Author:Ian Rankin
Rankin had intended the previous novel, A Heart Full of Headstones, to be the final bow for John Rebus. However, a change of heart means that here we are with the 25th novel in this long running series. Picking up where the last story ended, we find Rebus is now incarcerated, not a good position for an ex copper to find himself in. However, even in prison he is dragged into the investigation of the murder of a fellow inmate, the motive for which is unclear. Meanwhile, outside the walls, Siobhan Clarke is investigating the sudden disappearance of a schoolgirl, while Malcolm Fox tries to insert himself into both cases for murky reasons of his own. I won’t give away any more of the plot here, but suffice to say this is certainly Rankin’s best work for a good while and is right up there with the very finest of the Rebus canon. The two plots run seamlessly side by side in this work, which really is the gold standard in this genre, and the stunning climax leaves the reader wondering if there’ll be more to come or whether this is it – oh, and there’s a very clever clue which some here may pick up on, even if I didn’t!
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Police procedurals which stretch out beyond their usual remit to encompass topics such as changes in society, the never ending march of technology and the decay of public institutions.
One thing you’ve learned
A national tour to promote the novel is underway.
Bejesus says
There are some authors who no matter how hard I try I can’t wait for the paperback so end up buying the hardback ( don’t do kindle) and Ian Rankin in one of them. I know Rebus is getting on but surely there are a few more books in him . Fantastic review Bargepole 👍
Bargepole says
It would be nice to think there’s still more tales to come, but then again maybe 25 is a nice round number to end on. I suppose we’ll find out in two years time.
Guiri says
I’d hope he does continue with Rebus because with him Rankin is seemingly effortlessly, endlessly good. Whereas the two novels with Malcolm Fox as the protagonist I found pretty turgid and dull. Definitely a secondary character and I wouldn’t miss him too much from the Rebus books tbh.
bobness says
Me too. Waterstones here I come…
Chrisf says
A very good “In the Studio” episode(s) on BBC World Service that covered the writing of this. In two parts…..
Part One: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5tl6
Part Two: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5tl7
Vulpes Vulpes says
Oh I say, well played sir – I’m heading off right now to get_iplayer…
Vulpes Vulpes says
Rebus is the absolute best. This’ll have to wait for the paperback though – I get through so many books it’s ridiculous, and anyway I need a little time to try to clear the inbound pile!
Aaaargh!
duco01 says
Jacqueline Crooks’s “Fire Rush” and the “Small Hours” biography of John Martyn are in my tottering “to be read” pile as well – hah!
Jaygee says
And there was me thinking my to-read pile was imposing
Been reading Rebus since the first book came out in the mid-1990s.
He remains one of only a handful of authors whose books I buy and start the day they come out.
Podicle says
What would be the best starting point for the series? The first book, or did he take a few to hit his stride?
MC Escher says
After many rave reviews (mostly on the AW) I read the first one and thought it a bit shit, so never continued. My loss, I’m sure.
Twang says
It’s a while since I read the first one but I then read all of them as they appeared so I must have enjoyed it. I think start there. The characters roll through the stores so it’s probably good to start at the beginning.
Jaygee says
Early few – strip jsck, knots and crosses, etc, were quite short and while enjoyable were a tad lighweight.
The Black Book was the first time Rankin and Rebus hit their stride
If MAB proves to be the last Rebus (as we know him now) novel, IR
has a rich seam of stories from JR’s earlier career with Special Services
In Northern Ireland
Podicle says
Ta
retropath2 says
Bloody good stories, bloody awful books. Sorry, he can’t write for toffee, however good the plots. True, I haven’t read all 25, just a couple and one of the non Rebus others
Gatz says
I have to agree. I like Rebus as a character and enjoy the Rebus / Shiv relationship but the books have never held my attention. The Light is a big fan and will buying the new one when we’re in town tomorrow. He’s a lovely bloke too. When we met him at a gig in Edinburgh he was more than happy to sign her gig ticket and have a photo taken with her.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
The “can’t write for toffee” is just Wrong. I’m not his strongest fan (although have read 90% of Rebus) but he sure can write. It all gets a bit samey and predictable in the middle of the series but the last three are as good as Rebus gets. Hope the new one is a fitting finale.
Jaygee says
@retropath2
There’s a big difference between saying “I don’t like his stuff” and he “can’t write for toffee”.
If you’re going to state the latter, you really need to, if not substantiate your argument with examples of his stylistic failings, then at least provide a bit of context.
Are you talking about fiction generally or being specific about IR’s skills as a crime writer?
While the Rebus books plainly aren’t Crime and Punishment, in common with most genre fiction they don’t aspire to be high literature/literary fiction and shouldn’t be judged as such.
What they do set out to be is well-plotted, compelling reads with central characters who are easy to identify with./root for. And this is something that IR’s Rebus series has done in spades.
This is not an easy trick to pull off: As the many “serious” novelists who’ve tried slumming it in the ghetto of crime fiction over the years have found out. (Irish writer John Banville being a notable example).
What makes IR’s books all the more remarkable is that he set himself the (unique in modern crime fiction?) challenge of evolving his character in real time in the face of actual events.
It was often said of the late Ruth Rendell that had she not been a crime writer she would have been a shoe-in for the Booker Prize. If you read the opening 13-word sentence of A Judgement In Stone* or any of the books she later wrote as Barbara Vine, it’s easy to see why.
While IR’s less successful non-Rebus efforts might lead people to think he’s a one-trick pony, how many non-Sherlock Holmes protagonists did Conan-Doyle conjure up? Another area in which IR has been especially canny (probably unintentionally so) was in establishing an intriguing back-story for Rebus’ pre-police career as a Special Forces op in Norn Ireland.
Given that Aidan McKinty the only other writer to have explored the Province has abandoned his splendid Duffy RUC series, it’s fertile
ground for Rankin to plough.
Hope he does so.
*FWIW, the opening to Rendell’s Judgement in Stone is as follows:
“Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write.”
retropath2 says
Ok, in my opinion he can’t write for toffee.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
There’s the odd section of clunky prose here and there but whatever you think of his plotting, style etc he sure can write. That’s not a matter of opinion, that’s a fact.
Lodestone of Wrongness says
To put this in a musical context, I’d rather pierce my penis with a poisoned prong that listen to the Mahavishnu Orchestra but, boy, that McLaughlin fella sure can play guitar….
retropath2 says
His spelling is generally good. Grammar fair. The storylines would engage but I am put off by his style. It’s the way you tell’em, as a great philosopher once said.
Twang says
I’ve realised I haven’t read the last 2 so I’ve reserved them at the library.
Kaisfatdad says
Excellent review, @Bargepole. You’ve whetted my appetite.
I too will be joining the queue at the English Bookshop in Stockholm, the moment it comes out in paperback.
badartdog says
Does anyone here read Adrian McKinty? His Detective Sean Duffy series is great – set in 1980s Belfast, Duffy is a Catholic ‘Peeler’ in the RUC. I was looking online for crime novel recommendations and saw him mentioned in a Guardian article. I do audio books rather than physical books and have got through five in two weeks.
Jaygee says
@badartdog
Mentioned him in my long post further up the page.
He’s great but the Duffy books didn’t sell so he’s now banging out airport potboilers
If you’ve not read them, Allan Parks’ calendar-themed Harry McCoy series is worth a look
badartdog says
Cool – ta, Jaygee.
Disappointed to hear the Duffy books are no more – they’re consistently strong.
Edit: apparently the 8th Duffy novel is out next March.
Bargepole says
I second the Alan Parks books although the series seems to have been paused, either temporarily or permanently, and the first novel in a new series is due in 2025.
Jaygee says
Excellent. Thought he’d knocked it on the head.
Both he and SD Deserves to be much better known.
Be great if the people who did Blue Lights did a
TV adapt
Bargepole says
The new novel, Gunner, is another police procedural but set in WWII Glasgow. Published next summer.
Apparently the TV rights to the McCoy books have been sold….whether it ever gets made or not is another matter of course – see Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther novels…..
Jaygee says
Have you read any Malcolm McKay books, @Bargepole? He’s another very good Tartan Noir writer.
Hope AP is taking a break from Harry as it would seem logical to assume he planned at least 12 books in the series.
The blow of no Bernie G TV series is softened somewhat by the excellent Babylon Berlin TV show on Sky
Bargepole says
I haven’t but thanks for the recommendation…I will certainly check them out 👍