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'The Aftermath' by Peter Robinson

Books in Brief

Thursday, January 10, 2002

By Bob Hoover, Post-Gazette Book Editor

	The Aftermath By Peter Robinson Morrow $25.00

Yorkshire is the district policed by Alan Banks, who, like most contemporary fictional British cops, has a miserable personal life which dogs him on the job.

And this latest job is another slice of modern Britain -- psychopathic sex crimes involving abducted teen girls who are abused and murdered.

The perpetrator is a respected teacher whose neighbors have managed to overlook the steady stream of tortured abductees flowing into his basement chamber.

There’s also an attractive wife who claims no knowledge of her hubby’s hobby, discovered after a recent arrival to the housing plan finally calls the cops when she hears screams.

By the time Banks arrives at the scene, he discovers a pile of bodies including a slain officer and a mortally wounded suspect, plus the corpse of a missing girl. More bodies are unearthed later.

As he battles demons from his failed marriage, his current affair with a female detective and his desire for a helpful psychologist, Banks must also solve the nagging problem of the unsuspecting wife -- or was she?

This latest installment in Robinson’s series is fast, compelling reading if you don’t look carefully at the construction.