Peter Robinson
A top crime novelist on health after a heart attack

Gary Butler

One need not be a detective to solve the mystery the unhealthy habits that kill. Just as well, then, that this issue’s subject, heart-attack survivor Peter Robinson, is not a detective, though the multiple award-winning bestselling crime writer knows a thing or 17 about problem solving. His 17th Inspector Alan Banks novel, Friend of the Devil, recently hit bookstores. Robinson’s heart attack in 2005 struck him less as a wake-up call to overhaul a stressful life than a confirmation that some family genes just can’t be washed. Still, the thoughtful 57-year-old Toronto-based Yorkshireman has made a few changes to both his own lifestyle and that of his equally reflective hero.

Photo by Biserka Lavaja

How does your profession affect your health?

Eating on the road is a big problem as the things that make restaurant food taste so good are usually salt, butter and cream. I work around it by having healthy breakfasts and lunches, and I try not to worry too much about dinner. While the exotic world travel is all very exciting, it does take away from writing time, and it disrupts my routine, thereby increasing the stress of deadlines.

How do you exercise when you’re on the hamster wheel of a promotional tour?

My doctor told me that as I’d never been an athlete, I wasn’t going to be one now, so I try not to overdo it! I don’t jog, play sports or go to the gym. The main thing for me is walking, usually at a fair clip, for half an hour to an hour each day. On the road, I explore cities on foot, and I usually manage an hour or so of that a day.

How many of Banks’s bad habits are your own?

Banks has toned down his lifestyle quite a bit in the last couple of books. He has developed a fondness for red wine over single-malt whisky and rarely drinks to excess. Banks is perhaps a bit more cavalier than I am in this regard. His thinking is that when you tell your doctor how much you drink, she doubles it; therefore, when she tells you how much you can drink, you can double that! I don’t go along with this line of thinking at all.

How was your lifestyle before your heart attack, and how has it changed since?

I really didn’t think I led such a wild or damaging lifestyle. Perhaps I ate too much red meat, and I did smoke, although I had stopped long before the heart attack. The cardiologist told me my problem was mainly genetic, a long buildup of family history. Certainly, I pay more attention to my health now — what I eat and drink, how much exercise I get. I’ve lost about 10 pounds and gone down a waist size, but I’m not a fanatic. My diet is simple: muesli for breakfast, a sandwich and perhaps a salad for lunch, and fish or chicken with vegetables for dinner. I don’t snack, I don’t put salt on my food, I rarely eat dessert. My weaknesses are cheese and the odd steak or burger, but man cannot live by carrots alone. I make sure I get some red wine and dark chocolate every day.