Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Staying human in an inhumane world … Lew Archer became Lew Harper in the film starring Paul Newman. Photograph: Album/Alamy David Baldacci It is a complex character filled story; however, the reader can follow the participants and their roles the story never gets too complicated.
Since finishing the last Rebus book, Rankin has worked on The Dark Remains, an unfinished story by the late William McIlvanney, which was published in the autumn, as well as taking part in a murder mystery TV series for Channel 4. Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive' Not in the book but words penned by Scottish historian Sir Walter Scott in 1808. It is the mark of a great writer, and another Scot, Ian Rankin, two centuries later, weaving the pandemic into the story and its characters. Walter R Brooks, who created Mister Ed, the talking horse, wrote 26 books about Freddy and the other animals on the Bean family farm. Humans own the farm, but the animals help with both farmwork and housework. Imagine fluffy bunnies as dustcloths.
THE WORLD OF IAN RANKIN
Book 24. Will there be a Book 25? I really don’t know. This book didn’t finish at all how I thought it would, even though I did catch my breath - literally - at a particularly pivotal moment (no spoilers!). I thought that was it, but it seems there is still enough bluster and doggedness in John Rebus for the series to continue. I’d like to think so anyway. Fingers crossed. I’ve been anxious when reading the last few books, wondering how they would end, as this series has been such an important part of my reading life. Huge. I even had a friend take a foto of the infamous Oxford Bar when they were in Edinburgh. Wherever Ian Rankin, and John Rebus end up taking me, I’m now ok with that. Cheers to them both. And a scratch and belly rub for Brillo. Rebus shares top billing this time with Siobhan Clarke, the eager Detective Inspector who has been his long time friend. Clarke is investigating the murder of an ex-policeman who had been threatening to blow the gaff on the goings on at the notorious Tynecastle Station. There are plenty of cops who’d rather this didn’t happen, so there are suspects aplenty. Even Rebus himself seems to be somewhat tainted by historic association with the one time leader of the motley station crew. Recent novels in the series have seen Rebus increasingly struggle as he battled the impacts of an incurable lung disease. John Rebus, long retired from the force, is enjoying a quiet pint at his local, with faithful dog Brillo asleep at his feet. I love that this is the third book this little buddy has appeared in. The world has just reopened after the Covid pandemic, and Rebus is avoiding going to the doctor about his deteriorating health, prefering to pretend it’s just heartburn. A ping on his mobile is an invitation of sorts, from Big Ger, to drop by his flat after taking Brillo home. Rebus can't refuse even if he wanted to, as the two have been part of each other’s lives for longer than they care to remember. Curiosity has definitely gotten hold of Rebus. Ian Rankin σε αυτή την τελευταία περιπέτεια του Ρέμπους - του επιθεωρητή που κανείς δεν μπορεί να καταλάβει πως δουλεύει το μυαλό του και πως παρόλες τις αντισυμβατικές μεθόδους του, πάντα βρίσκει τη λύση.
William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw books changed the face of crime fiction. When he died in 2015, he left half a handwritten manuscript of Laidlaw’s first case. Ian Rankin has finished what McIlvanney started. Here, in The Dark Remains, these two iconic authors bring to life the criminal world of 1970s Glasgow, and Laidlaw’s relentless quest for truth. Literary agent Jon Wood, who was involved in the deal for the new Rebus books, added: “I'm delighted that Ian's long — and hugely successful — association with both Orion and John Rebus continues this year.In secondary school, a teacher mentioned that the deduction techniques detailed in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work had been so well crafted that they influenced the policing of the day. That fiction could change the world was a powerful idea, and one I wanted to be part of. Big Ger Cafferty (Rebus’ longtime nemesis) surveys the vista of Edinburgh through a telescope from the prized position of his penthouse unit. Keeping his eyes firmly peeled on the City he once ruled with drugs and fists. The novel is set in a small village in England, with a clever, unique, uncompromising older woman sleuth. It was my first Christie, my first Miss Marple, and the first novel I ever discovered for myself. Best of all was looking at the front of the book and discovering that Agatha Christie had written one or two other novels. The novels are all great, but my favourites include When the Sacred Ginmill Closes and A Walk Among the Tombstones. They are the perfect hardboiled mix of grit and poetry: cool jazz with surface noise.
However, great news for Rankin fans as the 61-year-old has emerged from retirement to work on a series of subsequent bases, with the most recent story taking him to the north of mainland Scotland, where his daughter Samantha has been living.
Sums up the pair of us, wouldn’t you say? On the other hand, you probably feel it as much as I do.’ As fans of Rebus know he doesn’t always do things the right way but he does do them for the right reasons. He's long retired by now, and ailing, but he still wants to put away bad guys (or help Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke put them away). This time, ostensibly doing a favor for his long-term nemesis Morris "Big Ger" Cafferty, Rebus goes looking for a man once in Cafferty's employ, missing and presumed dead. This bit of unofficial sleuthing collides with a real case that Clarke is investigating: a policeman from the Tynecastle station who is abusing his wife, then disappears. Long-awaited news for Rebus fans comes as the first new novel for two years since the 23rd novel - A Song For The Dark Times - was released and people can expect a second to be in the pipeline. Clarke finds herself on an inquiry involving a police officer facing charges of domestic abuse against his wife, the suspended officer, Haggard, is part of the notorious Tynecastle police station with its long history of brutality and corruption. Haggard is willing to do whatever it takes to avoid charges, including hanging out his colleagues to dry, he is willing to air the station's dirty linen, naming names, including a barely concealed allusion to Rebus himself. This alarms the hierarchy at Police Scotland and Haggard's former colleagues who are willing to do whatever it takes to try and protect themselves. As the book progresses, Clarke and Fox find themselves working on a murder investigation that Rebus takes a close interest in. Crime boss Big Ger Cafferty continues to make his presence felt, despite being in a wheelchair after being shot, as he asks Rebus to locate a former employee of his, ostensibly so that he can express his remorse.
Related:
Great Deal 
New Comment