Caedmon's Song
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Steadily, inexorably, Peter Robinson has been building a rock-solid following for his highly accomplished crime novels--and it's not hard to see why. Books like his latest, Caedmon's Song, have all the requisite page-turning compulsiveness, but Robinson freights in a layer of psychological penetration that many in the genre strive for but few achieve.
A university student has unwisely decided to walk though a night-shrouded park. She is savagely assaulted and wakes in hospital with her memory of the attack wiped clean. Through her tortured consciousness, impressions slowly begin to appear: memories of her attackers--there were two--begin to coalesce. Robinson's sympathy and understanding for the anguish of the student, Kirsten, is detailed with much understated skill and we become as keen as she is to crack the identity of her attackers.
But this is only one of Robinson's plot strands: his other protagonist, Martha Browne, has made her way to the historic seaside town of Whitby with a hidden agenda. Outwardly she is an author doing research for a forthcoming book, but beneath the surface she is tracking down, with steely determination, a malign figure. Who is this mysterious quarry? And what is the connection with the hospitalised student? Robinson is in no hurry to make these connections and the delicious frustration for the reader only increases the determination to read on.
While the plotting here has precisely the kind of jewel-like precision to be found in such previous Robinson titles as The Summer That Never Was and Aftermath, he's clearly not content to rest with the level of observation that distinguished those books: here, the pertinent comments on society and our attitude to criminals never derail the storytelling panache. Instead they act as the kind of shoring-up that lends weight and power to crime novels. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Written back in 1990 but previously unpublished in the UK, this is one of Peter Robinson's earliest books. Taking a break from Inspector Banks he decided to write a book based on the victim's perspective rather than a police procedural. This creepy, suspenseful book was the result. Set on the Yorkshire coast, Martha Browne is supposedly researching a book whilst further inland a spate of student murders is causing a serial killer scare amongst the universities of the North. Flitting between Kirsten, the one survivor of the serial killer, and Martha, Robinson slowly but surely builds up the tension page by page. No stopping at the end of any chapter here, it is definitely a one-sitting read. Characteristically Yorkshire-based with detailed descriptions of the locations to draw the reader in, the writing is taut and tantalising displaying Robinson's skills at writing from the other side of the coin. A must for all Robinson fans. - Lucy Watson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I have just finished reading this book and enjoyed it immensely.I have just waded through other customers' thoughts about the story.I am intrigued to hear one reader say he had worked out "who dunnit" by page 124.A real miracle, I feel. Could I buy my National Lottery ticket from this person, please?!! I really like Peter Robinson's writing.His narrative flows and his English is faultless.He wrote it in the 1980s and, of course, times were different then. I rather liked this return to the past and the charm of a life without 24 hour news, no DNA and the ubiquitous use of mobile phones etc.I liked the descriptions of the towns and villages of North Yorkshire and of Bath, too.I felt the story had both pace and mystery.The end, when it came , was rather brusque and more could have been made of the climax.Characterisation was strong. All in all a very good read!!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Peter Robinson was born in Yorkshire in 1950, and is probably best known for his series of Inspector Banks novels. "Caedmon's Song" was first published in 1990, and was the first of his books set away from Banks' world.
Whitby is a coastal town in the north-east of England, and apparently relies heavily on the fishing and tourism industries. When Martha Browne arrives in Whitby in the early autumn, she doesn't have much bother finding a guest house. However, while she tells her landlord she's in town to research a book, it's pretty clear she's arrived to cause someone in Whitby a great deal of trouble. More than that, it seems she may be a little unhinged. (She has arrived with a `talisman' - a small, glass paperweight - and appears to believe that Caedmon - a poet who lived in Whitby in the 7th Century - "was the one who had called her here.")
Kirsten, on the other hand, has just finished her university exams, and will soon be graduating with first class honours. She's originally from just outside Bath, in the south of England - which, of course, means a rich family - although she chose to study in the north. In a bid to stay away from home, she and her boyfriend, Galen, are planning on taking postgrad courses in Toronto. On the night we meet her, she's celebrating her exam results with some friends - although Galen is at home, following his grandmother's death. The group of friends have had their difficulties over the years, but they've all remained close. (Hugo would prefer he and Kirsten were a little closer, but she's a devoted girlfriend to Galen). After being thrown out of the pub, they go to a party at a friends place for a while. Kirsten leaves alone, and walks home through the park - where she is, unfortunately, attacked. She only comes round ten days later, in hospital, with no memory of what happened to her. However, bearing in mind what actually happened to her, that may be something of a blessing...
The book switches back and forward, laying out Kirsten's recovery and Martha's search side by side. Martha seems a very cold, calculating individual and there's very little in the way of warmth or tenderness about her - but, right from the off, there's clearly a link between the two women. It doesn't take too long to figure out exactly what the link is - I suspect most will have it worked out a little more quickly than Robinson hoped for when he wrote the book. It's a little unbelievable at times, and it is a little dated too - you wuoldn't get a B&B for £9.50 today, while Kirsten's music collection is largely on cassette and not CD (or even MP3s, for that matter). At times, I found Robinson's writing is so formal it was nearly funny : Russell, apparently, "sure knew how to choose party music" while one of Kirsten's doctors actually says "And so you jolly well should". However, it's an easy enough read overall and it's a good deal better than some others I've read recently.
Whitby is a coastal town in the north-east of England, and apparently relies heavily on the fishing and tourism industries. When Martha Browne arrives in Whitby in the early autumn, she doesn't have much bother finding a guest house. However, while she tells her landlord she's in town to research a book, it's pretty clear she's arrived to cause someone in Whitby a great deal of trouble. More than that, it seems she may be a little unhinged. (She has arrived with a `talisman' - a small, glass paperweight - and appears to believe that Caedmon - a poet who lived in Whitby in the 7th Century - "was the one who had called her here.")
Kirsten, on the other hand, has just finished her university exams, and will soon be graduating with first class honours. She's originally from just outside Bath, in the south of England - which, of course, means a rich family - although she chose to study in the north. In a bid to stay away from home, she and her boyfriend, Galen, are planning on taking postgrad courses in Toronto. On the night we meet her, she's celebrating her exam results with some friends - although Galen is at home, following his grandmother's death. The group of friends have had their difficulties over the years, but they've all remained close. (Hugo would prefer he and Kirsten were a little closer, but she's a devoted girlfriend to Galen). After being thrown out of the pub, they go to a party at a friends place for a while. Kirsten leaves alone, and walks home through the park - where she is, unfortunately, attacked. She only comes round ten days later, in hospital, with no memory of what happened to her. However, bearing in mind what actually happened to her, that may be something of a blessing...
The book switches back and forward, laying out Kirsten's recovery and Martha's search side by side. Martha seems a very cold, calculating individual and there's very little in the way of warmth or tenderness about her - but, right from the off, there's clearly a link between the two women. It doesn't take too long to figure out exactly what the link is - I suspect most will have it worked out a little more quickly than Robinson hoped for when he wrote the book. It's a little unbelievable at times, and it is a little dated too - you wuoldn't get a B&B for £9.50 today, while Kirsten's music collection is largely on cassette and not CD (or even MP3s, for that matter). At times, I found Robinson's writing is so formal it was nearly funny : Russell, apparently, "sure knew how to choose party music" while one of Kirsten's doctors actually says "And so you jolly well should". However, it's an easy enough read overall and it's a good deal better than some others I've read recently.
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Caedmon's Song is a riveting read, the story concerns the brutal attack of a young university student and the events of the following year. The story is superbly crafted and the principal characters feel vividly real.
Utterly compelling, often gruesome, never shy, always honest.
I couldn't put this book down, on the first evening when I intended to read three or four chapters I found myself putting it down late at night, having read over half the book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dull
I'm a big fan of Peter Robinson but this was not for me. I found it dull and meandering and I just didn't care about the characters at all. Read more
Published 1 month ago by CPH
A song of knives
Different and compelling. Initially I was disappointed that I'd purchased a Robinson novel which didn't have Inspector Banks in it but I moved on and recognised that this is a... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jane Baker
Loved it!
I loved this - I listened to it on Audio CD on a long work journey this week and drove past several service stations even thought I desperately wanted a coffee, just because I... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Boof
Disappointed
Having read all the Inspector Alan Banks Books, I looked forward to Caedmon's Song. I proved to be really disappointed as I found the book to be really predictable. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2007 by D. Parker
This Author's Books are Compulsive Reading
Peter Robinson grew up in Yorkshire, and is the author of a number of previous novels featuring Inspector Banks. Read more
Published on 26 April 2007 by J. Chippindale
I Couldn't Put It Down
Caedmon's Song is a brilliant novel and is in a class of its own for sheer suspense. As in all good thrillers the author compells the reader to keep reading by leaving a... Read more
Published on 17 April 2006 by J. MCATEER
Why oh Why?
Why did they bother to publish this book other than to make money on the back of the author's reputation? It is basic psychological crime writing at it's worst. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2006 by Colin J
Caedeoms Song
Took this book on holiday to the Pyrenees and read three quarters of it in the first day. I just wanted to turn over the pages, but only had this one book to last me for 10 days. Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2004 by T Billington
Robinson continues his disappointing run
I have just finished reading this book; it is 327 pages long and I knew "whodunnit" by page 124. That just about sums up my disappointment with Robinson. Read more
Published on 4 July 2004 by Mr Bowes
Almost but not quite
Caedmon's Song begins, like all good psychological thrillers, by conjouring up a mixture of anticiation and trepidation. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2004 by Mr R Grinney
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