{{Short description|1999 crime novel by Peter Robinson}} {{Use British English|date=June 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox book | name = In A Dry Season | image = Inadryseasonrobinson.jpg | caption = First edition | author = Peter Robinson | country = Canada | language = English | series = Inspector Alan Banks, #10 | genre = Crime novel | publisher = Viking Press | release_date = 1999 | media_type = Print (hardback, paperback) | isbn = 0-330-39201-8 | oclc = 50877992 | preceded_by = Dead Right | followed_by = Cold Is the Grave }}
''''' 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,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crimewritersna.org/hammett/past.htm |title=The Hammett Prize: Past Winners, Nominees, and Judges |publisher=International Association of Crime Writers, North American Branch |website=www.crimewritersna.org |accessdate=17 February 2017 |archive-date=4 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304013007/http://www.crimewritersna.org/hammett/past.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> was shortlisted for the American Edgar Award and won the 2000 Anthony Award for 'Best Novel'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bouchercon.com/anthony-awards/winners-and-nominees/2000s/ |title=Winners and Nominees 2000s |publisher=Bouchercon |website=www.bouchercon.com |accessdate=17 February 2017 |archive-date=9 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609172627/http://www.bouchercon.com/anthony-awards/winners-and-nominees/2000s/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== 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.''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=Peter|title=Not safe after dark and other works|date=2014|publisher=Pan MacMillan|location=London|isbn=9781447225515|page=4|chapter=Introduction}}</ref> A third story "Cornelius Jubb" in ''The Price of Love'' 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 (also in Yorkshire). Robinson himself confirmed this in a podcast he recorded for Yorkshire Water in 2007, eight years after the novel was first published.<ref>{{cite news |title=Underwater mysteries resurface in podcast |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&t=stp%3ANewspaper%21Newspaper/continent%3AEurope%21Europe&sort=_rank_%3AD&page=1&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=In%20a%20dry%20season%20Peter%20robinson&docref=news/11AD41498034B048 |accessdate=15 June 2019 |work=infoweb.newsbank.com |date=2 August 2007|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Reid |first1=Mark |title=A dam good walk |url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/7875350.a-dam-good-walk/ |accessdate=15 June 2019 |work=York Press |date=17 November 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Newton |first1=Grace |title=The hidden Yorkshire village that vanished beneath a lake |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/the-hidden-yorkshire-village-that-vanished-beneath-a-lake-1-9464157 |accessdate=15 June 2019 |work=www.yorkshirepost.co.uk |date=27 November 2018}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.inspectorbanks.com/books/in-a-dry-season/ Dedicated page on author's website]
{{Alan Banks}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1999 Canadian novels Category:Novels by Peter Robinson (novelist) Category:Novels set in Yorkshire Category:Fiction set in the 1940s Category:Anthony Award–winning works Category:Barry Award–winning works Category:Grand Prix de Littérature Policière winners Category:Viking Press books Category:1990s mystery novels