'' In a Dry Season '' is the tenth novel by Canadian detective fiction writer Peter Robinson in the Inspector Banks series of novels. The novel was first printed in 1999, but has been reprinted a number of times since. The novel is widely acclaimed as Robinson's best, a large step forward in ambition from previous books, and this was reflected in its critical and commercial response. The novel was nominated for the 1999

Hammett Prize The Hammett Prize is awarded annually by the International Association of Crime Writers, North American Branch (IACW/NA) to a Canadian or US citizen or permanent resident for a book in English in the field of crime writing. It is named after crim ...

, was shortlisted for the American

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

and won the 2000

Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the m ...

for 'Best Novel'.

Research on the period

After researching the Second World War for ''In a Dry Season'', Robinson wrote two short stories set in wartime (1940s) Yorkshire involving Frank Bascombe a "special constable in the war" and veteran of the First World War: ''Missing in Action'' and ''In Flanders Fields,'' which were published in ''

Not Safe After Dark Not Safe After Dark (1998) is the first collection of short stories by Peter Robinson; stories previously published in crime anthologies and magazines. They include three Inspector Banks short stories, one (''Going Back'') previously unpublishe ...

.'' A third story "Cornelius Jubb" in ''

The Price of Love "The Price of Love" is a song by the Everly Brothers, released in 1965. It charted at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and No. 3 on the Irish Singles Chart. It spent one week at Number 1 on the UK's NME chart, but in the US, the song failed to chart ...

'' involves "Constable Bascombe", although he could not use the full name "Frank Bascombe" in the collection for copyright reasons; see Introduction and Afternotes to the collections.

Location of setting

With its setting in Yorkshire, England, the name of the lost village "Hobb's End" and other local references, it was always suggested that Robinson based the location on the real life lost village of "West End", the ruins of which lie under

Thruscross reservoir Thruscross Reservoir is the northernmost of four reservoirs in the Washburn valley, lying north of Otley and west of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England, near the hamlet of Thruscross. It can be found on an unclassified road from the A59 ro ...

(also in Yorkshire). Robinson himself confirmed this in a podcast he recorded for

Yorkshire Water Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its ...

in 2007, eight years after the novel was first published. During exceptionally dry summers, the remains of West End have been exposed as the reservoir dries up, just as the fictional Hobb's End is in this novel.

References

External links

Dedicated page on author's website
{{Alan Banks 1999 Canadian novels Novels by Peter Robinson (novelist) Novels set in Yorkshire Fiction set in the 1940s Anthony Award-winning works Barry Award-winning works Grand Prix de Littérature Policière winners Viking Press books