This is the fourth Inspector Rebus novel and whilst it is a good story I didn’t think it was as good as the first three but more about that later.
Basic Plot:
Gregor Jack MP has been caught by the press with his
trousers down in the local knocking shop during a police raid but just who
tipped the press off and got him to go there….?
Gregor’s wife has also gone missing and has not been seen or
heard of after the story hit the front pages……
Can Rebus find out just who is trying to discredit a
well-liked and popular MP by tipping off the press about the raid and find
Gregor’s wife? To DI Rebus something about this whole matter just doesn’t smell
right…….
What I thought of it:
Whilst this is a stand-alone novel it is lacking the
characterisation of some of the main characters as these have been dealt with
in earlier novels. I this novel there is a continuing development of Rebus’
private life and those of the other officers but it is the characterisation of
the characters that are new in this novel which is handled well. Whilst, at
first, we do not get all the details about them they are built up steadily
through the novel. This helps as it does not bore you with lots of back story
all in one go and allows the reader to build a better impression of each character.
The main plot works well as a story and the insight into the
police work within the novel has been well researched and is not overly
dramatised as it is in some novels. Whilst this rarely applies to the Rankin
novels readers should note that as the novel is set in Scotland it is Scots law
that is used which in some areas is different to that of England and Wales. The
subplots are more than just a distraction and have been utilised to not only
add colour to some characters but also have been woven into the main plot as a
way to further the main investigation. I do feel, however, that with this plot
the novel could have had so much more as it does boil down to a rather basic,
although well written, ‘who done it?’
As with a lot of novels I do see that there are a few too
many minor characters which are introduced, concentrated on for a few pages
then hardly mentioned again. However, some do provide important plot points but
I feel half of them could be dropped to give some of the others a larger role. However,
there is a degree of cleverness in the writing in how you sympathies change for
each of the main characters as the novel progresses.
Whilst Rebus does have a rather prickly relationship with
his superiors it appears that Chief Inspector Lauderdale has some begrudging
respect for Rebus as despite Rebus’ rather maverick methods he does get the job
done. Rebus’ character is also believable which is a big help as it enables the
reader to engage with the character a bit more. He is portrayed as someone who
takes his job seriously, wants to do a good job, get it right and all that but
it is hard to say if he enjoys his job or not.
Some of the settings of the novel are in small villages in
quite remote areas of Scotland (the kind of village where everybody knows when
you go to the loo – as my dad would say) here the descriptions of the odd few
houses with large areas of open fields and woodland does help get the idea of
how remote these areas are. Also the idea of the rather dilapidated police
station does add a bit of reality to the novel.
Summary:
This is a good novel, good not great. It is a reasonable
outing for Rebus but it is not Rankin’s best work. Whilst you do want to read
the book to the end to find out what happens and how Rebus gets there it isn’t
what I would classify as ‘unputdownable’.
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