read the rest of the series? Not sure. The book was certainly well-written, there was (possibly unintentionally) humorous dialogue, tight threads neatly (perhaps too neatly) tied the crimes together, and having lived in North Yorkshire for four years, and find the descriptions of the locales a nice trip back. We'll see.