Call number
MYST RAN
Collection
Genres
Publication
Back Bay Books (2013), Edition: Reprint, 432 pages
Description
Two Scottish detectives investigate the disappearance of a hitchhiking teenage girl, their only clue a photo sent from the missing girl's cell phone.
User reviews
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
John Rebus is retired, sort of. He now works cold cases, sorting through dusty cartons of old files, looking for the missed clue or the piece of evidence modern technology might be able to unlock. It gets him up in the morning, limits his drinking and gives shape to his life. In Standing in Another
I'm probably alone in this, but when Ian Rankin announced that Rebus was retiring, I thought that it was none too soon. I've loved Rankin's books about the cranky detective who alienates many of his colleagues and isn't adverse to a wee bit of violence from the beginning. But Rebus grew jaded over the years and his cutting of corners had less and less to do with necessity than habit. Rankin began a series featuring a new investigator, Malcolm Fox, who looked into the criminal and unethical behavior of cops and who was as different from Rebus as it was possible to be. I liked Fox, tightly wound and diligent, and I was enjoying getting to know him. He and Rebus were, under the skin, more similar than either would admit; both dedicated to their jobs and lonely. I began looking forward to the new Fox novel in the way I had once anticipated the new Rebus.
Then Rankin brought Rebus back. The short break has done both author and character good, with this novel being among the best in the series. I'd be happy if Rankin divided his attention between these two characters, but this book indicates that this will not be the case as in it Rankin has transformed the complex and diligent character he spent two books developing into a one-dimensional bad guy who jumps out of dark corners to threaten Rebus while twirling his villain's mustache. So while I was happy to have a solid crime novel to enjoy, I'm disappointed with what Rankin has done to his new protagonist. Ian Rankin has some 'splaining to do.
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Man's Grave, Rebus is drawn into a current investigation when a series of disappearances is shown to be possibly linked. Rebus is both part of and excluded from the investigation. He's no longer a real police officer and the center of the crimes being investigated is in the north of Scotland, not in his familiar turf of Edinburgh. But he's the one who drew the connections to the eyes of the investigators and he has a talent for hanging around where he's not officially supposed to be. His old-fashioned methods may be frowned upon, but they show results, even if those results might not hold up in court. I'm probably alone in this, but when Ian Rankin announced that Rebus was retiring, I thought that it was none too soon. I've loved Rankin's books about the cranky detective who alienates many of his colleagues and isn't adverse to a wee bit of violence from the beginning. But Rebus grew jaded over the years and his cutting of corners had less and less to do with necessity than habit. Rankin began a series featuring a new investigator, Malcolm Fox, who looked into the criminal and unethical behavior of cops and who was as different from Rebus as it was possible to be. I liked Fox, tightly wound and diligent, and I was enjoying getting to know him. He and Rebus were, under the skin, more similar than either would admit; both dedicated to their jobs and lonely. I began looking forward to the new Fox novel in the way I had once anticipated the new Rebus.
Then Rankin brought Rebus back. The short break has done both author and character good, with this novel being among the best in the series. I'd be happy if Rankin divided his attention between these two characters, but this book indicates that this will not be the case as in it Rankin has transformed the complex and diligent character he spent two books developing into a one-dimensional bad guy who jumps out of dark corners to threaten Rebus while twirling his villain's mustache. So while I was happy to have a solid crime novel to enjoy, I'm disappointed with what Rankin has done to his new protagonist. Ian Rankin has some 'splaining to do.
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LibraryThing member freelancer_frank
This is a book about the power of Rebus. His return is spectacular, and Rankin uses it as a stage to set his tale of old verses new in policing - the personal/networking/booze-soaked/rule-bending Rebus verses the clean, internet-powered world of modernity. Seeing Rebus share the pages with other
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favorites - Cafferty, Fox and Clarke is great fun. The story features some fantastic set-piece moments, such as Sharon's interrogation technique, Rebus' meeting in Glasgow and a star-turn by a small dog. The tale reads like a greatest hits of past novels too - right back to Knots and Crosses. Edinburgh is too small to hold this one and 'Rebus' is too small a word for it - this is real liquid engineering. Show Less
LibraryThing member rmaitzen
This is a good, solid addition to the Rebus canon. It's not surprising, and it doesn't seem to me as intellectually or politically ambitious as some of the earlier ones. It's more a novel of character than a social novel -- which is fine. I enjoyed being back in Rebus's gruff, sodden company.
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Well, Rebus has lost none of his charm (if that's the word for his gruff personality). Mind you none of his supervisors would find him charming.
Rebus is retired but working for the Edinburgh Police (technically Lothian and Borders Police) in a cold case unit. When an Englishwoman calls up looking
So it seems like all the players from the old Rebus days are around but will Rebus be back once this case is closed? They've increased the age for police officers and Rebus is tempted to go back. After all, it's not like he has any hobbies. But if he becomes a regular serving member then Malcolm Fox will be on his back. And there's always the question of whether he will pass the medical.
I'm rooting for you Rebus!
For those of you wondering the title comes from a Jackie Leven song which Rebus mishears. The lyrics talk about "standing in another man's rain" but Rebus hears rain as grave. Jackie Leven died of cancer in 2011 and this book is dedicated to him.
Rebus is retired but working for the Edinburgh Police (technically Lothian and Borders Police) in a cold case unit. When an Englishwoman calls up looking
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for the man that used to head the cold case squad Rebus takes the call. Her daughter went missing on New Year's Eve in 1999 and hasn't been heard from since. She thinks her daughter's abduction was the start of a serial crime against women travelling alone on the A9. As the regular police are dealing with another girl missing from the A9 she wants to get someone to look at the possibility this is connected with her daughter's disappearance. She talked to Siobhan Clarke but got nowhere. Rebus starts to do some checking. Soon he is back working with Clarke on the present inquiry and trying to link it to the others. The girl who has just gone missing is the daughter of a mobster's girlfriend and if the mobster gets to the perpetrator before the police do there will be no case to prosecute. Rebus old nemesis, Ger Cafferty, is still in the picture as is Malcolm Fox, an inspector for The Complaints who we met in the last two Rankin books.So it seems like all the players from the old Rebus days are around but will Rebus be back once this case is closed? They've increased the age for police officers and Rebus is tempted to go back. After all, it's not like he has any hobbies. But if he becomes a regular serving member then Malcolm Fox will be on his back. And there's always the question of whether he will pass the medical.
I'm rooting for you Rebus!
For those of you wondering the title comes from a Jackie Leven song which Rebus mishears. The lyrics talk about "standing in another man's rain" but Rebus hears rain as grave. Jackie Leven died of cancer in 2011 and this book is dedicated to him.
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LibraryThing member mikedraper
John Rebus comes out of retirement to work on the cold case unit. He works as a civilian with no police authority. He doesn't like his superior and maintains his reputation as a loner and not a team player.
A woman comes to his office and asks for his help in finding her daughter who has been
He gets the files out of this girl and other missing girls of the time frame. He discovers enough similarities that he thinks a serial killer might be at work. He brings his findings to an old friend, Siobhan Clark who is now a deputy inspector.
In a side story there is an officer in internal affairs who is after Rebus. He doesn't like Rebus and thinks that since he has a gangster for a friend, he might be passing information to him. In fact, Rebus saved the man's life and the man, Cafferty, likes to stop by Rebus's flat and go for drinks with him.
Rebus goes to northern Scotland and learns more about the missing girls. Soon, he has a suspect but has difficulty getting enough information on the suspect.
The most engaging part of the novel is Rebus's smooth narrative when speaking to other law enforcement personnel or with suspects. It also shows his ability to get other people to help him with his investigation.
As a story of a serial killer, the story is engrossing. There are some surprises and roadblocks placed in Rebus's path but he overcomes them. His development as a character is well done and we see him as an older man who enjoys drinking, cigarettes and has a poor diet. He is also thinking about re-applying to get back on the job.
A woman comes to his office and asks for his help in finding her daughter who has been
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missing for twelve years. Her daughter was age eighteen when she disappeared. Rebus promises to look into it but doesn't have much hope.He gets the files out of this girl and other missing girls of the time frame. He discovers enough similarities that he thinks a serial killer might be at work. He brings his findings to an old friend, Siobhan Clark who is now a deputy inspector.
In a side story there is an officer in internal affairs who is after Rebus. He doesn't like Rebus and thinks that since he has a gangster for a friend, he might be passing information to him. In fact, Rebus saved the man's life and the man, Cafferty, likes to stop by Rebus's flat and go for drinks with him.
Rebus goes to northern Scotland and learns more about the missing girls. Soon, he has a suspect but has difficulty getting enough information on the suspect.
The most engaging part of the novel is Rebus's smooth narrative when speaking to other law enforcement personnel or with suspects. It also shows his ability to get other people to help him with his investigation.
As a story of a serial killer, the story is engrossing. There are some surprises and roadblocks placed in Rebus's path but he overcomes them. His development as a character is well done and we see him as an older man who enjoys drinking, cigarettes and has a poor diet. He is also thinking about re-applying to get back on the job.
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LibraryThing member literaryrunner
Rebus is back! Ian Rankin gives us another in the series of John Rebus, murder detective in Edinburgh, and this one lives up to the others. Rankin sets a plot with no clear suspect through at least half of the book.... I dare anyone to guess the ending! His writing is so full of interesting
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descriptions, fully drawn characters and scenes from Scotland's capital city that you feel like you have walked those streets and sat in those pubs with John. Rebus has retired but is back working on cold cases because his life is nothing without his work. His idiosyncrasies, eccentric behaviors and cynical words make him one of my favorite characters in the mystery genre and I am so glad he is back one more time! A well- detailed and constucted plot, twists and turns all over the place and as one reivewer noted, "One of the great spinners of brainy crime fiction." I love this series! Show Less
LibraryThing member Muldoon
A large part of the world is thrilled to have John Rebus back. Terrific. I read this with Google Maps since the plot involved murders on the A9, and Rebus journeyed up and do the road.
LibraryThing member John
Rebus is back. Retired from the police force, but employed in a small group dealing with cold cases where he is, naturally, at odds with the officer in charge. Rebus is still his own man, living according to his precepts and damn the consequences. A chance encounter with a mother whose teen-age
Rebus, as he himself acknowledges, is ‘old school’ and if that means running over a few people and bending a few rules out of shape, so be it. The story flows well as the investigation of the murders proceeds and engages more branches of the police trying to unravel threads and find leads. Rebus is the maverick ever ready to barge off onto a new tangent when the current course seems blocked, or just when his instincts kick-in.
Good tension among a variety of players and the sense that Rankin imparts of the towns, cities and countryside of Scotland. The ending felt a bit like a quick tie-up of loose threads with more than a good measure of coincidence and luck, but a good, quick read. It’s nice to see Rebus back. He has the same demons but they are more just the fabric of his life and not as front and centre as they have been in some earlier books.
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daughter has been missing for years leads Rebus to discover a chain of murders of young women, including a recent disappearance. The case grows in complexity as Rebus is thrown in again with his old partner Siobhan Clarke and runs afoul of the Complaints bureau (headed by Rankin’s new protagonist: Malcolm Fox) partly because of his continuing contact with his old nemesis, Big Gar Cafferty, still a man to be reckoned with in the underworld, plus the fact that the most recently missing young woman is linked to a competitor of Cafferty’s and with a young brother who is himself scheming to make his mark in the underworld. Rebus, as he himself acknowledges, is ‘old school’ and if that means running over a few people and bending a few rules out of shape, so be it. The story flows well as the investigation of the murders proceeds and engages more branches of the police trying to unravel threads and find leads. Rebus is the maverick ever ready to barge off onto a new tangent when the current course seems blocked, or just when his instincts kick-in.
Good tension among a variety of players and the sense that Rankin imparts of the towns, cities and countryside of Scotland. The ending felt a bit like a quick tie-up of loose threads with more than a good measure of coincidence and luck, but a good, quick read. It’s nice to see Rebus back. He has the same demons but they are more just the fabric of his life and not as front and centre as they have been in some earlier books.
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LibraryThing member librarian1204
Thank you Ian Rankin! Rebus is back with all the usuals including Malcolm Fox from Complaints. One can't ask for more but then the story is strong and tour of the road to Inverness and surroundings is a real plus, especially if you have been there. I hope to be reading another Rebus soon!
LibraryThing member DowntownLibrarian
This was a bit of a surprise. I had liked Malcolm Fox in the two novels that featured him. But here he seems to be pretty much the devil incarnate. Surprising twist. Happy to spend time with Rebus again.
LibraryThing member maneekuhi
So great to have Rebus back. I have not particularly cared for any of Rankin's books post-Rebus (it's still Rankin, but I didn't care for the characters at all). But reading SIAMG felt like reuniting with old friends. Rebus is a civvie working on cold cases when he becomes caught up in an old
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missing persons case. Not in his job description, but what's new. Before long the case explodes into major serial murder in the boonies north of Edinburgh. Rebus smokes and sips through his investigation, once again teaming with Sioban and he bounces on and off the team per the whims of senior officers. He is viewed as a relic by most, someone who is way past it. Of course his past successes are neither appreciated nor acknowledged by the current (much younger) force. Standard Rankin stuff, very well done. In the end it is Rebus of course who solves the case and once again he manages to avoid getting credit for it - in a rather novel way. But in the end justice is served, I think. A great crisp story. Hope there is another Rebus story a year from now. It appears that Rankin may have metaphorically buried Malcolm Fox - fine with me. Show Less
LibraryThing member -Eva-
After retiring from LBP, Rebus has joined the cold case unit, but his search for a potential serial killer is partially hampered by "Big Ger" Cafferty, who insists on seeing Rebus as a friend, and Malcolm Fox, who insists on seeing Rebus as an enemy. As a huge Rebus fan, I must admit that the joy
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of having him back may color my opinion of the quality of the work. And, he's just as grouchy and difficult as he ever was and, most importantly, as funny as ever. The best part of a Rebus-installment is not the plotting (which is decent and the resolution fairly standard), but the fantastic dialogue. Rankin is one of a few writers who consistently make me read the dialogue out loud to myself and this installment is no exception, especially since Rebus has quite a few hilarious comments to share with the world, whether they want to hear it or not. I did feel like Fox had more or less decided that Rebus was rogue rather than actually having any evidence of it and that didn't ring absolutely true, considering how his character has acted in his own books. He's not getting all that much room here, so mixing the two may have been the problem rather than anything else (even though Rebus' comments about Fox are worth it). There are quite a number of great landscape descriptions to be had as well (not a bad idea to acquire a map before reading), which does wonders with the whole mood of the book. It's also fun to note that the baddies who "run Aberdeen" have names that are reminiscent of a certain other Tartan Noir writer whose stories take place in Aberdeen and who frequently mentions Ian Rankin in his books. Show Less
LibraryThing member nmele
Arthur Conan Doyle tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes but had to bring him back due to popular demand. I don't know whether popular demand had anything to do with Ian Rankin's new novel, which features John Rebus. Much of the novel reads to me as a meditation on the changes we all are living
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through, and on the question of whether some of what we now consider out-moded or out-of-date continue to have value. And it's cast within a suspenseful plot involving serial killings and Rankin's newer series hero, Malcolm Fox, as well as a cast of characters familiar to readers of the earlier Rebus books. Show Less
LibraryThing member ebethe
Good escapte. Make's up some of the ground Rankin lost with Exit Music. A couple of unimaginable twists.
LibraryThing member librarian1204
Thank you Ian Rankin! Rebus is back with all the usuals including Malcolm Fox from Complaints. One can't ask for more but then the story is strong and the tour of the road to Inverness and surroundings is a real plus, especially if you have been there. I hope to be reading another Rebus soon!
LibraryThing member Novak
My first and last Rankin. Standing in another man's grave follows a serial killer through a well told story. We are with him to page 356 where Rankin tells us: the killer MAY go and hand himself in, or he may not. He may have done the murders, who knows? And his modus operandi? “Well, I
Please, Mr Rankin, I want my money back.. .. .. ..
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haven’t got time to tie up ALL the loose ends because I have another book to finish.”Please, Mr Rankin, I want my money back.. .. .. ..
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LibraryThing member pw0327
Rebus is back, older, a little more melancholy and bleak and maybe even a littel creakier. But he is back and that is all that matters.
While Rankin ran out of things to say about Rebus, we suffered from the silence. Bu the is back now.
Rebus is offically retired in this caper and working in the old
Rankin was in a happy mood when he wrtoe this obviously because it is a huge reunion, with Siobhan Clarke palying a prominent role, Ger Rafferty making a presence as does Malcolm Fox from The Complaints. Even though Rebus has slowed down a bit, his senses are as keen as ever, and since he is drinking wine more often than not, he is also less prone to headaches and hangovers. The action is riveting as always and the references to music as clever and welcomed as ever.
While Rankin ran out of things to say about Rebus, we suffered from the silence. Bu the is back now.
Rebus is offically retired in this caper and working in the old
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case offcie with other retirees. All is calm and boring until a missing girl case dredges up a few other missing girl cases. Rankin was in a happy mood when he wrtoe this obviously because it is a huge reunion, with Siobhan Clarke palying a prominent role, Ger Rafferty making a presence as does Malcolm Fox from The Complaints. Even though Rebus has slowed down a bit, his senses are as keen as ever, and since he is drinking wine more often than not, he is also less prone to headaches and hangovers. The action is riveting as always and the references to music as clever and welcomed as ever.
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LibraryThing member timk01
I dont think I have enjoyed a Rebus more. I found the style a bit punchier but that made it more readable for me.
Having Malcolm Fox involved added a nice dimension. But also Rebus doesnt seem quite so obsessive, maybe being out of the Police agrees with him on some levels.
Having Malcolm Fox involved added a nice dimension. But also Rebus doesnt seem quite so obsessive, maybe being out of the Police agrees with him on some levels.
LibraryThing member riverwillow
Was expecting slightly more Malcolm Fox in this one, not that I’m complaining as its wonderful to reunite with an old friend. Semi-retirement – even though he’s a civvie working in the cold case unit isn’t really retirement - hasn’t changed Rebus, I suspect that nothing will ever change
By chance Rebus picks up on a cold case that he thinks may be connected to a current investigation, reuniting him with Siobhan Clarke. Apart from the joy of seeing the band back together, its great to see Rebus back doing what he does best, making connections to build a solid case. But Fox is lurking in the background keeping an eye on Rebus as he’s determined to prove that Rebus is crooked and prevent his return to the force.
My only small criticism is that having spent the last two books with these characters there wasn’t enough of The Complaints in the book, although I really enjoyed seeing Rebus’s perspective on Fox. Another superb book from Ian Rankin and I’m impatiently waiting for Saints of the Shadow Bible to be published.
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Rebus, and now that the age restriction for serving policeman has changed he’s hoping to get back in. By chance Rebus picks up on a cold case that he thinks may be connected to a current investigation, reuniting him with Siobhan Clarke. Apart from the joy of seeing the band back together, its great to see Rebus back doing what he does best, making connections to build a solid case. But Fox is lurking in the background keeping an eye on Rebus as he’s determined to prove that Rebus is crooked and prevent his return to the force.
My only small criticism is that having spent the last two books with these characters there wasn’t enough of The Complaints in the book, although I really enjoyed seeing Rebus’s perspective on Fox. Another superb book from Ian Rankin and I’m impatiently waiting for Saints of the Shadow Bible to be published.
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LibraryThing member smik
Rebus followers will love this book. In retirement, Rebus has got an appointment in the Cold Crimes Unit which is, predictably, in danger of closure. The retirement age for the police has been raised and Rebus is thinking of re-applying for a job in CID.
The recent disappearance of a girl near the
Rebus is still the maverick though, persistent in pursuing his own line of enquiries. There are some excellent examples of how he thinks outside the square, calling in favours, hobnobbing with crims, and following fragments of information. It is not long before Rebus blots his copybook but not before he has persuaded Siobhan Clarke that his way will get results. For Rebus it is the results that matter, not how you get them, but Clarke realises that the ends do not always justify the means, and of course that's where Malcolm Fox comes in: coppers must not have dirty hands.
Officially John Rebus is not a policeman and so he and Clarke enter a new level of their relationship, where they are more partners, more working co-operatively, because he is no longer her boss.
It was lovely to catch up with John Rebus, and James McPherson does a wonderful job of bringing him to life - and who do I see as Rebus and Clarke?
The plotting of the story is tight, pathways absolutely littered with red herrings. characters leaping vividly from the page. Rankin is as good as ever.
And we have another Rebus to look forward to: SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE when Rankin brings Rebus and Fox head to head.
The recent disappearance of a girl near the
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A9 highway at Pitlochry appears to have links to earlier cold cases and so John Rebus gets a temporary assignment to the current investigation bringing with it the chance to work once more with Siobhan Clarke.Rebus is still the maverick though, persistent in pursuing his own line of enquiries. There are some excellent examples of how he thinks outside the square, calling in favours, hobnobbing with crims, and following fragments of information. It is not long before Rebus blots his copybook but not before he has persuaded Siobhan Clarke that his way will get results. For Rebus it is the results that matter, not how you get them, but Clarke realises that the ends do not always justify the means, and of course that's where Malcolm Fox comes in: coppers must not have dirty hands.
Officially John Rebus is not a policeman and so he and Clarke enter a new level of their relationship, where they are more partners, more working co-operatively, because he is no longer her boss.
It was lovely to catch up with John Rebus, and James McPherson does a wonderful job of bringing him to life - and who do I see as Rebus and Clarke?
The plotting of the story is tight, pathways absolutely littered with red herrings. characters leaping vividly from the page. Rankin is as good as ever.
And we have another Rebus to look forward to: SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE when Rankin brings Rebus and Fox head to head.
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LibraryThing member losloper
It's twenty-five years since John Rebus appeared on the scene, and five years since he retired. But 2012 sees his return in STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN'S GRAVE. Not only is Rebus as stubborn and anarchic as ever, but he finds himself in trouble with Rankin's latest creation, Malcolm Fox of Edinburgh's
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internal affairs unit. Added to which, Rebus may be about to derail the career of his ex-colleague Siobhan Clarke, while himself being permanently derailed by mob boss and old adversary Big Ger Cafferty. But all Rebus wants to do is discover the truth about a series of seemingly unconnected disappearances stretching back to the millennium. The problem being, no one else wants to go there - and that includes Rebus's fellow officers. Not that any of that is going to stop Rebus. Not even when his own life and the careers of those around him are on the line. Show Less
LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
I approached this book with some trepidation: Ian Rankin had effectively killed off the career of Rebus, and now he was back. Part of me whooped with joy, but I was concerned that such a great literary creation might be deminutised. I need not have worried.
The thing that I have always enjoyed in
The story is of a serial killer and Rebus, now pensioned off and operating from an unsolved crime unit, has to hunt the killer without the authority of rank. To confirm Rankin's ability to create and people an entire world, his other detective character, Malcolm Fox of the Complaints Department, has a role too. In a nice case of role reversal, Siobhan Clarke, Rebus' erstwhile sidekick, becomes the D. I. but, it is still the wily old Rebus who makes things happen....
The story is tense right up until the final pages: not only in the, 'will the detective catch the baddie?' way but also, Rebus is getting older, has never looked after his body and the ailments are catching up; will Rebus live to complete his task and, are we in for a tear jerker ending? I'm not going to tell you: if you ever read crime fiction, then you owe it to yourself to read this super book.
The thing that I have always enjoyed in
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Rankin's oeuvre is that actions have consequences and, they do not disappear from book to book. If one had never read a Rebus story, one could pick up this book and thoroughly enjoy it but, if one has followed the career of this maverick policeman, then the myriad of references to earlier events adds to the pleasure.The story is of a serial killer and Rebus, now pensioned off and operating from an unsolved crime unit, has to hunt the killer without the authority of rank. To confirm Rankin's ability to create and people an entire world, his other detective character, Malcolm Fox of the Complaints Department, has a role too. In a nice case of role reversal, Siobhan Clarke, Rebus' erstwhile sidekick, becomes the D. I. but, it is still the wily old Rebus who makes things happen....
The story is tense right up until the final pages: not only in the, 'will the detective catch the baddie?' way but also, Rebus is getting older, has never looked after his body and the ailments are catching up; will Rebus live to complete his task and, are we in for a tear jerker ending? I'm not going to tell you: if you ever read crime fiction, then you owe it to yourself to read this super book.
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LibraryThing member Mumineurope
The usual, Rebus back, up and down the A9!
LibraryThing member malcrf
Rebus and Rankin both on fine form...............what more could you want from a police procedural?
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
Detective Inspector John Rebus, protagonist of nearly twenty novels by Ian Rankin, was a marvellous character - jaundiced, cynical, tough, ill-disciplined, maverick yet essentially a force for good. Own of Rebus's colleagues called him "thrawn" in an early novel - a good Scots word, almost
However, here he is, working as a civilian in a small group reviewing cold cases, and as thrawn as ever.. Through this work he becomes involved with a review of a series of disappearances of young women, all of whom had last been seen on or near the A9 as it threads its way through northern Scotland. His old investigative antenna tell him that these disappearances are connected to each other, and, as it gradually emerges, to a mcurrent disappearance.
All of the old characters are there - his former sidekick Siobhan Clarke (now a DI herself), his personal bete boire, gangster Maurice Gerald ("Big Ger") Cafferty, and even Malcolm Fox, former colleague and now leading light in the Police Complaints.
The plot is as sturdy and robust as ever, and it never lacks plausibility.
All in all a very welcome and accomplished return
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onomatopoeically conveying the sense of deliberate awkwardness or cussedness. When he retired from Lothioan Borders CID at the end of the novel "Exit Music" there was great sadness among the loyal followers of Rankin's Edinburgh-based crime novels (which had virtually created the Scots Noir genre), and a lot of us wondered whether he would return, though as Rankin had always been scrupulous in having his character age in real time, it was difficult to see how this might happen.However, here he is, working as a civilian in a small group reviewing cold cases, and as thrawn as ever.. Through this work he becomes involved with a review of a series of disappearances of young women, all of whom had last been seen on or near the A9 as it threads its way through northern Scotland. His old investigative antenna tell him that these disappearances are connected to each other, and, as it gradually emerges, to a mcurrent disappearance.
All of the old characters are there - his former sidekick Siobhan Clarke (now a DI herself), his personal bete boire, gangster Maurice Gerald ("Big Ger") Cafferty, and even Malcolm Fox, former colleague and now leading light in the Police Complaints.
The plot is as sturdy and robust as ever, and it never lacks plausibility.
All in all a very welcome and accomplished return
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Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2014)
Edgar Award (Nominee — Novel — 2014)
Macavity Award (Nominee — Novel — 2014)
Barry Award (Nominee — Novel — 2014)
McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year (Shortlist — 2013)
Pages
432
ISBN
031622460X / 9780316224604