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Inspector Rebus #11
Set in Darkness
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 of John 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 bridge - leaving 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 independence - and, as Rebus knows all too well, where there's big money at stake, darkness gathers.
448 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Ian Rankin
313 books6,136 followersAKA Jack Harvey.
Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987; the Rebus books are now translated into 22 languages and are bestsellers on several continents.
Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh.
A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianrankin
Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987; the Rebus books are now translated into 22 languages and are bestsellers on several continents.
Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh.
A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianrankin
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May 10, 2019Ah, I fancied a novel to read and my Mum asked me to drop this one off in the book exchange box round the corner in the neighbouring street. I thought I'd give it a read first, the pages do turn easily enough, but I'd say overall it was a variable read, the kind of thing which you will like if you like this kind of thing, but if you don't then this book won't win you over to the writer or genre.
Obviously it is #11 in a series, and I did ponder on that while reading (this is a book that allows for multi-tasking), naturally reading a series is a self selecting exercise - if you don't like number one the chances are you won't progress to number 11, equally if you are sick of them by number three then you bale out then mostly, then again I felt that it is a book and every book has to stand on its own merits - unless it is completely spineless. The book that is only good because of the affection you have built up for the characters in previous volumes, does not seem to be either good or much of a book at all to me.
It reminded me very strongly of watching police-detective dramas on TV and I don't mean The Wire I mean the standard stuff, you can watch it and it is mildly diverting, if you fall asleep over it and wake up only to see the closing credits then you won't have missed anything, similarly reading this I feel as though I've been eating beaten egg whites. And God alone knows why the sub plot with the rapists was put in there, came over like some cack-handed comic relief, perhaps it was intended as a red herring, or indeed as some kind of bleak joke that too stupid to live types will eventually sort themselves out?
My big surprise here is that I knew by reputation that the Rebus novels were set in Edinburgh and I imagined that city would be a character or at least a major presence and it wasn't. Despite the Scottish parliament story line it felt surprisingly rootless. The archaeologist discovering a body in the walls of a building I recall from a Lieutenant Boruvka story, but I suppose human imagination is also finite and once you've read enough then you find the same things popping up time and again.
It wasn't so much here that Rankin spoon feeds the reader, but that everything on that spoon is pre-chewed. For instance early on we are told that a woman detective is good and asks intelligent questions in meetings, I feel obscurely perhaps, as the reader that it is for me to read the character's performance in meetings and to decide if the questions she asks are intelligent or not rather than for the author to straight out tell me - standing with his semaphore flags at the side of the page from the margin signalling : I AM AWARE OF THE HISTORIC DENIGRATION OF WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE AND I AM DETERMINED TO WORK AGAINST THAT TO THE LAST DROP OF MY PRINTER CARTRIDGE, likewise we are told that a woman senior officer is better than her male peers, but she remains off page, we don't in this novel at least get to see her being better than her peers. I never felt I got to know anything about the characters, I was glad that the author respected the convention of giving them names because they all blended together into dependable sidekick for me, or setting - the author told me everything although from other reviews I learn that the main detective is allegedly introspective the detection seemed to come about just as it does on TV giving the impression of a writer's conference and hurried discussion on how to wind up the story within the allotted time.
Considering the characters I began to feel that being a workaholic brooder with a knowledge of rock and or roll music and with a good general cultural knowledge do not in the case of Rebus a character make, but rather were like Kojak's lollipops or Columbo's raincoat or Sherlock Holmes' fondness for cocaine sign posts towards what might in a real person be a character. Everything here is a signifier yet without intrinsic significance. That I suppose must be true of all novels but generally it isn't something I feel reading a novel . It felt entirely reasonable that Rebus and his acolytes did nothing at the weekend purely because they were fictional characters, logically they can have no life off stage, simply often with fiction one believes that possibility that the characters could have and one needs a Pirandello to make fun of the concept to become aware of the silliness of that construct rather than a very conventional narrative.
But there were a couple of things I liked. At one stage the detectives visit a retired building contractor who has been forced out out of business by his son, leaving one of them comments that it was a show home. Architecture and construction is a powerful image, the house built for the aged parents as advertising for the family firm brings to mind the fancy new Parliament building - self-promotion in stone and wood and steel, what was knocked down to make it possible and who is buried (literally) into the foundations? And who is trying to sell what to whom?
The other was the sense of generational conflict. In the world of this novel the young gods fight to overturn Cronus and the titans, but the old gods fight back as best they can. The new detective on the rise has to supplant the old one, the old gangster is in contention with the younger one, a new generation of politicians shoves past the older ones. It is writing perhaps inspired by watching too many documentaries about stags or walruses or the ilk, but remarkably consistent from families to formal institutions all we see is the resentments of the old and the ambitions of the young . Arguably some of the younger detectives strive for replacement by replication, modelling themselves into workaholics like the more senior Rebus, creating a non-life round a sense of emptiness in their own lives and throwing work into that void in an attempt to hide it.
The citizens of Edinburgh made good bankers and lawyers perhaps precisely because they held their emotions in check and were good at keeping secrets (p.260) which I thought quite nice in a story in which a major theme was that everything was dragged out and delayed on account of what the characters didn't say, but then that's true of most crime stories. If everybody just confessed at the start then these things would be over far faster. Sadly despite his priestly office that doesn't even happen in Father Brown stories.
But aside from that I felt that although the pages turned easily enough, it was a flat and lifeless read.
Obviously it is #11 in a series, and I did ponder on that while reading (this is a book that allows for multi-tasking), naturally reading a series is a self selecting exercise - if you don't like number one the chances are you won't progress to number 11, equally if you are sick of them by number three then you bale out then mostly, then again I felt that it is a book and every book has to stand on its own merits - unless it is completely spineless. The book that is only good because of the affection you have built up for the characters in previous volumes, does not seem to be either good or much of a book at all to me.
It reminded me very strongly of watching police-detective dramas on TV and I don't mean The Wire I mean the standard stuff, you can watch it and it is mildly diverting, if you fall asleep over it and wake up only to see the closing credits then you won't have missed anything, similarly reading this I feel as though I've been eating beaten egg whites. And God alone knows why the sub plot with the rapists was put in there, came over like some cack-handed comic relief, perhaps it was intended as a red herring, or indeed as some kind of bleak joke that too stupid to live types will eventually sort themselves out?
My big surprise here is that I knew by reputation that the Rebus novels were set in Edinburgh and I imagined that city would be a character or at least a major presence and it wasn't. Despite the Scottish parliament story line it felt surprisingly rootless. The archaeologist discovering a body in the walls of a building I recall from a Lieutenant Boruvka story, but I suppose human imagination is also finite and once you've read enough then you find the same things popping up time and again.
It wasn't so much here that Rankin spoon feeds the reader, but that everything on that spoon is pre-chewed. For instance early on we are told that a woman detective is good and asks intelligent questions in meetings, I feel obscurely perhaps, as the reader that it is for me to read the character's performance in meetings and to decide if the questions she asks are intelligent or not rather than for the author to straight out tell me - standing with his semaphore flags at the side of the page from the margin signalling : I AM AWARE OF THE HISTORIC DENIGRATION OF WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE AND I AM DETERMINED TO WORK AGAINST THAT TO THE LAST DROP OF MY PRINTER CARTRIDGE, likewise we are told that a woman senior officer is better than her male peers, but she remains off page, we don't in this novel at least get to see her being better than her peers. I never felt I got to know anything about the characters, I was glad that the author respected the convention of giving them names because they all blended together into dependable sidekick for me, or setting - the author told me everything although from other reviews I learn that the main detective is allegedly introspective the detection seemed to come about just as it does on TV giving the impression of a writer's conference and hurried discussion on how to wind up the story within the allotted time.
Considering the characters I began to feel that being a workaholic brooder with a knowledge of rock and or roll music and with a good general cultural knowledge do not in the case of Rebus a character make, but rather were like Kojak's lollipops or Columbo's raincoat or Sherlock Holmes' fondness for cocaine sign posts towards what might in a real person be a character. Everything here is a signifier yet without intrinsic significance. That I suppose must be true of all novels but generally it isn't something I feel reading a novel . It felt entirely reasonable that Rebus and his acolytes did nothing at the weekend purely because they were fictional characters, logically they can have no life off stage, simply often with fiction one believes that possibility that the characters could have and one needs a Pirandello to make fun of the concept to become aware of the silliness of that construct rather than a very conventional narrative.
But there were a couple of things I liked. At one stage the detectives visit a retired building contractor who has been forced out out of business by his son, leaving one of them comments that it was a show home. Architecture and construction is a powerful image, the house built for the aged parents as advertising for the family firm brings to mind the fancy new Parliament building - self-promotion in stone and wood and steel, what was knocked down to make it possible and who is buried (literally) into the foundations? And who is trying to sell what to whom?
The other was the sense of generational conflict. In the world of this novel the young gods fight to overturn Cronus and the titans, but the old gods fight back as best they can. The new detective on the rise has to supplant the old one, the old gangster is in contention with the younger one, a new generation of politicians shoves past the older ones. It is writing perhaps inspired by watching too many documentaries about stags or walruses or the ilk, but remarkably consistent from families to formal institutions all we see is the resentments of the old and the ambitions of the young . Arguably some of the younger detectives strive for replacement by replication, modelling themselves into workaholics like the more senior Rebus, creating a non-life round a sense of emptiness in their own lives and throwing work into that void in an attempt to hide it.
The citizens of Edinburgh made good bankers and lawyers perhaps precisely because they held their emotions in check and were good at keeping secrets (p.260) which I thought quite nice in a story in which a major theme was that everything was dragged out and delayed on account of what the characters didn't say, but then that's true of most crime stories. If everybody just confessed at the start then these things would be over far faster. Sadly despite his priestly office that doesn't even happen in Father Brown stories.
But aside from that I felt that although the pages turned easily enough, it was a flat and lifeless read.
December 5, 2022
SPOILERS AHEAD
A great story. Albeit a complicated plot. A body discovered after 20 years on the building site of the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Then the murder of a politician on the same site and then the suicide of a tramp who also has £400k in his bank account. Rebus begins to see a connection to all three deaths.
He is also contending with the early release of Big Ger Cafferty from prison. Once again Rebus is dealing with his demons. His protege Siobhan Clarke is also dealing with unwanted attention from another officer. Rebus also has to deal with the politicians family the Grieve’s who are eccentric and well connected.
The motive is key to the deaths and greed is behind them. The question of who is responsible comes together and there is a great twist in the climax to the story.
Is it bright to get in a car with Big Ger and then Rebus finds he is taken to an isolated spot and apparently given to the corrupt property developer Barry Hutton to be killed. Then Rebus wakes up battered and bruised and alive. Big Ger has taken care of Barry Hutton who foolishly was trying to take over his property empire.
All nicely tied up with Alsdair Grieve going back to the Caribbean after revealing him and the tramp killed an enforcer sent by Hutton in self defence. Hutton hiding the body and responsible for the murder of Roddy due to an overzealous enforcer. The motive is he wanted his corrupt councilman Arthur as the elected MP to get planning permission for his developments.
Once again Big Ger is on top and all the evidence of him not having cancer disappearing.
A great story. Albeit a complicated plot. A body discovered after 20 years on the building site of the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Then the murder of a politician on the same site and then the suicide of a tramp who also has £400k in his bank account. Rebus begins to see a connection to all three deaths.
He is also contending with the early release of Big Ger Cafferty from prison. Once again Rebus is dealing with his demons. His protege Siobhan Clarke is also dealing with unwanted attention from another officer. Rebus also has to deal with the politicians family the Grieve’s who are eccentric and well connected.
The motive is key to the deaths and greed is behind them. The question of who is responsible comes together and there is a great twist in the climax to the story.
Is it bright to get in a car with Big Ger and then Rebus finds he is taken to an isolated spot and apparently given to the corrupt property developer Barry Hutton to be killed. Then Rebus wakes up battered and bruised and alive. Big Ger has taken care of Barry Hutton who foolishly was trying to take over his property empire.
All nicely tied up with Alsdair Grieve going back to the Caribbean after revealing him and the tramp killed an enforcer sent by Hutton in self defence. Hutton hiding the body and responsible for the murder of Roddy due to an overzealous enforcer. The motive is he wanted his corrupt councilman Arthur as the elected MP to get planning permission for his developments.
Once again Big Ger is on top and all the evidence of him not having cancer disappearing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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May 2, 2018
Audiobook - 16:26 hours - Narrator: Samuel Gillies
Another very good Inspector John Rebus novel.
4.0 stars
Review to come
Another very good Inspector John Rebus novel.
4.0 stars
Review to come
March 17, 2018
Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin.
Rebus is among those in attendance as demolition work on the additions to Queensbury House was proceeding. The group was being guided on an archaeological tour of the historical Queensbury House.
DI Bobby Hogan & DS Ellen Wylie also present on this seemingly tedious tour. That is until another member of their group remarks about the legend of a ghost. The guide, David Gelfelan, states the story goes that a woman crying has been seen. Her son, a servant, had been murdered there.
The group proceeds thru a hallway into a dimly lit room. As David observes the surroundings he notices 2 fireplaces. One of which had a metal covering. The covering was pried away revealing a corpse within.
At this same time a homeless man commits suicide by jumping off a bridge. Rebus finds that man had over 400,00 in british pounds in his account. That money was deposited under mysterious and unexplained circumstances. A 3rd death reported of a newcomer to politics from an aristocratic family.
Are these 3 murders connected? Is Rebus's old nemesis in back of it all? A rich and complex story unfolds as the past is revealed thanks in part to Rebus's colleagues, Ellen Wylie & Grant Hood. Siophan Clarke is in her usual top form.
As a team Ellen Wylie & Grant Hood come prepared and compliment each other as a team.
The author reported on the 3 leels of Edinburgh. the 1st being the respectable Edinburgh as seen on the surface. the 2nd as the hidden city. The remains after being ransacked by invading armies. the 3rd being the business & financial aspects of the city. Reading a Rankin novel is to become involved in every aspect of the life in Edinburgh.
As far as an ending goes...it was a new beginning. A future in the making, but for who?
Page 141: "Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light."
Rebus is among those in attendance as demolition work on the additions to Queensbury House was proceeding. The group was being guided on an archaeological tour of the historical Queensbury House.
DI Bobby Hogan & DS Ellen Wylie also present on this seemingly tedious tour. That is until another member of their group remarks about the legend of a ghost. The guide, David Gelfelan, states the story goes that a woman crying has been seen. Her son, a servant, had been murdered there.
The group proceeds thru a hallway into a dimly lit room. As David observes the surroundings he notices 2 fireplaces. One of which had a metal covering. The covering was pried away revealing a corpse within.
At this same time a homeless man commits suicide by jumping off a bridge. Rebus finds that man had over 400,00 in british pounds in his account. That money was deposited under mysterious and unexplained circumstances. A 3rd death reported of a newcomer to politics from an aristocratic family.
Are these 3 murders connected? Is Rebus's old nemesis in back of it all? A rich and complex story unfolds as the past is revealed thanks in part to Rebus's colleagues, Ellen Wylie & Grant Hood. Siophan Clarke is in her usual top form.
As a team Ellen Wylie & Grant Hood come prepared and compliment each other as a team.
The author reported on the 3 leels of Edinburgh. the 1st being the respectable Edinburgh as seen on the surface. the 2nd as the hidden city. The remains after being ransacked by invading armies. the 3rd being the business & financial aspects of the city. Reading a Rankin novel is to become involved in every aspect of the life in Edinburgh.
As far as an ending goes...it was a new beginning. A future in the making, but for who?
Page 141: "Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light."
January 31, 2013
Eleventh in a wonderful series! It's been awhile since i've read old Rebus, and I enjoyed getting back into the series. Ian Rankin is an extremely skilled mystery writer, and his Rebus creation is awesome. John Rebus is a very complex character-brooding, intelligent, determined to solve mysteries at any cost (even his own career as a policeman in the Edinburgh police force). What I really enjoy about Mr. Rankin's books are his perfectly believable and sinister plots that just roll along with no lagging or side stepping. And Rebus is a real hard-boiled police inspector. We not only see the dark side of Edinburgh life, but we are up front and personal with Rebus' dark side at all times throughout each of the books.This book starts with a mummified body found boarded up in a fireplace at an old building undergoing construction. Almost right away after this 20 some year old body is found, another body which is much fresher is discovered. The two appear to be unrelated to each other, but as Rebus and his team start digging, connections start appearing that reach far back into the Edinburgh underworld and an old nemesis reaches out to John Rebus as well. I cannot recommed this crime series enough. If you are a fan of United Kingdom police procedurals, then don't miss Rankin's wonderful Rebus series. I know I will be continuing to read again after a little hiatus.
March 2, 2018
Had important errands and could not put this book down. I am so out of sequence, suffering some confusion from that, but this was a tension-filled plot that maintained my interest to the end.
All the characters were interesting and some even brilliantly conceived; music background added to the slow march to the truth; Edinburgh moving through change with construction featured as the new criminal opportunity; Cafferty reappears with falsified release from prison; Siobhan has some interesting assignments trying to help rape victim and then attracting unwanted attention and trouble for herself; daughter Sammy is offstage but being taken care of, and best she not know what treatment her father is subjected to by Cafferty leading up to New Year 1999.
All the characters were interesting and some even brilliantly conceived; music background added to the slow march to the truth; Edinburgh moving through change with construction featured as the new criminal opportunity; Cafferty reappears with falsified release from prison; Siobhan has some interesting assignments trying to help rape victim and then attracting unwanted attention and trouble for herself; daughter Sammy is offstage but being taken care of, and best she not know what treatment her father is subjected to by Cafferty leading up to New Year 1999.
February 12, 2018
The title is perfect for this book. This whole story is about darkness in it's varying forms. A body is found in a building that is being torn down. It dates from 1978-79. A homeless man plunges to his death by suicide. Nothing to see here except he has 400,000 pounds in the bank. Then a prominent politician from well known Edinburgh family is murdered. Meanwhile two guys, friends since childhood, are roaming the streets at night, picking up women and raping them, leaving no trace behind. Rebus finds himself partnered with a young and upcoming Detective Inspector who turns out to have a few issues of his own when it comes to women. To top it all off Cafferty, Rebus' old nemesis, has been released from jail because of a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Rebus smells something rotten there but can't prove a thing. This is a dark descent into murder, family dynamics and corruption. As always, it's wonderful even if the ending isn't quite as satisfactory as some might like.
March 5, 2016
I really need to get off my backside and find the time to read this series in chronological order. Ian Rankin, I've been told, is a master for describing the city of Edinburgh. No one apparently does it better. I didn't know or notice this fact. This is one of those books which discouraged me from reading all the series. The main reason for my reticence is that in the background there's is always the same one and only mob boss who's pulling the strings. Anyway this book did little for me.
June 15, 2019
Eleventh in the Rebus series, this commences with Rebus being assigned to a security committee who are organising security for the Scottish Parliament, both the temporary building and the site which will eventually become permanent when a lot of construction is completed. While touring the old hospital which is going to become part of the new political centre, a body is discovered in a boarded over fireplace. Then, almost before the investigation can commence, an up-and-coming politician from a wealthy and influential family is found murdered on the same site, and Rebus' colleague Siobhan witnesses the suicide of a homeless man - who she discovers has a building society book for an account with four hundred thousands pounds.
Interwoven with the investigations - which Rebus is soon convinced should be joined up as he senses connections that at first his superiors are sceptical about - is Siobhan's ongoing involvement with a rape victim whom she is trying to help identify the two perpetrators. These men make occasional appearances from the viewpoint of Jerry, helper and witness to his psychopathic friend. And another thread is the release from jail of Rebus' arch enemy, Ger Cafferty, on compassionate grounds as he supposedly has advanced cancer - which Rebus doesn't believe but is having problems proving it. A further complication is the presence of a high flying Detective Inspector, blue eyed boy of the Assistant Chief Constable and rather a creep, who gives Siobhan and Rebus quite a bit of grief.
All this is told against a background of Edinburgh as a general building site, with a lot of money to be made by land acquisition and development, and this forms a major theme of the story.
Thanks to all this there are a lot of interwoven threads in this long book. The main viewpoints on the police side are Siobhan and the dour and cynical Rebus whose drinking has now become problematic to the point of landing him in bed with a relative of the dead politician and possibly getting him kicked out of the police force.
The mystery of who the body in the fireplace was, why the homeless man had a fortune tucked away, and why the politician was murdered did keep me guessing and I made a few wrong ones about the identity of the first two. Yet somehow the book was not as absorbing as some of the volumes in this series, so although I liked it for me it was a 3-star read.
Interwoven with the investigations - which Rebus is soon convinced should be joined up as he senses connections that at first his superiors are sceptical about - is Siobhan's ongoing involvement with a rape victim whom she is trying to help identify the two perpetrators. These men make occasional appearances from the viewpoint of Jerry, helper and witness to his psychopathic friend. And another thread is the release from jail of Rebus' arch enemy, Ger Cafferty, on compassionate grounds as he supposedly has advanced cancer - which Rebus doesn't believe but is having problems proving it. A further complication is the presence of a high flying Detective Inspector, blue eyed boy of the Assistant Chief Constable and rather a creep, who gives Siobhan and Rebus quite a bit of grief.
All this is told against a background of Edinburgh as a general building site, with a lot of money to be made by land acquisition and development, and this forms a major theme of the story.
Thanks to all this there are a lot of interwoven threads in this long book. The main viewpoints on the police side are Siobhan and the dour and cynical Rebus whose drinking has now become problematic to the point of landing him in bed with a relative of the dead politician and possibly getting him kicked out of the police force.
The mystery of who the body in the fireplace was, why the homeless man had a fortune tucked away, and why the politician was murdered did keep me guessing and I made a few wrong ones about the identity of the first two. Yet somehow the book was not as absorbing as some of the volumes in this series, so although I liked it for me it was a 3-star read.
January 13, 2012
So, I'm living in Edinburgh at the moment, and I'm a massive fan of crime fiction, and yet before now I've never read anything by Ian Rankin. Time to rectify that - I went to Edinburgh Central Library and picked out the paperback with the most interesting looking blurb. I'm a sucker for anything that looks like it's tangentially related to politics, so off I went.
I am undecided about Rebus. The first chapter was a bit of an epic info-dump, and I found the ending unsatisfying and not particularly believable. Having said that, Rankin got from A to B like an absolute champion. The supporting cast was particularly strong, and I spent a long time thinking about the book when I wasn't actually reading it, which is always a good sign. It did make the ending all the more disappointing, though - the man clearly knows how to write a good mystery. Hence, I'm undecided, but in a probably-ought-to-read-another-one-and-see-if-it's-a-running-theme kind of way.
Now is the time, though, I have to admit: a few particularly good shout-outs when one character took a walk down my road, bought a paper on Nicolson Street or went to Luca's for icecream. I think I got a lot more from this book for having the local knowledge that it's so clearly steeped in. I liked it partly because I love the city, and Rankin captures Edinburgh really very well.
As an afterthought, the entire cast by rights ought to have liver poisoning by now.
I am undecided about Rebus. The first chapter was a bit of an epic info-dump, and I found the ending unsatisfying and not particularly believable. Having said that, Rankin got from A to B like an absolute champion. The supporting cast was particularly strong, and I spent a long time thinking about the book when I wasn't actually reading it, which is always a good sign. It did make the ending all the more disappointing, though - the man clearly knows how to write a good mystery. Hence, I'm undecided, but in a probably-ought-to-read-another-one-and-see-if-it's-a-running-theme kind of way.
Now is the time, though, I have to admit: a few particularly good shout-outs when one character took a walk down my road, bought a paper on Nicolson Street or went to Luca's for icecream. I think I got a lot more from this book for having the local knowledge that it's so clearly steeped in. I liked it partly because I love the city, and Rankin captures Edinburgh really very well.
As an afterthought, the entire cast by rights ought to have liver poisoning by now.
April 21, 2020
Inspector Rebus mystery No.11: The eleventh book in the series, and still Rankin continues to churn out such great stories. A suicide, a discovery of a body apparently dumped decades ago, and the murder of an aspiring Member of the Scottish Parliament… somehow these cases could all be interlinked? A sub-plot in which Siobhan is on the periphery, in which women going to singles' nights are being targeted by at least two rapists working together. And on top of all that one of Rebus' previously convicted felons, gets out of jail very early... whilst a senior management favourite, Derek Linford is forced on Rebus to manage the main murder case. Somehow Rankin sets all this amidst the building and formation of the Scottish Parliament and philosophical musings on change and how we do or don't handle it. Crime serial genius = Rankin.
December 1, 2013
Another excellent Rebus mystery. I think I enjoyed this one more because it wasn't just Rebus trying to solve the murders; there were other officers, DS Wylie and Hood, as well as the lovely DS Siobhan Clark, assisting on the case and another of her own. As well, DI Derek Linford, the poster boy for quick advancement, with his own secrets. Working three separate cases that might be tied together, a body found in the building site of the new Scotland Parliament, plus a suicide and another murder. Throw Big Ger, Rebus' old nemesis, into the mix and you've got a mystery with many twists and turns. Excellent, gritty stuff. Rankin does not let you down.
January 17, 2019
There is something absolutely perfect about reading Ian Rankin’s John Rebus in the current moment.
Maybe it’s the setting and how cold and dark and grim Edinburgh is in the winter months—not unlike central Ohio’s current climate? Or perhaps it’s the protagonist, a divorced, alcoholic loner who pulls himself back up and back to his case, no matter how many times he’s knocked down. I can admit some of days feel a little bit similar, though fortunately the circumstances are usually less desperate.
Somehow, I read this book at the perfect moment and though I usually find Rebus’s pursuits intriguing, I sped through this one at an unexpectedly quick pace (and was disappointed to return to my usually fascinating true crime & comfortable romance novels when The Falls was not yet available from the library!).
Maybe it’s the setting and how cold and dark and grim Edinburgh is in the winter months—not unlike central Ohio’s current climate? Or perhaps it’s the protagonist, a divorced, alcoholic loner who pulls himself back up and back to his case, no matter how many times he’s knocked down. I can admit some of days feel a little bit similar, though fortunately the circumstances are usually less desperate.
Somehow, I read this book at the perfect moment and though I usually find Rebus’s pursuits intriguing, I sped through this one at an unexpectedly quick pace (and was disappointed to return to my usually fascinating true crime & comfortable romance novels when The Falls was not yet available from the library!).
Want to read
October 23, 2018This Orion hardcover is signed by Ian Rankin.
June 4, 2018
From BBC radio 4 - Classical Serial:
Ian Rankin's crime thriller centres on the building of the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in 1998. During the construction work a body is discovered in an old fireplace. The forensics suggest the victim was murdered 20 years before. Police are still attempting to identify the corpse when a second body is found on the site - and this time it's one of the prospective candidates for the new parliament. It's a high-profile case and the rising star of Lothian And Borders Police - 28-year-old Detective Inspector Linford - is assigned to investigate, assisted by a reluctant John Rebus.
Episode 2 of 2
In the final part of Ian Rankin's crime thriller, Rebus is investigating two murders on the site where the new Scottish Parliament is being built in Edinburgh in 1998. But he makes the mistake of sleeping with the sister of one of the victims. DC Siobhan Clarke is looking into the death of a vagrant with over £400,000 in the bank. Rebus begins to suspect all three cases could be linked - but crime boss Ger Cafferty has his own ideas about where the police investigation should be going. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
Other parts are played by the cast.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04j...
Ian Rankin's crime thriller centres on the building of the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in 1998. During the construction work a body is discovered in an old fireplace. The forensics suggest the victim was murdered 20 years before. Police are still attempting to identify the corpse when a second body is found on the site - and this time it's one of the prospective candidates for the new parliament. It's a high-profile case and the rising star of Lothian And Borders Police - 28-year-old Detective Inspector Linford - is assigned to investigate, assisted by a reluctant John Rebus.
Episode 2 of 2
In the final part of Ian Rankin's crime thriller, Rebus is investigating two murders on the site where the new Scottish Parliament is being built in Edinburgh in 1998. But he makes the mistake of sleeping with the sister of one of the victims. DC Siobhan Clarke is looking into the death of a vagrant with over £400,000 in the bank. Rebus begins to suspect all three cases could be linked - but crime boss Ger Cafferty has his own ideas about where the police investigation should be going. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
Other parts are played by the cast.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04j...
November 24, 2023
7 stars out of 5. Cold case murder (body walled up in maybe 1980 into a basement wall of a historic building being remodeled in 1999 for the Scottish Parliament) underlies a series of murders, disappearances, a suicide, and the war between Big Ger Cafferty and the ruling mobster, Bryce Callan, now retired in sunny Spain. Siobhan Clarke has been transferred from sex crimes (where she was investigating singles bars) to one of the murders. Rebus is appalled to find out Big Ger has been released from prison, compassionate release because he has cancer. But he doesn't seem very sick. And the Grieve family is celebrating both the matriarch's birthday and Roddy Grieve's leading candidacy for the Scottish Parliament. The matriarch only paints her missing youngest son now, but she's a wealthy and famous artist. Bryce Callan's nephew has become extremely wealthy managing the Scottish Parliament property development. Maybe there's a dark story under there somewhere, like the body in the basement. As usual Rebus digs into everything until the rotten core is exposed. Justice is not often served.
September 30, 2024
Usual formula.
Suspicious deaths (young chap walled up in chimney), nefarious dealings between the establishment and wrong uns, dysfunctional families and a flawed detective who does it his way.
Rebus brings some sort of equilibrium (not justice) to the chaos, and is wonderfully acerbic as ever. Its a bit of a comfort read for me but a great yarn all the same.
One day someone should do the Withnail & I thing with a Rebus book and match him pint for pint and short for short - I think you would be wasted before halfway, he sinks one hell of a lot of alcohol.
Suspicious deaths (young chap walled up in chimney), nefarious dealings between the establishment and wrong uns, dysfunctional families and a flawed detective who does it his way.
Rebus brings some sort of equilibrium (not justice) to the chaos, and is wonderfully acerbic as ever. Its a bit of a comfort read for me but a great yarn all the same.
One day someone should do the Withnail & I thing with a Rebus book and match him pint for pint and short for short - I think you would be wasted before halfway, he sinks one hell of a lot of alcohol.
August 21, 2018
There are police procedural mysteries that strive to be realistic and others that want to be literature about police. Ian Rankin's Set in Darkness, the eleventh volume of a series centered on Edinburgh Detective Inspector John Rebus, is one of the latter.
The book begins with four separate cases, two murders, seemingly related only by location, a suicide, and a series of rapes. I don't think I need post a spoiler warning before saying that all these cases turn out to be connected.
This is, obviously, most unlikely, but Rankin makes the connections seem at least possible, even if not plausible. The two murders involve an unidentified corpse that was evidently hidden twenty years earlier in a covered-up fireplace and a candidate for the newly created Scottish Parliament, both found in a former hospital being adapted as part of the new government buildings. The suicide victim is a man who has been living in shelters and on the streets, who is discovered to have a bank account holding some £400,000. And the rape victims are women leaving dances alone. Nothing apparent to connect them, except the usual dazzling detection of Rebus and his associates.
There are a number of villains perpetrating these crimes. The most important is this series' "Napoleon of Crime" figure, the head of the Edinburgh criminal community, Big Ger Cafferty. Napoleon of Crime characters are, I think, always unbelievable; Cafferty is no exception. In my opinion, this would be a much better book if Cafferty did not turn out to be such an unrealistically brilliant and sinister character.
Other characters in this book are much better. The deceased candidate's family are all fascinating (as, in fact, is all the material about politics). A thoroughly nasty rising young police officer is a fine secondary villain. And there is a corrupt politician who puts in an appearance in only one chapter, but that is the best, most effective chapter in the book.
Rebus himself continues to be a brave, crafty, intelligent, and none too morally upright officer. I think an episode involving Rebus, who is an expert on much of rock music, and a signed album cover is unduly cynical; Rebus may not always be an exemplar of correct behavior, but I think that his actions here are unlikely.
I have been fortunate to have been able to spend time in Edinburgh, even if not nearly as much as I would have liked. Rankin's descriptions of the city are memorable:
There were those who said that Edinburgh was an invisible city, hiding its true feelings and intentions, its citizens outwardly respectable, its streets frozen in time. You could visit the place and come away with little sense of what drove it. This was the city of Deacon Brodie, where bridled passions were given free play only at night. The city of John Knox, his rectitude stern and indomitable. You might need half a million pounds to buy one of the better houses, yet outward show was frowned upon; a city of Saabs and Volvos rather than Bentleys and Ferraris.
The end of the book is both unexpected and unsettling.
The book begins with four separate cases, two murders, seemingly related only by location, a suicide, and a series of rapes. I don't think I need post a spoiler warning before saying that all these cases turn out to be connected.
This is, obviously, most unlikely, but Rankin makes the connections seem at least possible, even if not plausible. The two murders involve an unidentified corpse that was evidently hidden twenty years earlier in a covered-up fireplace and a candidate for the newly created Scottish Parliament, both found in a former hospital being adapted as part of the new government buildings. The suicide victim is a man who has been living in shelters and on the streets, who is discovered to have a bank account holding some £400,000. And the rape victims are women leaving dances alone. Nothing apparent to connect them, except the usual dazzling detection of Rebus and his associates.
There are a number of villains perpetrating these crimes. The most important is this series' "Napoleon of Crime" figure, the head of the Edinburgh criminal community, Big Ger Cafferty. Napoleon of Crime characters are, I think, always unbelievable; Cafferty is no exception. In my opinion, this would be a much better book if Cafferty did not turn out to be such an unrealistically brilliant and sinister character.
Other characters in this book are much better. The deceased candidate's family are all fascinating (as, in fact, is all the material about politics). A thoroughly nasty rising young police officer is a fine secondary villain. And there is a corrupt politician who puts in an appearance in only one chapter, but that is the best, most effective chapter in the book.
Rebus himself continues to be a brave, crafty, intelligent, and none too morally upright officer. I think an episode involving Rebus, who is an expert on much of rock music, and a signed album cover is unduly cynical; Rebus may not always be an exemplar of correct behavior, but I think that his actions here are unlikely.
I have been fortunate to have been able to spend time in Edinburgh, even if not nearly as much as I would have liked. Rankin's descriptions of the city are memorable:
There were those who said that Edinburgh was an invisible city, hiding its true feelings and intentions, its citizens outwardly respectable, its streets frozen in time. You could visit the place and come away with little sense of what drove it. This was the city of Deacon Brodie, where bridled passions were given free play only at night. The city of John Knox, his rectitude stern and indomitable. You might need half a million pounds to buy one of the better houses, yet outward show was frowned upon; a city of Saabs and Volvos rather than Bentleys and Ferraris.
The end of the book is both unexpected and unsettling.
October 4, 2012
Another in the dark and brutal John Rebus series and as with most of these books, it does not disappoint. A skeleton is discover walled up in the fireplace of a building being demolished; a homeless man leaps to his death from a bridge; and a MSP candidate is found murdered....lots of secrets here. Rebus, as usual sees a connection among these incidents and again, as usual, steps on many toes on his way to a solution. The continuing character of Big Ger Cafferty makes another appearance and is involved up to his neck in the goings-on. These are gritty books that uncover the seedy side of Edinburgh and are beautifully written.
July 24, 2022
As a reader, I can't get enough of Ian Rankin's Inspector John Rebus. The detective often drinks to excess, spurred to it to quiet the ghosts that haunt his memories and to dampen the unpleasantness of the criminal element that he comes in contact with.
To most observers, Rebus is a hard man, but beneath that exterior lies a caring and complex individual who continues at his job like a man driven, although, in many ways, he'd give that job up in exchange for peace of mind and happier life. Instead, he seems doomed to go through life as a solitary soul.
To most observers, Rebus is a hard man, but beneath that exterior lies a caring and complex individual who continues at his job like a man driven, although, in many ways, he'd give that job up in exchange for peace of mind and happier life. Instead, he seems doomed to go through life as a solitary soul.
August 8, 2014
A long forgotten corpse in a walled-up fireplace (fondly called 'skelly' throughout), a nameless, mysterious and bridge-jumping tramp with a bucket of cash stored away and an up-and-coming and popular politician from a famous Edinburgh family. Other than all being dead what could they possibly have in common? John Rebus, at his deducing best, suspects a link and doggedly pushes himself and his team to prove it. A well-written plot with enough red herrings to make it interesting but still coming together by the end in a satisfying way. As always, Rebus' sleuthing is hindered by his personal bad judgement and less-than-respectful approach to dealing with many of his colleagues and superiors. Wylie and Hood, two newly recruited members to "team" Rebus show themselves to be effective detectives and "worthy" of Rebus' admiration which he demonstrates by his increasing faith and reliance on their skills. Siobhan, always steadfastly anchored in the Rebus camp, continues to be an integral part of any investigation and performs admirably in this story both in her continued support of her superior, her problem-solving strengths and her tough, assertive approach with the Fettes import who ends up a thorn in both her and Rebus' side. As always, Rankin intertwines the personality of Edinburgh in all his stories and this one is especially effective as it reveals not only the current underbelly (aka Big Ger Cafferty) of this amazing city but the crooked and violent persona of an Edinburgh from 20 years past. Another terrific installment in this excellent series.
June 16, 2016
I like DI John Rebus, he's brooding, clever, determined and a lovable scots character. He loves his whisky, food and cigarettes and makes a fantastic copper hell bent on doing everything against the rules! Rankin is a great writer, produces excellent story lines, characters and the history of Scotland, Edinburgh in particular, that encompasses the plot is always factual and interesting. This was another great book in the Rebus series (11th) with 3 storylines that came together seamlessly and a possible opening into the next in the line of Rebus novels. Would recommend.
April 15, 2020
Excellent murder mystery connecting three different crimes twenty years apart in a web of family feuds and political backstabbing. Rebus is brilliant and troubled as always and has to face his great nemesis who has been returned to the streets. Slightly rushed ending was a shame but still a great read.
March 12, 2019
It was a long time since I read a Inspector Rebus novel. I'm still collecting all of them, but as I have the small pocket editions (to make it difficult in a white cover), they don't tend to be found easily.
So Set in Darkness, I forgot a lot of details from the previous books, but while reading I remembered the essentials.
It's not the best I have read, but I liked the story. Rebus's arch enemy is back to haunt him, his job isn't going it's best it could. He is forced to partner up with an ambitious DI Derek Linford. Needless to say it doesn't go well.
We get to see more of DS Siobhan Clark, and she is a lovely character. I like her spunk, attitude.
Rebus has to solve a case; the finding of an old corpse in a walled-up fireplace nicknamed 'skelly'. Then a politician from a well known family ends up dead. Meanwhile Siobhan is investigating the dead of a nameless bridge-jumping tramp with a case full of money...
Rebus wouldn't be Rebus if he didn't see a link between all of it. Luckily he has a good team of people around him to help him solve all the mysterious cases.
I'm glad i picked up reading these crime novels again. I'm off reading the next one. I'm sure i'll like it also.
Drawing: 3 word resume on Instagram Kim_cl37 - in a mandala way
So Set in Darkness, I forgot a lot of details from the previous books, but while reading I remembered the essentials.
It's not the best I have read, but I liked the story. Rebus's arch enemy is back to haunt him, his job isn't going it's best it could. He is forced to partner up with an ambitious DI Derek Linford. Needless to say it doesn't go well.
We get to see more of DS Siobhan Clark, and she is a lovely character. I like her spunk, attitude.
Rebus has to solve a case; the finding of an old corpse in a walled-up fireplace nicknamed 'skelly'. Then a politician from a well known family ends up dead. Meanwhile Siobhan is investigating the dead of a nameless bridge-jumping tramp with a case full of money...
Rebus wouldn't be Rebus if he didn't see a link between all of it. Luckily he has a good team of people around him to help him solve all the mysterious cases.
I'm glad i picked up reading these crime novels again. I'm off reading the next one. I'm sure i'll like it also.
Drawing: 3 word resume on Instagram Kim_cl37 - in a mandala way
September 11, 2007
Set in Darkness - G+
Rankin, Ian - 11th in series
Two masked men abduct women on their way home from singles bars; a mummified corpse turns up bricked into a fireplace in one of devolved Scotland's new government buildings; a prospective New Labour candidate is battered to death; and Inspector Rebus's old antagonist Ger Cafferty is allowed home from prison to die of cancer...Ian Rankin's gloomy new crime novel has all the usual ingredients of his Rebus series--Rebus's drinking, his messy relationships with women and his inability to get on with his superiors and more ambitious equals are traits more usually associated with private eye novels than with police procedurals, but they help explain why a cop with Rebus's high clear-up rate has avoided promotion to a desk.
Even when he's not at his very best, Rankin is always good.
Rankin, Ian - 11th in series
Two masked men abduct women on their way home from singles bars; a mummified corpse turns up bricked into a fireplace in one of devolved Scotland's new government buildings; a prospective New Labour candidate is battered to death; and Inspector Rebus's old antagonist Ger Cafferty is allowed home from prison to die of cancer...Ian Rankin's gloomy new crime novel has all the usual ingredients of his Rebus series--Rebus's drinking, his messy relationships with women and his inability to get on with his superiors and more ambitious equals are traits more usually associated with private eye novels than with police procedurals, but they help explain why a cop with Rebus's high clear-up rate has avoided promotion to a desk.
Even when he's not at his very best, Rankin is always good.
August 28, 2016
Not the best of the Rebus novels I've read, but still not a bad read.
Given that it's setting just as Scotland gained it's own parliament, it has a certain resonance with the current BREXIT situation.
I loathe the character of DI Derek Linford, so was absolutely delighted with the misfortunes of this character during the book.
Probably more a book for the Rebus fans than the general crime fan.
Given that it's setting just as Scotland gained it's own parliament, it has a certain resonance with the current BREXIT situation.
I loathe the character of DI Derek Linford, so was absolutely delighted with the misfortunes of this character during the book.
Probably more a book for the Rebus fans than the general crime fan.
September 20, 2016
The 11th novel in the Rebus series.
Two masked men abduct single women who leave a club. A young politician is murdered, and a mummified body is found in a chimney where the new Parliament is being built.
And Big Cef is out of prison...
Rebus has to deal with all the following along with new eager blood in the force that is trying to prove itself.
This novel is different than its predecessors as there is barely any mention of Dr Patience or Sammy, or his brother or even DCI Gil.
Two masked men abduct single women who leave a club. A young politician is murdered, and a mummified body is found in a chimney where the new Parliament is being built.
And Big Cef is out of prison...
Rebus has to deal with all the following along with new eager blood in the force that is trying to prove itself.
This novel is different than its predecessors as there is barely any mention of Dr Patience or Sammy, or his brother or even DCI Gil.
August 15, 2011
A body is discovered in a wall where the new Scottish parliament is being set up.
Cafferty, Rebus's arch enemy has been released from prison to die at home. He has cancer. He also has more time to torment 'Strawman' - his special name for Rebus.
Siobham Walsh gets closer to Rebus than she's ever been before.
Edinburgh plays its part.
Perfect crime novel by a brilliant crime writer.
Cafferty, Rebus's arch enemy has been released from prison to die at home. He has cancer. He also has more time to torment 'Strawman' - his special name for Rebus.
Siobham Walsh gets closer to Rebus than she's ever been before.
Edinburgh plays its part.
Perfect crime novel by a brilliant crime writer.
March 6, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 17, 2018
I'd forgotten the ending since last time I read it (a considerable length of time ago), and whilst the plot is otherwise brilliant, I wasn't keen on the ending of this one.
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