Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin

Protagonist: Det. Insp. John Rebus
Setting: Edinburgh
Rating: 4.5


In this, the sixth novel in the Rebus series, Rankin really gets things humming along. Rankin, who has said before that he’s tried to show the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Edinburgh, gives us the touristy Edinburgh Festival – and a murder right underneath the noses of festivalgoers. Literally. A young man’s body is found in the underground St. Mary’s King Close, tortured and shot six times.

When it seems that Scottish nationalists and extreme hardline Irish groups are involved, Rebus is seconded to the elite Scottish Crime Squad, since he’s had previous army experience in Belfast. This suits Rebus just fine – he can travel between the two offices without his superiors knowing what he’s really up to. In the meantime, Rebus, as a favor to a priest, has also ventured into the Gar-B, a notorious housing project in Edinburgh. These two threads tie eventually. Also making an appearance is Rebus’ nemesis, “Big Ger” Cafferty, an effective alter ego for Rebus.

Along the way, there are a few more murders and Rebus serves as a punching bag for almost everyone – the bad guys, the good guys (a fellow police officer) and a lawyer with whom he’s unwisely flirted, even though he’s living with Dr. Patience Aitken.

A very good entry in a great series.

The Black Book by Ian Rankin

Protagonist: John Rebus
Setting: Edinburgh
Rating: 4.6

How can you not like a book in which the first line of Chapter 1 is: "It all happened because John Rebus was in his favourite massage parlour reading the Bible."

Much happens to Rebus in this book, the least of which is a nice relaxing massage. He's thrown out by his live-in girlfriend, Dr. Patience Aitken, so he moves back into his own flat. But because he's been renting it to students, Rebus ends up on the couch. Even a small storage room is being used -- his brother, a former drug dealer, has just moved into the apartment, as well.

Professionally, one of his detectives, Brian Holmes, is beaten up badly while he's unofficially investigating a 5-year-old murder and fire at the Central Hotel. Rebus gets hold of Holmes' black book, filled with notes of the investigation, and starts to look into it himself, bringing more problems his way. Not only is Rebus dealing with the bad guys on the outside, but within his own department there are those who are out to discredit and thwart him.

This fifth book in the series also introduces Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke, an important character in the series. And Morris Gerald Cafferty, a major antagonist throughout the books, plays a big part in the book. I've liked the previous books, but with this one, the Rebus series seriously starts to ramp up.

Keeping it Short

As part of a reading challenge for February, I tackled two books of short stories this month. Now, short stories are not my favorite -- I usually feel as if they leave something wanting, a sort of reading lite.

The challenge didn't entirely convert me, but I did read some wonderful short stories. The best of writers do know how to write short while also fleshing out plot, characterization and setting in just a few pages.

Mysterious Pleasures, edited by Martin Edwards
Rating: 4.4
In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Crime Writers' Association in 2003, the group put out this collection, including some original short stories written just for this anthology. While I didn't enjoy every single story (some just fell flat), I'm very glad to have read this book. It introduced me to some writers who I've now added to my TBR list. And there were some excellent short stories in this anthology. In "One Morning They'll Hang Us," Margery Allingham's Albert Campion solves a case before even visiting the crime scene. Reginald Hill, in "The Game of Dog," has Peter Pascoe and his dog joining a group of dog-walking men at the pub -- and wondering whether a pub game led to murder. Ruth Rendell's "When the Wedding Was Over" sees Michael Burden get married, while Chief Insp. Wexford solves a minor mystery. There's also an offering by the late Dick Francis, "The Gift," which revolves around an alcoholic sports writer who might have the story of his life. Editor Martin Edwards (himself a mystery writer) has assembled a collection that offers us some of the very best mystery writers. If, like me, you want a taste of short stories, this is a good place to start.

A Good Hanging by Ian Rankin
Protagonist: Det. Insp. John Rebus
Setting: Edinburgh
Rating: 4.8
I could read Rankin's short stories all day -- he's that good. What I also like about this collection is that they add to Rebus' characterization and that, taken together, they read as one story -- just a story of one Rebus case after another. The title story is about a student hanging during the Edinburgh Festival. In order to solve the crime, Rebus must attend a Shakespeare play which holds a vital clue. In "Not Provan," it seems a guilty man will go free at trial -- unless Rebus can break his alibi. And in "Sunday," we see Rebus on a free Sunday, a seemingly ordinary Sunday, as he does laundry, makes coffee, cooks a steak ... then we learn it's not just any other Sunday. If you've somehow skipped the Rebus short stories (and there's another collection of them in Rankin's The Complete Short Stories), I highly recommend them.

The Complaints by Ian Rankin

Protagonist: Malcolm Fox
Setting: Edinburgh
Rating: 4.7
Insp. John Rebus has retired, so from Rankin we now get a different type of cop: Malcolm Fox, who works for The Complaints and Conduct, the cops who investigate other cops. He and his team have just finished a case involving veteran officer Glen Heaton, meaning The Complaints has stirred up some more anger. Fox is also dealing with his sister, who is being physically abused by her live-in boyfriend, when he's asked to start investigating another cop who worked with Heaton, this time as part of an online child pornography group. Before Fox can even begin, he gets a call from that same officer, Jamie Breck, with news that his sister's boyfriend has been killed. Although Breck is one of the main investigators and this might appear a conflict of interest, Fox's boss tells him to continue investigating Breck. He does -- and finds Breck to be intelligent, charming, very likable. Can he really be a pedophile? And what about all the coincidences starting to build up?

The novel is all about rights and wrongs, as we try to figure out just which cop is bent -- and which is honest. As Fox mulls:

He wondered: did it bother him that the world wasn't entirely fair? That justice was seldom sufficient? There would always be people ready to pocket a wad of banknotes in exchange for a favour. There would always be people who played the system and wrung out every penny. Some people -- lots of people -- would keep getting away with it.

'But you're not one of them,' he told himself.

Rankin gives us a great story, a great protagonist and more than enough reason to believe there's life after Rebus.

There's a good interview with Rankin about this book and future plans at macleans.ca.

Strip Jack by Ian Rankin

Protagonist: Insp. John Rebus
Setting: Edinburgh
Rating: 3.3
When MP Gregor Jack is caught in a brothel, Rebus is sympathetic, suspecting the government official was set up. When he visits Jack’s home, he finds a nervous man – and not only because of the press coverage. Jack’s wife, who likes to indulge in sex and drug parties, is missing. Soon after, she’s found dead – and there are plenty of suspects. This is the fourth in the Rebus series. As always, Rankin brings us memorable characters and sharp dialogue.

November/December

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
Setting: Three Pines, Canada
Protagonist: Insp. Armand Gamache
Rating: 5.0
CC de Poitiers, the villain in the tiny fictional town of Three Pines, is electrocuted at a Christmas curling competition. Suspects abound, and in addition to the central mystery, there are other smaller mysteries surrounding the plot, including one that may impact Gamache's career. This novel is set around Christmastime, and it was just wonderful to read it in the last days of 2007. A great way to end the year.

Naked to the Hangman by Andrew Taylor
Setting: Lydmouth, Wales
Protagonists: Det. Richard Thornhill and journalist Jill Francis
Rating: 4.5
This is the eighth in Taylor's Lydmouth series (one of my favorites). This one takes a different turn, going back to Thornhill's past as an officer in Palestine. His actions then haunt him now, as a fellow officer appears in Lydmouth. We don't get too much of the storyline between Thornhill and Francis, but still an excellent (as always) book in the series.



Sanibel Flats by Randy Wayne White (first in series)
The Heat Islands by Randy Wayne White (second in series)
Protagonist: Marion "Doc" Ford
Setting: Sanibel Island, Florida
Rating: 3.5, 3.7
Read these books for their wonderful portrayal of Florida, a Florida that is fast disappearing. White's description of a fast-moving thunderstorm over open waters is reason enough to read The Heat Islands. The plots are OK and the characters a bit skimpy or cardboard-like, but I still have high hopes for this series (which I hope to continue reading).



Fleshmarket Alley by Ian Rankin
Protagonist: Rebus and Siobhan
Setting: Edinburgh
Rating: 3.7
I was blown away by the early Rankin books; this one failed to capture me. Maybe I like Rebus too much for him to share the page with Siobhan. Still, it's interesting to see Rankin weave a greater plot out of a small, mundane thing. In Edinburgh, I visited the real Fleshmarket Close (Alley for us Americans). Apparently, Rankin was none too happy with the American name change of his book.



The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (on audio)
Protagonist: Liesel Meminger
Setting: Nazi Germany
Rating: 4.0
This is a Young Adult book, but so many Older Adults recommended (and raved) over it, that I sought it out. When Death comes to take Liesel Meminger's brother, he finds himself drawn to Liesel's life, especially after she steals her first book at the gravesite, "The Grave Digger's Handbook." Liesel can't read yet, but her kind foster father soon teaches her how to read, and she never looks back. A touching story, with beautiful prose.

Two Way Split by Allan Guthrie
Protagonist: Robin Greaves
Setting: Edinburgh
Rating: 3.3
Guthrie's been swept up with the newest of the "tartan noir" writers (although, isn't all Scottish crime fiction pretty much gothic or noir?). Robin is an armed robber who thinks his wife is sleeping with his partner in crime. Oh yeah, and Robin is also schizophrenic and has stopped taking his medication. Noir is not my cup of tea, but this character was so different that I was hooked until the end.

The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
Protagonist: Cast of characters
Setting: Small Plains, Kansas
Rating: 3.1
On a winter night, a teenage girl is found dead in the snow. It seems no one knows who she was, but the townspeople bury her and come to revere her, as it's believed that she performs miracles. But 17 years later, long-ago secrets start to surface. Turns out plenty of people knew who she was. Despite some very nicely written scenes, this novel was disappointing. While the cover touts a "novel of suspense," there was little mystery in it, the characters' actions didn't always seem plausible and there was just a tad too much of the Harlequin-romance-plotting in it for me.

Catch Me When I Fall by Nicci French (on audio)
Protagonist: Holly Krauss
Setting: London
Rating: 3.0
Holly, who is manic depressive, is a woman out of control, sleeping with a man not her husband, gambling (and losing 11,000 pounds). The first part of the book is told through Holly's eyes and we feel sympathetic for her, as she is stalked by Rees (the man she slept with) and by loan sharks. Then the point of view changes to Meg, her friend and business partner, after Holly attempts suicide (a bit confusing, as I feel asleep with the iPod in my ear). From there, the book picks up, and turns into a thriller. All is not what it seems, especially after a second suicide attempt. I'd heard a lot about this husband-and-wife writing duo that goes by one name, and I hope to read more of their books. This one, though, by all consensus, seems to be a weak spot among their works.


Rating system:
5.0: Wow!
4.0: Pretty good
3.0: Mediocre to good
2.0: Pretty Bad
DNF: Did not finish

Rankin -- and maybe another Rebus?

The last author to speak to our group was also the biggest name in mystery writing in the U.K.: Ian Rankin, a funny, engaging speaker (shown here with tour guide Ros Hutchison). We'd studied Rankin and his first book, Knots and Crosses, before meeting him -- a book very much inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (which, while set in London, is really modeled on Edinburgh). In this first book, we have Rebus, a character who has involuntary flashbacks and doesn't allow himself to explore his consciousness, therefore "hiding" himself, as our study leader Carol Kent describes it. Both books have a deeply flawed character with a dark side, and both feature young girls as victims. In Knots and Crosses, the plot even converges at a gothic library.

If you read Knots and Crosses with Jekyll and Hyde in mind, you get that right away. But reviewers of that first book didn't, prompting Rankin to write a second book: Hide and Seek, the title hammering home the point. "We all have a mix of good and bad," Rankin told us at a lunch at the Scottish Book Trust in Edinburgh. "As P.D. James says, we're all capable of murder."

Some other tidbits from Rankin:

"There are two things I like about being an author: You are omniscient and omnipotent. You have the power of life and death over your characters. At the same time, as well as being godlike, you are childlike...you are still playing pretend."

Rankin calls himself an "accidental crime writer," not having meant to write a crime novel when he first started, although he wrote in his notes for that first book that "the hero may be a cop." Now, he loves writing in this form: "I love the sense of pace, a strong pacing narrative. I love the games you can play with the reader, that questions are answered. You get a comfort from that which you don't get from real life."

Although readers like to think Rankin is like Rebus, "Rebus is not at all like me," Rankin says. "I'm a wishy-washy liberal. Every book is an internal argument between us [himself and Rebus]....He's horrible Mr. Hyde so I can be nice Dr. Jekyll."


What is said to be the final Rebus novel was published this week in the U.K.: Exit Music, which immediately climbed to No. 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller list. Scottish detectives must retire by the age of 60, and Rebus has reached this age in the books. However, cold case detectives can be older, and Rankin left the possibility open of someday returning to either Rebus or Siobhan (Rebus' younger female partner). Saying he had several other projects in the work, Rankin added that "it may be a couple of years before I can go back to [Rebus] with a blank slate, and see if I can do anything with Rebus of Siobhan."

So who knows -- we may not have seen the last of Rebus.