Series
Publication
St. Martin's Paperbacks (1997), 278 pages
Original publication date
1994
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Description
In Edinburgh you're never far from a peaceful spot, or from a hellish one either. Now, in the heart of summer, in the midst of a nationalist festival, Inspector John Rebus is on the murder case of a young man left hanging in a spot where his screams would never be heard. To find the victim's identity--and his killer--Rebus searches from Edinburgh's most violent neighborhood to Belfast, Northern Ireland--amongst petty thugs, gunrunners, and heavyweight criminals. But before Rebus can get to the truth, he's bloodied by the dream of society's madmen--and staring into the glint of a killer's eyes. Once again, Ian Rankin has demonstrated his incredible crime writing skills in Mortal Causes.
User reviews
LibraryThing member John
My second Rankin novel about John Rebus. Set again in Edinburgh, this time with Rebus trying to unravel a grisly murder that seems to lead to Scottish paramilitary nationalists with links to Irish paramilitaries and a desire to wreck destruction on the city. The plot is complicated by the fact that
(July/00)
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the murdered young man is the son of a notorious criminal whom Rebus had put behind bars, but who escapes and is out to solve the murder, and murder the murderers, before Rebus can get to them. Throw in some crooked cops, a couple of more murders, and the workings of a couple of youth gangs, and you have the recipe for a good plot, a good pace, and a good story.(July/00)
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LibraryThing member nakmeister
Just to get you into the mood of the book, the first scene in Mortal Causes is of a man being tortured to death. His body is found not long later in one of Edinburgh's underground streets, that was closed for building work. Inspector Rebus is soon on the case, but then the Scottish Crime Squad and
This is Ian Rankin's 6th Rebus novel, and like the others it is excellently written and a great read. Although you always want to know what happened and who was involved, you want to know more what Rebus is going to do (including what trouble he lands himself in!), and how he's going to find out what happened. This is a little different from many of his other books, as he spends quite a lot of time away from St. Leonards station, working from police headquarters at Fettes (where he is seconded to), so DS Holmes and Siobhan Clarke only make relatively brief appearances, which is a shame. Despite this, the book is at least as enjoyable as other Rebus novels.
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also Special Branch from London are taking an interest. Is it connected to the bomb threats that have been coming in frequently recently? With the Edinburgh festival in full swing, there's even more pressure for quick results...This is Ian Rankin's 6th Rebus novel, and like the others it is excellently written and a great read. Although you always want to know what happened and who was involved, you want to know more what Rebus is going to do (including what trouble he lands himself in!), and how he's going to find out what happened. This is a little different from many of his other books, as he spends quite a lot of time away from St. Leonards station, working from police headquarters at Fettes (where he is seconded to), so DS Holmes and Siobhan Clarke only make relatively brief appearances, which is a shame. Despite this, the book is at least as enjoyable as other Rebus novels.
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LibraryThing member thorold
This is the first Rankin novel I've read, after seeing him recommended here and being amused by his walk-on part in Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street. I might revise these comments when I've read some more...
With modern detective stories I always start off wondering whether what I have in
Despite all this, it's very well written, the plot did make me want to keep reading to find out what happens in the end, and there is an underlying sense of irony to it all.
With modern detective stories I always start off wondering whether what I have in
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front of me is really a novel, or just the book version of the TV script. This one took quite some time to get me hooked. The detctive is miserable, drinks too much, keeps getting beaten up, and has a complicated personal life, none of which leads me to expect anything very original; there are no fully-formed characters other than the detective; the settings range from standard-issue touristy to standard-issue urban squalor. Despite all this, it's very well written, the plot did make me want to keep reading to find out what happens in the end, and there is an underlying sense of irony to it all.
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LibraryThing member Fluffyblue
I initially found it difficult to settle into - I'm still not sure that I know the ins and outs of the plot and I still have little understanding of 'the troubles', but towards the end of the book I really got engrossed in the story. The pace of the book was steady until about two-thirds of the way
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in, then it started to pick up and there was more clarity about the way the investigation was heading. All the loose ends were tied up and I ended up with a favourable impression of the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Romonko
This john Rebus series is getting better and better. This is the sixth book in this long-running series and I enjoyed it. I love the "other look" that we get of Edinburgh and some of its underground life. Rebus is called in to work with a special police branch when a brutally tortured body is found
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in an old underground shop. This leads him into extremists and a ton of danger. He even makes a trip to Belfast to try to figure this one out. I love the character of John Rebus. He seems so real and authentic it almost feels like reading true crime. These books have a lot of blood and realistic and chilling villains. This is totally different than most of the British police procedurals I have read, and still do love in their way. But I am fascinated with Rebus. Rankin's writing is brutal, and he holds back nothing. Love it! Show Less
LibraryThing member stuart10er
A wonderful thriller about money and guns stolen from the army. A few elements go rogue. Set around the Edinburgh Fringe festival. Very exciting.
LibraryThing member DrLed
Synopsis: Rebus is back in Edinburgh and back with Patience; neither are calm. While the Festival is going on in the streets above, murder takes place in the underground city. The convergence of Protestant and Catholic conflict, the murder of Big Ger Cafferty's son, crooked cops and the city
Review: Rankin's writing continues to develop, but I'm getting rather weary of the issues Rebus seems to have with Patience. This book was touted as showing a change in relationship between Cafferty and Rebus, but I didn't see it as such a big deal.
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teeming with tourists presents the correct environment for mayhem.Review: Rankin's writing continues to develop, but I'm getting rather weary of the issues Rebus seems to have with Patience. This book was touted as showing a change in relationship between Cafferty and Rebus, but I didn't see it as such a big deal.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
This is the sixth novel featuring John Rebus, and was the first in the series to tackle political issues. (While one of the central characters in ‘Strip Jack’ was an MP, the plot did not engage with politics.) A common trait in Rankin’s books is that they tend to open with the action already
In this book we are literally plunged into the depths of the Old Town, in Mary King’s Close, a street that had been sealed and buried beneath the Royal Mile to prevent the spread of an eighteenth century plague outbreak. A young man has been taken down into Mary King’s Close and murdered in a particularly brutal manner. John Rebus, drawing on his experiences as a soldier in Northern Ireland during the height of The Troubles, immediately recognises that the victim has been ‘six packed, a punishment doled out by paramilitary units on both sides of the divide.
Rebus is co-opted into a Scottish Crime Squad operation that is monitoring the rise in sectarian violence on the mainland, which allows Rankin to explore the tensions that still persisted in Scotland in the 1990s. Much of the action takes place in or around the fractious (and for once fictitious) Garibaldi housing estate, known as the Gar-B. A youth centre set up on the estate by the local Catholic church with a view to giving the local teenagers somewhere safe to go seems to have gone rogue. Asked by his old friend, Father Conor Leary, to investigate what is going on, Rebus finds himself in a completely different world, where religious prejudice is rife, and the graffiti over the Gar-B mirrors the hatred seen in housing estates across Belfast.
As always, Rankin’s characters are immensely believable, and the plot develops very plausibly. It is interesting to see Siobhan Clarke playing a very minor role – within two or three books she would become a major character, second only to Rebus himself in terms of her role in the stories. Once again, Edinburgh itself is almost a character in its own right, and there is even a cameo appearance from Maurice Gerald Cafferty (‘Big Ger’).
A strong addition to the Rebus canon.
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underway – he doesn’t do gentle build ups. Another characteristic that has contributed to the success of the series is that, wherever possible, he uses real locations, and constantly demonstrates the immense contrasts between the Edinburgh known around the world as a beautiful capital city beloved by tourists from all over the world and the crime-ridden, gang-driven underworld that exists just a few miles from Princes Street. In this book we are literally plunged into the depths of the Old Town, in Mary King’s Close, a street that had been sealed and buried beneath the Royal Mile to prevent the spread of an eighteenth century plague outbreak. A young man has been taken down into Mary King’s Close and murdered in a particularly brutal manner. John Rebus, drawing on his experiences as a soldier in Northern Ireland during the height of The Troubles, immediately recognises that the victim has been ‘six packed, a punishment doled out by paramilitary units on both sides of the divide.
Rebus is co-opted into a Scottish Crime Squad operation that is monitoring the rise in sectarian violence on the mainland, which allows Rankin to explore the tensions that still persisted in Scotland in the 1990s. Much of the action takes place in or around the fractious (and for once fictitious) Garibaldi housing estate, known as the Gar-B. A youth centre set up on the estate by the local Catholic church with a view to giving the local teenagers somewhere safe to go seems to have gone rogue. Asked by his old friend, Father Conor Leary, to investigate what is going on, Rebus finds himself in a completely different world, where religious prejudice is rife, and the graffiti over the Gar-B mirrors the hatred seen in housing estates across Belfast.
As always, Rankin’s characters are immensely believable, and the plot develops very plausibly. It is interesting to see Siobhan Clarke playing a very minor role – within two or three books she would become a major character, second only to Rebus himself in terms of her role in the stories. Once again, Edinburgh itself is almost a character in its own right, and there is even a cameo appearance from Maurice Gerald Cafferty (‘Big Ger’).
A strong addition to the Rebus canon.
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LibraryThing member p.d.r.lindsay
Another complex plot for a complicated character. Inspector Rebus at his stroppy best dealing with what looks like an execution. But who is it and why was it done?
If you like Ian Rankin's prose, and his tricky plots then you are in for a delight If you've never read a Rebus and wonder what the fuss
Another good read.
If you like Ian Rankin's prose, and his tricky plots then you are in for a delight If you've never read a Rebus and wonder what the fuss
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is about over this Ian Rankin bloke then this might be the novel to turn you into a fan.Another good read.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
This is #6 in the Rebus series. I didn't discover this series until The Falls which is #12. When Rankin decided to retire Rebus I decided that I was going to read all the books before The Falls. Since Rebus' retirement he has appeared in more books. In fact, Rankin is appearing in Winnipeg in a
This book is set in Edinburgh in August of 1993 but Northern Ireland is omnipresent. Rebus served in the army in Northern Ireland and saw a lot of violence there. So when he is called to a murder in which the victim was shot seven times (twice in his ankles, twice in his knees and twice in the elbows with a final shot to the head) he recognizes the pattern as what was called a six-pack used by paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland to punish someone who stepped out of line. So from the beginning the police suspect that Irish supporters might be responsible for the murder. When the victim is identified he turns out to be the illegitimate son of Morris Gerald Cafferty, the mob boss that Rebus put in prison. The victim never knew who his father was but Cafferty had always kept an eye on him and sent money for his support. Now Cafferty is determined that the person or people responsible for his son's death be caught (and killed). Rebus gets seconded to the Scottish Crime Squad who are involved because of the connection to terrorism but he also spends time with his home police station who continue to investigate the murder. It gives Rebus a lot of freedom to pursue his own ideas. It also gives him some time to get involved with a female lawyer from the Procurator Fiscal's office. He knows this is wrong since he is living with Patience Aitken but he can't seem to help himself. Rebus has a complicated love life.
I have to say I had a little difficulty following the twists and turns of this book; maybe I can blame it on the head cold I am suffering from. I did enjoy all the details about the Edinburgh Festival which is on when this book takes place. Old Town and New Town sound really interesting and I am hoping to get there soon but I think I'll pass on visiting the Garibaldi Housing Estate where some of the bad guys live.
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week to read from his latest. I am still continuing to read the back list but I only have one more so I'm glad to know I have some new ones to read.This book is set in Edinburgh in August of 1993 but Northern Ireland is omnipresent. Rebus served in the army in Northern Ireland and saw a lot of violence there. So when he is called to a murder in which the victim was shot seven times (twice in his ankles, twice in his knees and twice in the elbows with a final shot to the head) he recognizes the pattern as what was called a six-pack used by paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland to punish someone who stepped out of line. So from the beginning the police suspect that Irish supporters might be responsible for the murder. When the victim is identified he turns out to be the illegitimate son of Morris Gerald Cafferty, the mob boss that Rebus put in prison. The victim never knew who his father was but Cafferty had always kept an eye on him and sent money for his support. Now Cafferty is determined that the person or people responsible for his son's death be caught (and killed). Rebus gets seconded to the Scottish Crime Squad who are involved because of the connection to terrorism but he also spends time with his home police station who continue to investigate the murder. It gives Rebus a lot of freedom to pursue his own ideas. It also gives him some time to get involved with a female lawyer from the Procurator Fiscal's office. He knows this is wrong since he is living with Patience Aitken but he can't seem to help himself. Rebus has a complicated love life.
I have to say I had a little difficulty following the twists and turns of this book; maybe I can blame it on the head cold I am suffering from. I did enjoy all the details about the Edinburgh Festival which is on when this book takes place. Old Town and New Town sound really interesting and I am hoping to get there soon but I think I'll pass on visiting the Garibaldi Housing Estate where some of the bad guys live.
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LibraryThing member MissBrangwen
I think that this is my favorite Rebus novel to date because the case was very thrilling and I also enjoyed how the characters were written. There were some parts about Rebus's private life, but they were not as chaotic or drawn out as in the previous novels, and I liked that much better.
The case
The case
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- a body found in Mary King's Close during the Edinburgh festival - has a deep and dark background, and it leads to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It was a very gripping reading experience for me and I enjoyed the Edinburgh setting but was also very interested in the background story connected to Belfast and Sectarianism. I'm looking forward to the next book and don't think I will wait too long until I get to it. Show Less
LibraryThing member ElizabethCromb
Set in Edinburgh. References to Northern Island, sectarian violence as well as social disadvantage in Scotland and nationalism.
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0312960948 / 9780312960940
Physical description
278 p.; 4.22 inches
Pages
278