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  • When the Music's Over

  • The 23rd DCI Banks novel from The Master of the Police Procedural
  • By: Peter Robinson
  • Narrated by: Simon Slater
  • Length: 16 hrs
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (533 ratings)
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When the Music's Over cover art

When the Music's Over

By: Peter Robinson
Narrated by: Simon Slater
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Summary

When the body of a young girl is found in a remote countryside lane, evidence suggests she was drugged, abused and thrown from a moving van - before being beaten to death. While DI Annie Cabbot investigates the circumstances in which a 14-year-old could possibly fall victim to such a crime, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Alan Banks must do the same - but the crime Banks is investigating is the coldest of cases.

Fifty years ago Linda Palmer was attacked by celebrity entertainer Danny Caxton, yet no investigation ever took place. Now Caxton stands accused at the centre of a historical abuse investigation, and it's Banks' first task as superintendent to find out the truth. As more women step forward with accounts of Caxton's manipulation, Banks must piece together decades-old evidence.

With his investigation uncovering things from the past that would rather stay hidden, he will be led down a path even darker than the one he set out to investigate....

©2016 Eastvale Enterprises, Inc c/o David Grossman Literary Agency Ltd (P)2016 Hodder & Stoughton

What listeners say about When the Music's Over

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bang up to the minute!

This is the 23rd of Peter Robinson's DCI Banks criminal investigations - and it could not be more of the moment. The two strands are the murder of 15 year-old Mimsie Moffat, thrown out naked into the darkness from a vehicle containing three Asian men, and the conviction of Danny Caxton, now in his eighties but one-time big name in the pop industry - and serial rapist.

What the author does extremely well is make a cracking good, meaty story out of these all too familiar themes, but without tabloid sensationalism. The various characters provide the stereotypical reactions to these kinds of events - such as saying that Mimsie and Linda Palmer, Paxton's virgin victim 50 years ago, were well up for it and deserved what they got - whilst the back stories as they emerge develop the realities of their lives. The social situations which have produced young girls like Mimsie susceptible to older Asian men's flattery and gifts are explored with subtlety and understanding, as well as the Asian men's views and experiences. Linda Palmer's family holiday in Blackpool which ended with her life-changing rape is vividly presented through her teenage diaries; Danny Caxton's past is gradually unwrapped and found to contain worse than rape. Through this fiction, hard-hitting and difficult social issues are explored with a vigour and toughness not generally found in the Press. At the same time, the author gives us understanding of the complexities and problems involved in the minds and experiences of the different people which make up our troubled society.

I gave overall 4 and not 5 because I found it rather long. Some tightening up (eg shortening some of the interviews) would have increased the intensity without sacrificing any of the content.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The topical crimes brought to life

It’s hard to believe that this is the 23rd Detective Banks novel. I’ve read or listened to them all and am glad to say that in the present book the author has maintained his high standard of story-telling. Though a crime and detection novel this particular book, more than the others, delves deeply into social, and racial issues around two story lines of topics recently much in the news: historical sexual assaults by celebrities and grooming of underage white girls by older, Asian men. The latter storyline occupies more of the book as the author illustrates the social backgrounds of vulnerable young people who get sucked into binge drinking, drugs and sexual exploitation. Not the usual fare of crime novels but creates a more interesting listen that makes one think about the factors that lead to youngsters becoming easy prey.

I find the author’s predilection for digressions into the musical tastes of his characters, mainly DCI Banks, tedious, but that’s a minor irritation in an otherwise gripping novel with thought-provoking themes given more substance by being populated by well-rounded characters.

The narrator is excellent giving different accents to the various characters that adds to the impression that one is listening to real stories.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • MS
  • 24-07-16

cracking, pacey murder mystery

Good plot and well drawn characters. I enjoyed listening to this.
Very contempoary themes regarding the tensions between immigrant cultures.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Dreary, couldn't make it to the end.

What did you like best about When the Music's Over? What did you like least?

I expected much more of this writer.

What will your next listen be?

Certainly not Peter Robinson!

What three words best describe Simon Slater’s voice?

Dull, irritating, monotonous

Could you see When the Music's Over being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

I'm sure they'll use it for TV on the back of Peter Robinson's fame, but I won't be watching i!

Any additional comments?

Some of the narration was fine, but some of the voices and accents were so bad I could hardly bear to listen. This was an incedibly dull rehash of the child grooming stories. I thought, having started on this tack a clever writer would have made some surprising twists and turns. But it came over as a lecture on racial attitudes and I don't need one. It was very dated and simplistic, almost as if the writer/narrator was trying to come to terms with his own racism and biggoted views. Having heard Peter Robinson speak I'm sure he's no racist. Also, I know he consults the police in his research. So why are the police interviews so crass and unbelievable? Unless that's why so many criminals never get caught out!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Embarrassing Narration!

This was a great challenging almost uncomfortable story and would have felt really current if not for the shocking narration... this chap portrayed every character as they were in a pre 1950's serial. The women were wholly patronised despite being very strong characters as you could imagine them wearing bonnets - that's a metaphor for something I think, the West Indian accent was insulting and men were completely unreal! I nearly stopped listening out of principal several times but I really did want to know who done it!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

ll good book spoilt by the narrator's heavy breath

Couldn't continue after chapter one on second reading because of the very audible inhalations. most off putting despite the good story

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a great story

I liked the TV series and loved the audio book. great story, current and very up to date. great narration and I'll be back for the other 22 books in the series

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Would you consider the audio edition of When the Music's Over to be better than the print version?

No idea haven't read it!

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the fact that there were two stories years apart running together

What about Simon Slater’s performance did you like?

As always Slater is a great performer

Any additional comments?

A return to Peter Robinson's best

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

DCI Banks is back ...

... only he's now a Detective Superintendent leading the investigation into a thorny historical abuse case, with the trusty Winsome by his side. In a parallel tale DI Annie Cabot is investigating a brutal case of rape and murder that's quickly revealed to be related to grooming for prostitution. Banks' affair with Oriana (fans will remember Oriana from his last outing) is now over and Banks is once again leading a solitary life in his uber-modernised country cottage (an entertainment room if you please!) outside Eastvale.

I enjoyed the parallel stories, both well and tightly plotted, as Robinsons's fans have come to expect, and eminently believable - particularly with the revelations of historical abuse by Saville et al and the investigations into grooming in Rochdale and other places - so fresh in our minds.

I've assumed that part of the purpose of the parallel stories is to highlight how little things have changed in the past 50 years

The story is well and tightly plotted, as DCI Banks fans have come to expect. I liked the parallel investigations,

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb!

What a wonderfully, gripping and tense book! Beautifully narrated by Simon Slater. Thank you Mr Robinson, you've given me hours of enjoyment with this, loved it! X

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