Book Description
It's late autumn in Edinburgh and late autumn in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus.As he tries to tie up some loose ends before retirement, a murder case intrudes.A dissident Russian poet has been found dead in what looks like a mugging gone wrong.By apparent coincidence a high-level delegation of Russian businessmen is in town, keen to bring business to Scotland.The politicians and bankers who run Edinburgh are determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically. But the further they dig, the more Rebus and his colleague DS Siobhan Clarke become convinced that they are dealing with something more than a random attack-especially after a particularly nasty second killing.Meantime, a brutal and premeditated assault on local gangster 'Big Ger' Cafferty sees Rebus in the frame.Has the Inspector taken a step too far in tying up those loose ends?Only a few days shy of the end to his long, inglorious career, will Rebus even make it that far? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not the best but still good
How do you judge an Ian Rankin book? The standard is so high. I say this by way of explanation of giving only three stars for this book. This reflects my personal enjoyment of the book but as always this is a well written, highly readable, fine tale by Rankin.

A disaffected Russian, the famous poet Todorov is murdered in Edinburgh. Was he the victim of a random act of violence or is there more to this than meets the eye? Or less to this than meets the eye as some of the police investigators think. The story takes us to the new Scottish Parliament, introduces us to Russian millionaire businessmen and inevitably leads to Morris Cafferty. Yes Cafferty who is Moriarty to Rankin's Holmes, Inspector Rebus.

There's lots to like about this book. It's great to meet up with Siobhan again and see how she is beginning to move out of Rebus' shadow. Rankin's take on Scottish politics is also fascinating.

For me however it was not as gripping as previous novels, still, not to be missed if you're a fan.

A very considerate man is Mr.Rankin
We all knew that John Rebus would have to retire sooner or later. That's the way the ball bounces after all.
I have grown up with Rebus, sort of. (Not that I am an adult now, still some years to go.) He got me hooked with his music and his malts and his inconsiderate attitudes to bosses and colleagues and football and women, and with his cases.
Of course we know similar people, say Harry Bosch: he retired from the service, then he did some private detecting, then he could not stand it any more and went back to be a cop. I do not think the latter option is open to Rebus, nobody will have him. Not sure I can see him as a private eye. Let's see.
So in the meantime we need to say farewell or something like that.
And here comes Rankin's stroke of genius: for the final instalment he gives us the first really boring Rebus book. I could not believe my eyes. Repetitive, stagnating, annoying, immensely not interesting. I could not finish it, believe it or not.
Then I thought: Mr.Rankin must have done that on purpose, to make the separation easier for us. Thank you, Ian Rankin!

As We Say Goodbye, Let Me Wish You Grace and Danger

"I never knew the road that carried me along
Crazy sidewalk, concealed by pretty song
You want my life from me
I'll give you two
You'll be no strife for me
As we say goodbye
Let me wish you as you fly.

Grace and danger
Sweet grace
No danger
Sweet grace
No danger
Grace and danger."
John Martyn

John Rebus hooked me into his life with his love of music and his style, and that is how he ends his career, style with 'Exit Music'-how apropos.Rebus mentions how much John Martyn, The Stones and 'The Cure' have meant to his life, and the songs that he can identify with. Rebus and I and my best friend and it seems Ian Rankin are The Stones, Cure and Martyn fans. Ian Rankin has Rebus at the age of 60, and in Scotland he must retire. It seems I hardly got to know ya, Rebus. We have seen Rebus through much of his detective's life, and as he grew and aged so did we. But, me, I am no way intending to retire. And, what will Rebus do? He can't sit and listen to his music and drink, Can he?

Rebus has eight days to go to his retirement. His genial sidekick who may just may take over his job, DC Siobhan Clark, is crafting her trade. She has learned a great deal from this man she loves and respects. Love is not mentioned by either, but we know it is there. Siohban is explaining to him what his retirement party will look like. Rebus does not want any big fuss with his superiors in the audience. It will be quiet with just his kind. And, what is that kind you may ask. If you have to ask....

They are called to the scene of a murder. A body, that of a Russian poet, found in a parking garage. And into the foray they march. Siobhan and Rebus find that a group of Russians have come to Scotland to buy whatever they can. A bank in Scotland has become good neighbors and, of course, who is in the middle of the action? Cafferty, the long time nemesis of Rebus. They have meetings and Rebus follows Cafferty's every move. The murder investigation turns nasty when Rebus is brought up to his superiors for his actions with a murder witness who happens to be the daughter of the bank president. Rebus is suspended. Just as good, now he can go on to solve this murder, and maybe more without being impeded by his bosses. Siobhan takes on the investigation full time and she has learned well from this man, Rebus. She will miss him but she can go it alone.

This is more than a book about a bank and the Russian involvement. We are saying goood-bye to Rebus. The retirement party of Rebus and his thoughts as he leaves the job he loves. This is a story of John ,and the end of his career. We are led step by step as he wraps up the murder with the skill he has always shown. There is a twist and we are left to wonder "Is That All There Is?

Detective John Rebus, I will miss you. I have hopes you will be around in some capacity. I will miss your music choices and how your moods match your choice in the music of the days of yore. Good on Yer, Rebus.

Highly, Highly Recommended. prisrob 10-25-07

Rebus - Set 1

Let It Bleed (An Inspector Rebus Novel)

Mortal Causes (An Inspector Rebus Novel)

Note quite the final volume!
As usual, it's a great whodunit...I really liked the story, particularly Rebus and his upcoming retirement and the way that it affects his relationships with those around him.

Rankin always manages to keep you interested and playing along with Rebus and Clarke trying to determine if you can figure it out before they do.Unfortunately, he doesn't introduce us to a character that helps explain the central murder until the last chapters which makes it anyone's guess as to how it happened up until the point he's explaining it.I always think that that's a bit of a cop-out.

He also leaves a couple of key loose-ends VERY loose at the end and opens the door for follow-up tomes, even with Rebus retiring.Will Rankin's focus shift to Clarke?What happens to the questionable young cop?And Big Ger?Will he, won't he...Guess we'll have to wait.

Number Seventeen in the Series

Ian Rankin was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960. His list of books is now into the thirties and this book is number seventeen in his enormously popular Rebus series. He lives with his wife and two sons in Edinburgh.

I have not read very many of Ian Rankin's novels, Inspector Rebus or otherwise. What I can say is that the two or three of his most recent novels that I have read have been extremely enjoyable. Exit Music set in Edinburgh is like a breath of fresh air after being fed a diet of American thrillers set in the smog filled streets of New York or San Francisco.

The book opens with DI Rebus winding down and attempting to tie up any loose ends before his impending retirement, but then a murder takes place and retirement for Rebus seems just that little bit further away. The murder appears at first sight be a mugging gone wrong and involves the death of a Russian poet. The death coincides with the visit of a delegation of Russian businessmen. The politicians who run Edinburgh want the case cleaned up as quickly and quietly as possible.

Rebus is not about to take his finger off the pulse just yet and the more he digs, the more convinced he becomes that this is not a random attack and this seems to be confirmed when a second killing takes place. This case is turning ugly and complicated. Why did it have to happen a few days before his retirement. That is the question Rebus keeps asking himself . . . ? ... Read more

Book Description
A page-turning novel of assassins and double-crossing from themaster of modern mystery, Ian Rankin.

Michael Weston is a gun for hire. He's paid well to do his job and ask noquestions. But after successfully assassinating a TV reporter, the cops arequickly on his tail. How did they know how to find him? And who is hisanonymous employer? Why did he or she want the reporter dead in the firstplace? Was he set up to be caught and thrown in jail?

The answers may lie with Hoffer, a private detective who has been huntinghim for years--ever since Michael dispatched a bullet and accidentally hitan innocent young American girl. Her grieving father has kept Hoffer onretainer and on a mission to bring Weston to justice no matter what thecost. Could Hoffer have finally trapped him?

The only way Michael can stay ahead of the police is to find his mysteriousemployer and figure out who has been playing him like a puppet onstrings--or he may find himself on the other end of the rifle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Bleedin' Readable
Ian Rankin has earned a high reputation for police procedurals injected with gritty realism; there's a stylish wry wit and a raw energy in Rankin's writing that has been likened by critics to rock and roll.His dissolute Inspector Rebus is a fine piece of work, walking the line none too steadily between Scottish organized crime, an increasingly cynical view of his colleagues, wavering personal ethics and the local pub.
Bleeding Hearts departs from the Rebus series and offers up a bang and a twist right from the start: the narrator is a professional assassin, meticulously preparing for another in a long string of hits.He nails his target without a flinch, but the police land on his tail immediately.Michael Weston therefore sets off on a helter-skelter tour of the seedier side of London, rural Scotland, and on to New York, Texas and the Pacific Northwest in search of the person who has set him up or sold him out.To add to the suspense and interest, his footsteps are dogged all the way by an overweight, drug-addicted, hypochondriac American gumshoe who has made a career out of following Weston.Neither character is exactly lovable or multi-faceted, but part of the fascination of the book is discovering which of these reprehensible characters is worthy of the reader's sympathy.The long story writhes, wallows, jogs, and lags sometimes in reflection of the narrator's anger, flattened-affect, mania and fatigue; a nice case of function following form. I was impressed to find my native Seattle/Olympic Peninsula accurately depicted, but disappointed that the narration had so little feeling for the place.Oh well, that would be in line with the characters: sweat-stained, desperate road warriors, all.
Overall: RWR (Recommend With Reservations). Very well plotted, original and more than decently written.This is a very violent novel -- lots of descriptions of weapons, beatings, blood, and little redeeming social value, but all pretty much expected and therefore not too horrifying.If you enjoy a gritty crime novel, you will like this book.I personally found all the gun stuff tedious, but I'm just like that.

A hunter with a heart.
Every once in a while it's good to read a book about a sniper that seems to have touch of humanity. This is a sniper without a clear conscience and it added a refreshing element to the story. It was also new that this sniper was good at shooting, but he wasn't a walking superweapon without a rifle either, and was aware of it. Usually, these guys are portrayed as extreme killing machines with or without weapons, and at times there is nothing wrong with reading about characters like that. The fact that this guy wasn't, just provided a new perspective with this action plot. It was well written, the end wasn't predictable, and it provided enough testosterone driven combat that the book was never boring.

Interesting Story. Lackluster Characters. Ultimately Disappointing.
It took me a long time to finish this book.When I thought about reading it, I found I thought the story was interesting and I wanted to know what would happen, but it just took effort to want to read it. I couldn't figure out why.

That was until about halfway through the book and I realized I didn't like any of the characters and couldn't care less about what happened to them. That's what was holding me back.

Bel was whiny, passive aggressive and naive to the point of my just wanting her killed off. Overall, I got the impression that Rankin could never make up his mind who she was supposed to be.

Weston, the infamous D-Man, was a milquetoast. Without a sniper rifle, he came across as bumbling and weak. The great assissin barely knew how to use a pistol. That wasn't so bad. It could have been endearing under the right circumstances. But added to the fact that he was incapable of standing up to Bel and that she basically led him around by his nose, he was character I couldn't believe in.I would say that he was "whipped" if he hadn't been so apathetic about their relationship. He was pretty much apatehtic about everything. Even his interest in finding out who set him up came across as forced for the sake of the plot.

Finally, there was Leo Hoffer, who took being the obnoxious New Yorker/American to new heights. Rankin's depiction of Hoffer as such was so over the top it seemed like parody. All of the Americans, except possibly Clancy, were caricatures. Hoffer had some "cute" quirks, but overall he was yet another character I felt should be killed off. And given his lack of use in the latter half of a novel, and looking back on it, contrived use in the earlier half, he probably could have been left out of the novel altogether.

The ending, both that regarding the "big conspiracy" and who hired the D-Man, were anti-clamatic, contrived, somewhat illogical, and utterly disappointing. Not so much the resolution of the "conspiracy". That was a "who cares" moment. It was the answer to who hired Weston and why that was so disappointing.

This is the second novel I've read by Rankin. Witch Hunt being the first. It's my second disappointment.I'm not sure I'll be picking up another by this author.

No heroes here . . .
Michael Weston -- if that's really his name -- is a craftsman at his job, which is killing people. Only once did he shoot the wrong person (a young girl) and that was a regrettable accident, but it's come back to haunt him. His current commission involves taking out a London journalist on the steps of her hotel, which he accomplishes, but the police are there suspiciously fast. Who sicced them on him? As he begins trying to track back to his employer for his own protection, he runs afoul of what appears to be a cult group with access to too much money and connections to the American spook underground. And then there's the publicity-hungry private detective who's been tracking him for years. The plot is nicely complicated and its resolution is based on a real occurrence. The characters are well drawn and the author maintains a frenetic pace that would make a good film.

Early Rankin showing promise
This is the first American release for an early novel by British writer Ian Rankin, author of the award-winning "John Rebus" series of mysteries. Michael West is an assassin and when he is double crossed after murdering a journalist, he must go on the run with assistance from the daughter of an arms dealer to find out who set him up. He is chased by a drug-addled American private eye who will stop at nothing to take him down. Ranking throws in the kitchen sink on this one: cops, crooks, spies and cults all take part in the narrative with plenty of shoot 'em up action along the way. The ending is a little contrived, but the story works for the most part, and shows how talented a writer Rankin was even at this early stage. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Given his contempt for authority, his tendency to pursue investigative avenues of his own choosing, and his habitually ornery manner, it's a wonder that John Rebus hasn't been booted unceremoniously from his job as an Edinburgh cop. He certainly tempts that fate again in A Question of Blood, which finds him and his younger partner, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, trying to close the case of a withdrawn ex-soldier named Lee Herdman, who apparently shot three teenage boys at a Scottish private school, leaving two of them dead, before turning the pistol on himself.

"There's no mystery," Siobhan insists at the start of this 14th Rebus novel (following Resurrection Men). "Herdman lost his marbles, that's all." However, the hard-drinking, chain-smoking Rebus, who'd once sought entry into the same elite regiment in which Herdman served (but ultimately cracked under psychological interrogation), thinks there's more motive than mania behind this classroom slaughter. Perhaps something to do with the gunman's role in a 1995 mission to salvage a downed military helicopter, or with Teri Cotter, a 15-year-old "Goth" who broadcasts her bedroom life over the Internet, yet keeps private her relationship with the haunted Herdman. Rebus's doubts about the murder-suicide theory are deepened with the appearance of two tight-lipped army investigators, and by the peculiar behavior of James Bell, the boy who was only wounded during Herdman's firing spree and whose politician father hopes to use that tragedy as ammo in the campaign against widespread gun ownership. But the detective inspector's focus on this inquiry is susceptible to diversion, both by an internal police probe into his role in the burning death of a small-time crook who'd been stalking Siobhan, and by the fact that Rebus--who shies away from any family contacts--was related to one of Herdman's victims.

Now middle-aged and on the downward slope of his pugnacity (the high point may have come in 1997's Black and Blue), Rebus has become the engine of his own obsolescence. Overexposure to criminals has left him better at understanding them than his colleagues, and he only worsens his career standing by fighting other people's battles for them, especially Siobhan, who risks learning too many lessons from her mentor. To watch Rebus subvert police conventions and fend of personal demons (that latter struggle mirrored in A Question of Blood by Herdman's own) is worth the admission to this consistently ambitious series. --J. Kingston PierceBook Description
When a former soldier and recluse murders two 17-year-old students at a posh Edinburgh boarding school, Rebus immediately suspects there is more to the case than meets the eye. Army investigators show up to snoop around the scene of the crime, and links between the killer and a local group of "Goths" (a morbid clique of black-clad teens who listen to heavy metal music) begin to surface. But just as Rebus finds himself in the thick of the murder inquiry, he's threatened with suspension from the police force: a man who had been menacing his partner and friend, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, dies in the same house fire that has left Rebus with horrible, painful burns. Rebus is immediately suspected of foul play. Now Rebus is faced with two harrowing missions: He must get to the root of the boarding school killing even as he tries to clear his own name.Download Description
When a former soldier and recluse murders two 17 year-old students at a posh Edinburgh boarding school, Inspector John Rebus immediately suspects there is more to the case than meets the eye. Army investigators show up to snoop around the scene of the crime, and links between the killer and a local group of "Goths" (a morbid clique of black-clad teens who listen to heavy metal music) begin to surface. But just as Rebus finds himself in the thick of the murder inquiry, he's threatened with suspension from the police force: a man who had been menacing his partner and friend, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, dies in the same house fire that leaves Rebus with horrible, painful burns, and Rebus is immediately suspected of foul play.Now Rebus is faced with two harrowing missions: he must get to the root of the boarding school killing even as he tries to clear his own name. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

Rebus plays hurt but comes up a winner
"A Question of Blood" is the 14th book in the John Rebus series and delivers an engaging storyline--two murdered schoolboys, a snuffed out stalker of Rebus' partner, the death of an ex-cop and assorted mayhem revolving, as ever, around Inspector Rebus and his mates.Author Ian Rankin puts his anti-hero through the usual physical punishment which at times seems only reasonable for someone so anti-social and contrary asRebus is portrayed.A secondary and interesting theme explored by this book (although not in nearly enough depth) is a look at post-traumatic ailments suffered by various characters central to the plot, including Rebus' own piled up issues.
This is a better than average read, driven largely by compelling dialogue rather than narrative and well-worth the time of any crime/mystery reader.

What a find!
This is the first Ian Rankin novel I've read, but I'll make a point of reading them now. A really well designed mystery/police procedural by a Scottish author set in Edinburgh. The story begins with a school shooting, unfortunately an all too common event today, and not limited to the U.S. There was an earlier shooting in Scotland by a man who burst into a school, similar to Rankin's book. The actual shooting, as well as the whole gun control debate, are brought up in A Question of Blood, as well as other current issues U.S. readers will be familiar with, such as teenage gangs, the drug trade, Internet pornography and Goth kids, who might have stepped out of Columbine. The action is continuous and although there are a lot of characters and various subplots, you don't feel they get in the way of the story. Although the Scottish criminal justice system is somewhat different from the American, police and other personnel face similar problems. I found the book fascinating (I really hate that pseudo-word unputdownable) and recommend it to anyone who likes the mystery genre. Also on the school shooting theme, Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, in a U.S. setting, is a good comparison read.

Numpty?
I took a long time to warm to this book, which is one of series of stories about Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus, a hard drinking loner, as you might expect. The author states in the preface that, in exchange for a donation to charity, he has taken to naming some minor characters after people who donate.I found this a bit weird, and strangely stereotypical. I took a long time to get into the story line, which moves along via Rebus's interior narration, and that of his young, admiring assistant Siobhan Clarke, and mixes in some dialog between them.
I found the best bits were the descriptions of Scottish society, I live in Ireland, so don't know the full details, but I identified with the descriptions of the modern media, the sodden weather, the drinking etc. I thought some of the street-criminal characters were quite believable also.
The plot hinges around a helicopter crash off the Scottish coast which killed a significant number ofGovernment spy-types, an event which actually did take place.However, Rankin fictionalises what they were up to, I thought this might be insulting to the relatives of those who died, however I guess he has licence to do so.
The main weakness, I felt, was the clichéd nature of the lone, hard drinking detective, useless at relationships, but obsessively brilliant at his work. This has been done so often, you have to wonder what more could we be expected to put up with.Rebus finally drops his guard when he `rescues' his assistant Clarke, after suspecting she was involved in another `plane crash and gives her a big hug. NO HE WOULDN't, and the plane crash was put in for the TV mini-series. This last chapter takes a meandering story and puts it into a tailspin [yes, I know] Overall I won't be back to Rebus anytime soon

More of a Whydunit than a Whodunit
The novel starts with a murder suicide; an ex-SAS serviceman walks into a posh private school and kills two students, wounds another and then turns the gun on himself.The Question is why would the killer walk pass all the other students on the Quad, and down a hall to this specific room?

So begins another John Rebus novel, but this one is a different presenta- tion: it's split into seven sections (each representing a day of the week) and follows Rebus and company as they methodically follow the clues to the culmination of the inquiry.One of the victims turn out to be the son of John's cousin, who he hasn't spoken to in years, another the son of a judge; and the wounded child is the son of the local MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament).Are there any connections?

Once again John is in hot-water and suspended, why? Seems that a "villian" who has been harassing Siobhan, had turned up dead in a fire.John was last seen leaving a bar with the victim, hours before the fire.John has turned up at St. Leonard's with his hands in bandages, that he says are the result of a "scalding".Things don't look good for our anti-hero.

But we know that in the end, all things will turn our right enough so that John will be able to stay on the force and go on his un-merry way.What makes the book so good, is that nothing that happens along the way is a turnabout, or a HUH?Everything that happens and the way all of the characters follow the clues are realistic and make for a believable chronology.Rankin is a master at developing a plausible story from beginning to end.

Good characters, reasonably good mystery, fun
The strength of Rankin's works is the realistic outlook of John Rebus and Siobhan Clarke: in a society that operates by mechnical principle, they are purely organic and in fact feral, which is what keeps them devoted to truth (in a world where lies are publically rewarded) and allows them to solve mysteries with several layers of implication. Rankin's layering technique is flawless, and his mysteries relatively realistic and logical, which combined with actors who are likable characterizations of threads of thought required to find a balance between society and soul, make for a powerful and fun read. We the readers feel we could live in this world, and even more, we want to, since these characters fight the same quintessential adaptation-or-conflict seesaw we ourselves must undergo. For those who non-critically enjoy a solid mystery that feels as if it could happen in our newspapers, if not our world, Rankin has produced another treat. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Inspector John Rebus of Edinburgh's finest has been knocking readers'socks off for years, in 10 full-length police procedurals by Ian Rankinthat star the thoughtful, intelligent Scot.In this neat little novella, hedoes in 73 pages what many of his peers take three times as long to do--set aninteresting scene, solve a crime, develop a character, and allow him to grow andchange without sacrificing either pace or plot. Agreeing to track down themissing son of his high school sweetheart and her husband, a friend of hisyouth, Rebus takes the reader into the gritty back streets and criminal bywaysof Edinburgh, following Damon Mee from the nightclub where he was last seenthrough gambling casinos, football matches, and face-to-face encounters with themobsters who may have been involved in his disappearance.Along the way Rebusconfronts his own mortality, the choices he's made, and the obligations he oweshis past.The theme of vanishing was spun off from Dead Souls, a full- length novel; according to Rankin, he wrote this brief but fully-realized piecefirst, then cannibalizedpart of it as a sub-plot for Dead Souls, "whilealtering the histories of the characters involved so that both can be readindependently."Which is why American fans who haven't yet read DeadSouls will pick it up right after this one. Death Is Not the End isshort enough to read on a shuttle flight and still have time for a nap.Butlike Rankin's other solid Rebus stories, it will stay with you even after youwake up. --Jane AdamsBook Description

Customer Reviews (6)

Rankin Rules
A Good Hanging: Short Stories (Inspector Rebus Novels)This is one of over a dozen "Inspector Rebus" books written by Ian Rankin, a Scottish detective.Rankin always gives you your money's worth with each novel, which are always intelligently written with an original plot.Protagonist John Rebus is a rebel, and like most rebels, frequently in hot water.It is important to read these books in the order of their copywrite date in order to watch Rankin and his female partner mature and advance in their careers.These books are written with a story line of many layers and subplots.Rankin's novels are so far superior to the pap offered by most American mystery writers that I've been thoroughly spoiled.When reading Rankin, you are living Rhebus, day by day. If you prefer an intelligent, complicated story line, Rankin is for you.

Novella retells novel subplot
Ian Rankin writes crisp, dark, atmospheric police procedurals set in Edinburgh featuring Inspector John Rebus, a brooding loner with occasional regrets, given to bottling his strong feelings. Rankin's unadorned,complexly nuanced writing, his ability to breathe life into characters asmuch with what is not said as what is, makes the series a particularstand-out.

Since his novella "Death Is Not the End," focuses ona subplot in Rankin's 1999 novel "Dead Souls," I expected asequel. But as Rankin explains in a note at the end, the novella waswritten first. The story concerns a missing young man, 23 years old, theson of an old highschool girlfriend. The narrative follows Rebus'investigation over much the same time period as "Dead Souls,"though Rankin extended his investigation in the novel. And there is adifferent subplot featuring crooked casino operators.

New readers, orthose who missed "Dead Souls" will enjoy the journey intoEdinburgh's seamy side - the grim amorality of those who make their livingfrom "punters" - and Rebus' exploration of his own past and thechoices that have made him who he is.

Disappointed Reader
I have read all of Rankin's novels and eagerly anticipated his latest. I was therefore doubly disappointed to receive a slight 70 page novella in the mail and then to discover that most of it was lifted from his lastnovel. Yes, a few pages are brand new, but that is hardly the point. Iexpected a new story and this was a rehash that appeared to have been hastily scribbled and patched together. For those who like Rankin, I'd givethis one a miss and wait till he writes a real novel again.

Horrible!
Ripoff! Seventy-three pages, at least forty of which are a direct lift from his last book. If you like Ian Rankin or have read his books in the past, don't waste your money on this.

Novella-length entry in a great crime series
If you've never read one of Ian Rankin's extraordinary John Rebus mysteries, "Death is Not the End" is a great introduction to the troubled Edinburgh detective and his dark world. On the surface, it's apolice procedural (the Rebus books remind me of the also-excellent BillJames "Harpur and Iles" British police procedurals), but Rebus issuch a loner, breaking out into his own investigations, that it's virtuallya private detective novel as well. This imagery fits "Death is Not theEnd" especially well as the (intentional) echoes of Raymond Chandlerand the theme of "vanishing"--from missing persons to long-lostyouthful innocence--permeate Rankin's alcoholic, cigarette-addicted hero'ssearch for the son of an old girlfriend. It's a quick read, but layeredwith such detail that this would make me want to read more Rebus mysterieseven if I wasn't already a fan.I agree in part with the Kirkus Reviewabove: this is pricey for a 74-page book, even a hardcover (this novellamight have been better served by publishing it as trade paperbackoriginal). Rankin also re-used part of this plot for a recent novel("Dead Souls"). Some may see this as a cheap excuse to get you tobuy the same plot twice; I prefer to look at it as an interesting exercisein covering the same themes in a different manner and from differentangles. It is by no means the best or definitive Rebus--one of thefull-length novels must surely fill that role. Still, if you're a Rankinfan and completist you'll definitely want this one, and it makes a greatintroduction to suggest to your friends searching for a captivating crimeseries and a brilliant author. ... Read more

Book Description
#1 international bestseller Ian Rankin sends Inspector John Rebus into the dark streets of Edinburgh's flesh trade when a shocking murder exposes an even more sinister underworld.

Inspector John Rebus has confronted Edinburgh's most hardened criminals, its bloodiest crime scenes, and its most dangerous backstreets--but nothing could prepare him for what he finds on Fleshmarket Alley.

In the city's red-light district, men go to live out their fantasies, and women with no other choice sell their bodies to make a buck. It's a neighborhood of lost inhibitions, scruples, and dreams. In its seediest clubs, refugees seeking asylum in Scotland are subjected to the whims of the most ruthless characters in the crime world--men Rebus knows all too well.

With his singular knack for making crime captivating, Ian Rankin delivers his most explosive mystery to date, fulfilling the promise millions of readers in the United Kingdom and America have seen throughout his accomplished career. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Murder and Once Again John Rebus is in the Thick of it
Detective Inspector John Rebus and DS Siobhan Clark have been relocated from their old and familiar offices to Gayfield Square, which isn't all that far away. It's a well to do district, but close to Knoxland, which is one of Edinburgh's low rent housing development's.

And it's in Knoxland that an illegal immigrant is found stabbed to death. While trying to solve the case Rebus is forced to think about the fact that the powers that be would like him to retire, however police work is his life, he has nothing outside of that, so he has no intention of being made redundant, not now, not ever.

Knoxland is home to many immigrants, legal and otherwise and it's occupants have been the source of many racial attacks, so naturally it looks like a race crime. During his investigation Rebus learns much about the difficulties illegal aliens must face in Scotland. Including the legal ones, like the detention centers women and children are locked up in as they wait to find out if they are going to be allowed entry or if they're going to be deported.

Also, as this case is developing, Siobhan is approached by the mother of a teenage girl who has disappeared. Siobhan worked the prior case of the missing girl's sister three years earlier. The girl had been raped and then killed herself, so even though the case is now out of her jurisdiction, Siobhan decides to work it anyway.

And to make Rebus's and Siobhan's life even more complicated, they are called out to a bar in Fleshmarket Alley (Fleshmarket Close in the British version) where the remains of an infant and a woman have been discovered under the concrete floor during renovations.

The genius of Ian Rankin is that he can connect the dots, make us believe that as impossible as it might seem, all these cases are connected, but of course, it takes Rebus and Siobhan a while to put it all together and that makes for just one very, very good story. Mr. Rankin has given us plenty of John Rebus books and they just keep getting better.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

A betrayal
I'm halfway through this book and like other readers, will probably give it up as soon as I find another book to read.I feel betrayed by an author who lures you into spending your money buying his book and your time reading it and then proceeds to batter you over the head with a political agenda. Never mind that I realize most of his points are valid; he could have gotten them across more effectively by just allowing the situations to speak for themselves. If an author feels he must espouse a cause, please let him do it subtly or, even more honestly, express his views in non-fiction. We get such a ceaseless diet of this type of thing every day from the media that some of us would like to just enjoy a good mystery, especially from an author we had trusted to deliver one.

Not the best but Still Love Rebus
Note to TV watchers: a completely different plot than the TV show of this name!

Way too many characters and subplots for me to keep track of. And Rebus seems less of a tortured soul than in the other books. But I still love to be with him and Siobhan.And, of course, ridiculous that they changed the title.

If you have only seen the John Hannah version of Rebus, I'd like to say that the book are, while still dark, far wittier.

My first taste of Rankin...I'll have more, please.
Am so glad I discovered this entertaining author--I know, I know, he's been around a long time, where have I been?That having been sad, many of our newest authors of police procedurals should take a lesson from this master.It can't be just about the story...ithas to be about the writing.This guy can pen some snappy dialog...you can practically hear it jump off the page, just the way 3-dimensional people talk.He makes it seem so effortless.

So why did I only give it 4 stars?The plot was a little disconnected, perhaps too much going on to maintain the cohesion that I would've liked.I will definitely seek out previous works though...they're sure to be a lively read.

Rebus Redux
Ian Rankin isn't the bestselling mystery writer in the UK for nothing.His main man (alter ego?) Inspector John Rebus is a living, breathing anachronism in a jaded world and it is a pleasure to travel in his orbit, even if it means being drunk an awful lot of the time, or so it seems.Rebus is one of those people who has apparently reached an equilibrium with his booze and has achieved a certain ability to operate where most of us would be on our faces.This book could drive you to join Rebus with its unstinting look at the treatment of immigrants and refugees in Scotland and elsewhere in the world and the vulnerability at the hands of a system where they are easily prey to fleshmongers and slave traders.It isn't a pretty picture and it isn't a pretty book, but the story is clean and solid and the story is one that absolutely needs to be told.

The murder that starts this book is almost incidental to the journey of discover that it causes for Rebus and his compatriots.There is a subordinate story that may or may not hook into the primary murder involving the search for a missing girl.It is a heartbreaking development following the suicide of her sister, who was raped and never mentally recovered from the ordeal.The rapist is now out of prison and we don't know what to make of this information.Did he nab her as well?When he turns up dead, she moves from potential hostage to potential murderer...but nobody can find her.

This is more quickly paced than most Rebus books and with denser plotting.You don't need to know Scotland to read this effectively, but it is a good idea to keep track of the story locations in your mind.It might tend to get a little confusing, and "place" means everything to the effectiveness of this story.As if that weren't enough, there is also a very unusual potential romance for Rebus in this book that will have you scratching your head right along with him! ... Read more

Book Description
Bombs are exploding in the streets of London, but life seems to have planted more subtle booby-traps for Miles Flint. Miles is a spy. His job is to watch and to listen, then to report back to his superiors, nothing more. The job, affording glimpses into the most private lives of his victims, appeals to Miles. He doesn't lust after promotion, and he doesn't want action. He wants, just for once, not to botch a case.Having lost one suspect - with horrific consequences - Miles becomes too involved with another, a young Irishwoman. His marriage seems ready to crumble to dust. So does his home.But Miles is given one last chance for redemption - a trip to Belfast, which quickly becomes a flight of terror, murder and shocking discoveries. But can the voyeur survive in a world of violent action? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

interesting precursor to his crime novels
Some reviews liken this to Len Deighton, but Rankin was clearly much more inspired by the ambivalent, grey-ish men of Le Carre and Greene. In fact the first part of the book, where a series of intelligence operations go suspiciously wrong and MI6 seems plagued by a mole, is pure Smiley's People and feels derivative. But then the writer Rebus fans will know starts to emerge from the pages and as Miles Flint, the central hardly-man, gets sent to Ireland to be disposed of, the book grows into something more original.

It's always interesting to look back at a writer's early works, and Rankin is one who has consistantly grown and developed rather than a flash and burn writer peaking young. Watchman shows signs of all that is good in Rankin and at least the elements that are derivative are drawn from sources of the calibre of Greene and Le Carre. It's a sign of Rankin's youth at the time of writing that he allowed himself to make Flint's cuckolding so much like Smiley, and the big boss so much like control at the end of his days, but it doesn't diminish the pure thriller pleasure to be had. I also think it shows that Rankin himself knew Rebus to be a more original creation and chose to develop that series instead of going more deeply into spook central.

Spy/Watcher in the British Secret Service
Ian Rankin first wrote this book in 1988, and it is re-released in 2003 with a new introduction by the author. This was his second novel, and it was novel of the times. A novel about the British Secret Service, a Spy or Watcher Service as called in the MI5 Surveillance Service.

Miles Flint, a cynical, worldly-wise spy has spent twenty years in his trade. He is a professional voyeur who becomes a more ruthless activist during this novel. He is married to Sheila, whom he met while in college, and they have a son, Jack, who is off to the University of Scotland. Miles and Sheila's marriage was born in love but the lust has dissapated. They have become stranges who meet in the night. Jack has a good relationship with both mom and dad, but not at the same time. Miles is proud of his son but not much mention is made of the years that they all spent together.

The action is fast paced in this book. Miles is part of the Latchkey group- surveilling an Arab with the codename, Latchkey. Someone was setting bombs all over London, and Latchkey was the prime suspect-it all goes bad when the suspect kills an Israeliofficial while Miles misses the clues. The Office is not happy with Miles and he is moved to a new job "Harvest". During this time, Miles understands that something is not quite "cricket". He fears a mole has infiltrated his section, and he proceeds methodically to find this person. As Miles develops his action plan and reads the files of all of those involved in the section, he understands that at the same time "they" are doing the same. No one is above suspicision

Miles goes home early one day and as he turns the corner he sees a man leaving his gate. The man has a fmailiar walk and Miles recognizes him as a colleague, Peter. He goes into his home and finds small clues that arise his suspicions that Sheila is having an affair. Miles deftly confronts his colleague , who admits to seeing Sheila, but only to talk. Miles leaves his wife and holes up in the watcher house- an empty home that is used for watching the group across the street. This turns sour and Miles decides to go home. He and Sheila unite and decide to start their marriage anew. Just as these decisions are made the phone rings.

Miles is asked to go to Northern Ireland to accompany a group of soldiers while an arrest is made. This new job is a demotion and Miles knows that he must be careful and silent. The trip turns out to provide the clues and the answers Miles is looking for. He connects with a man in Northern Ireland who is also looking for answers and together they return to London. Their worlds are turned upside down. The action is fierce and brilliant. The MI5 Section and the Watchaman Section will never be the same.

Ian Rankin's second book is fast paced, cutting quickly from one scene to the other. It wasn't until the middle of the book that I could put all he characters together. The characters were well developed and sometimes funny. A good book, not Ian Rankins greatest book, but you can see his writing develop with each successive book.I liked Miles Flint, would like to read more of his exploits. I wonder if this re-release is a phrophet of books too come? prisrob ... Read more

Product Description
On the eve of the first Scottish parliament in three hundred years, Edinburgh is a city rife with political passions and expectations. Queensbury House, the home of Scotland's new rulers, falls in the middle Rebus' turf, keeping him busy with ceremonial tasks. That quickly changes, however, when a long-dead body is discovered in a Queensbury House fireplace, a homeless man throws himself off a bridgeleaving behind a suitcase full of cash, and an up-and-coming politician is found murdered. The links between the three deaths lead Rebus to a confrontation with one of Edinburgh's most notorious criminals, a man he thought he'd put in jail for life. Someone's going to make a lot of money out of Scotland's independenceas Rebus knows, where there's big money at stake, darkness gathers.

Description in Spanish: "Edimburgo está a punto de convertirse, al cabo de casi tres siglos, en anfitriona del primer Parlamento escocés, un hito histórico y político que enciende pasiones. El inspector Rebus ha sido destinado al comité de enlace de seguridad del Parlamento, en Queensberry House, centro mismo del distrito de la comisaría de St. Leonard. De Queensberry House,futura sede del gobierno de la nueva Escocia, perdura la maldición de una leyenda, una maldición que según algunos recaerá sobre los nuevos inquilinos.Los problemas empiezan cuando, en la antigua chimenea donde de acuerdo con la leyenda murió asado un joven, aparece el cadáver de Roddy Grieve,candidato a un escaño en el nuevo Parlamento." ... Read more

Book Description
An unexpected call brings back memories and guilt for DK John Rebus of the Lothian and Borders police.An old schoolfriend's son has gone missing, and Brian Mee would like 'Johnny' to do a little digging on the side to put his wife's mind at rest.Then Rebus finds by chance a freed paedophile at the zoo with camera in hand.'Outing' the man brings in the vigilantes, leaving Rebus with mixed feelings and another weight on his conscience.But the last straw is a convicted killer, back on home ground after extradition from the US. Cary Oakes is looking to play games - with Rebus as his number one pawn. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not all kilts and bagpipes...
Not your typical coffee table travel book, Rebus's Scotland shows the "other" Scotland, the one more familiar to Rankin's fans.Mysterious ancient buildings, fascinating natural wonders, it's all here for your exploration.Anyone heading to Scotland or anyone who has visited there or would like to visit there should get this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

On hunting a modern-day Mr. Hyde.
He had wanted to update Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" for modern times, Ian Rankin writes about his first Inspector Rebus novel, "Knots and Crosses" in the introduction to the 1999 British compilation "Rebus: The Early Years," which contains the first three installments of the series. Oblivious to the mere existence of such a thing as the mystery genre -- or so Rankin says -- he was stunned to soon hear his book described first and foremost as a crime novel. But eventually this characterization prompted him to have a closer look at the work of other mystery writers, and he found that the form suited his purposes just fine; that in fact he "could say everything [he] wanted to say about the world, and still give readers a pacy, gripping narrative."

Bearing in mind the original duality of Jekyll and Hyde, however, Rankin's tales are not dominated by a contrast painted in black and white. While the villains Inspector Rebus faces are certainly every bit as evil as Stevenson's Mr. Hyde, Rebus himself is far from a clean-slated "good guy:" Divorced, cynical, hard-drinking and a former member of the SAS, he is a brother in spirit to every noir detective from Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, James Ellroy's squad of crooked cops and Peter Robinson's Alan Banks. Nor is Rebus's Edinburgh the touristy town of Calton Hill, castle and Summer Festival (although the series has meanwhile sparked real-life guided tours to its most famous locations, too) -- as befitting a true detective of his ilk, Rankin's antihero moves primarily in the city's dark and dirty underbelly, which is populated by society's losers and where those who have "made it," those with money in their pockets, only show up if they have shady deals to conduct as well.

The title of Rankin's second Rebus novel, "Hide and Seek," is an even more overt play on Robert Louis Stevenson's famous dual character(s) than the mere juxtaposition of cop and killer in "Knots and Crosses;" and when the villain's identity is finally unveiled, the parallels between this book and Stevenson's become even more obvious. Here, Rebus is on the hunt for the killer of a junkie whose half-naked body is found in a run-down, deserted building in the Pilmuir housing estates -- the worst part of town, notwithstanding a nearby construction project involving high-priced luxury condominiums -- positioned crucifixion-style and near a drawing possibly hinting at Satanic rituals. And Rebus's only witness seems to be the young woman who had been living with the dead man for the last three months and heard him yell "Hide!" before pushing her out of the door, telling her: "They've murdered me;" but who is now more than just a little reluctant to cooperate, taking refuge, instead, behind an almost unbreakable rebel-against-society-facade, complete with peroxide hair, stud earrings and Attitude with a capital "A."

While this series had a terrific start already in its first two novels, published in 1987 and 1991, Rebus's character -- and Rankin's writing -- has evolved significantly over time. Thus, it is probably wise to read it in the order of publication. Contrary to his early nonseries books, however, which he views much more critically in hindsight, Ian Rankin overall still seems to be happy with his early Rebus books, commenting: "I can't read them without thinking back to my own early years, my apprenticeship as a crime writer. Read and enjoy." I have nothing to add to that ...

Excellent police procedural/mystery by under-rated author
I am a big fan of Rebus - and of anything Ian Rankin writes.Rebus is a believable cop - with lots of personality quirks and a not-so-perfect "home" life.The descriptions of his work environment and thepolitics involved in being a cop (in any country) are dead-on.Scotlandcomes alive - its weather, moods, citizens, crime.I highly recommend thisbook to any reader who is looking for something deep, different, andcompelling.

boring and long winded
After seeing the interview of Mr. Rankin on CBS Sunday morning I was very excited to read one of his books.I picked this one up and quite frankly wished I hadn't.To see that it is back ordered surprises me (maybe everyone else saw the interview).Mr. Rankin's mystery novel is a quick read but is one of those types of books you put down only because of boredom.It is very long winded, and not very descriptive compared to other mysteries I have read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (18)

Better than Rebus
Sure the main character is overdone, the plotting would not stand up to close analysis, and the "philosophy" is basically garbage but the story moves and is competently written.What more can one ask for in a thriller?Jack Higgins made a fine living out of similar stuff which was not nearly as good.Four stars, perhaps because the competition in this genre has become so weak.

An early Rankin not worth the time
Former soldier Gordon Reeve flies to California to claim the body of his brother Jim, an apparent suicide.But it soon becomes obvious that the facts aren't fitting together and that Jim's death was murder.

In spite of three attempts, I just could not get into this book.I will admit I'm not a big fan of conspiracy themes but, that aside, I didn't find the character interesting or the plot compelling.For me, this was a Rankin practice book until he started writing Rebus.

Slainte, Rankin! But This One Just Didn't Grab Me
My first foray into non-Rebus Rankin (Jack Harvey, whatever) left me with an understanding of why authors might use alternate names for their earlier, less-stimulating projects. "Blood Hunt" has some elements that kept me entertained, but they seemed to wane as I worked my way through the 500 pages. The bad guy, Jay, seems to hold a kind of silly grudge from his SAS experience in the Falklands War while on an operation with main character Gordon Reeve. There is also the story of a highly provocative cover-up involving BSE (Mad Cow Disease) and a murdered journalist/brother that is never brought to a close. Too much, really. Reeve is definitely cool, but he doesn't come off as a sympathetic or fully drawn character. Note: I absolutely love the Rebus series, but I don't feel inclined to pick up the other remaining Jack Harvey-penned novels. Hope I'm not missing something, but "Blood Hunt" has done nothing but cool mine a little. Ouch. Sorry, Ian.

Nietzsche's Gentlemen.
Oh, the blessings of being an author with too much time on his hands. I can just picture Ian Rankin sitting in the house (farm? cottage?) he and his wife bought in rural Dordogne, having whizzed through the manuscript for yet another increasingly well-written John Rebus novel and - having left behind all other employment across the British Channel and neither inclined to carpentry nor gardening - feeling his mind growing restless, in need of occupation. Now, wouldn't you have started looking for another outlet for your creative energy had you been in his spot?

The result of the aforementioned process, which Rankin describes in the foreword of a 2000 (alas, so far [???] British-only!) compilation uniting all three novels in one volume, were a series of thrillers written under the pseudonym Jack Harvey: Jack for his newborn son, Harvey for his wife's maiden name.

In "Blood Hunt," the last of the three books, fans of Inspector Rebus meet an old acquaintance; George Reeve from the first Rebus novel, "Knots and Crosses." Only here he's the good guy - well, mostly; because there isn't such a thing as a clean-cut "good guy" in *any* Ian Rankin novel. In any event, "Blood Hunt" introduces us to Reeve's back story; his life as an outdoors survival teacher, and his own memories and nightmares of his service with the SAS - after we've already gotten a fair share of Rebus's in "Knots and Crosses" - particularly the Falklands campaign, during which he met the man who would soon turn out to be his biggest nemesis; as much as Reeve will later become a nemesis to Rebus.

Further, we learn that Reeve had a brother; a journalist on the trail of a story centering around a chemical company headquartered in San Diego. When that brother is murdered, Reeve's instincts as a hunter are awakened - and like a bull terrier he pits himself to the heels of those responsible for the murder and doesn't let go until he has brought them to justice: *his* kind of justice, that is, which isn't necessarily that of the police, but one they understand only too well. The SAS call themselves Nietzsche's gentlemen - believing in the self-proclaimed amoralist's teachings that the will to power is all that matters and all that controls life; and the novel's conclusion is very much in keeping with that adage.

As a back story to the first Rebus book, "Blood Hunt" works only just so - while the essential facts are in synch with Reeve's and Rebus's SAS past, to truly click with "Knots and Crosses," this book would have had to be written about a decade earlier, or vice versa, which in turn wouldn't square with the later Rebus books' historical and political references ... you get the picture. Read as a stand-alone, however, this is a tightly-plotted thriller, every bit as violent as the second Jack Harvey novel, "Bleeding Hearts" (there's a reason why blood figures in both books' titles) and, while based on a conspiracy theory that easily dates it as a mid-1990s release, as strong as both "Bleeding Hearts" and the best of the Rebus books on characters and settings (Scotland to San Diego, London, France and back, with - literally - a cliffhanger finale on the Outer Hebrides' rough mountainous territory). And then there's that children's rhyme that I don't think I'll ever hear quite the same way I used to ...

Although I'm happy enough for Rankin's success with Inspector Rebus and wouldn't want any story featuring Edinburgh's finest (and most hard-drinking) D.I. missing from my bookcases, in a way I regret that Rankin had to shelve Jack Harvey after only three books. So just in case, Mr. Rankin, in the unlikely event that you should ever resurrect that alter ego (or write another non-Rebus novel under your own name): I promise I'll read that one, too, and probably with just as much pleasure as any of your other books.

Don't judge Rankin by this novel
If this is your first Ian Rankin book, forget it as fast as you can, and run quickly to one of his wonderful Rebus books.They are as good as this one is hollow.First one must swallow the coincidence that a US pharmaceutical/chemical company hires a former SAS companion and enemy of our hero to do their dirty work.After that, when trouble erupts for Bro. Reeve, our hero, he gets on Interpol's list of wanted folk.But still he is able to fly back and forth from US to Heathrow at will, pass through immigration and customs, without as much trouble as a US tourist heading to Cancun.So much for Interpol.Under all this is the pasty treatment of our hero's wife and son.This novel is something like the computer games Bro. Reeve's son Allan plays continually.So please, don't judge Rankin by this one.He's really a good writer, who must have felt the need for some extra cash by churning out BLOOD HUNT. ... Read more

Book Description
Resurrection Men:
Inspector John Rebus has messed up badly this time, so badly that he is sent to a kind of reform school for damaged cops. While there among the last-chancers known as "resurrection men," he joins a covert mission to gain evidence of a drug heist orchestrated by three of his classmates. When Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke discovers her investigation of an art dealer's murder is tied to Rebus's inquiry, the two - protégé and mentor - join forces.

A Question of Blood:
When a former soldier and recluse murders two 17-year-old students at a posh Edinburgh boarding school, Rebus immediately suspects there is more to the case than meets the eye. But just as Rebus finds himself in the thick of the murder inquiry, he's threatened with suspension from the police force: a man who had been menacing his partner and friend, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, dies in the same house fire that has left Rebus with horrible, painful burns.

Fleshmarket Alley:
Inspector John Rebus has confronted Edinburgh’s most hardened criminals – but nothing could have prepared him for what he finds on Fleshmarket Alley. In the city’s red-light district, men live out their sordid fantasies, and women with no other choice sell their bodies to make a buck. In its seediest clubs, refugees seeking asylum are subjected to the whims of the most ruthless characters in the crime world – men Rebus knows all too well.
... Read more