Exit Music (Inspector Rebus series Book 17)

@beathhighJust finished book 17 of the #inspectorrebus series. I started reading the series in 2022 and I have to say I was hooked, from the start. It was interesting to read of a lifestyle which had been forgotten, i.e. having lunchtime drinks and then going back to work 😌, drink-driving laws and just the whole ethos of that time. It seemed to me that the character was evolving along with the writing. Also the topics which are a pivotal backbone of the stories are as relevant today as they were decades ago. Such as corruption in Politics, racism against asylum seekers etc. Unfortunately times do not really change. Anyway after the first few books I felt a visit to Edinburgh was required. A decision I have not regretted. And I have to say, I so want to return. The books bring Edinburgh to life, and the visit brings @beathhigh views of Edinburgh to life.

This is the nineteenth and probably the last in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series because Rebus has been put out to pasture, retired. His bosses say good riddance, and the only one who seems to care what happens to him is Siobhan Clarke, Shiv, his female sidekick, who learned how to cut corners and rile supervisors from him. His arch-nemesis, the gangster Big Ger Cafferty is deeply involved in this book and by the end lies at death's door. A Russian poet-dissident as well as an audio specialist are murdered, and there are plenty of suspects to go around. It's a complex novel with numerous strands, but it is well-plotted, and readers will find it engrossing. We're going to miss Rebus who is Scotland's answer to Michael Connelly's rebellious L.A. cop Harry Bosch. Rankin always does a good job drawing subsidiary characters, bringing out nuances, quirks, and tics. The denouement is satisfying and the clever solutions will satisfy most readers. As Rebus is investigating, he finds the business overworld is worse than the underworld. The story is told with wit and humor and with a deep understanding of what makes people tick. Shiv, thinking of a building destroyed because the wiring had gone bad, muses, "Wiring gone bad: a fair description of Rebus himself at times." We feel sorry seeing Rebus being tossed on the junk heap. "For three decades now, this job of his had sustained him, and all it had cost him was his marriage and a slew of friendships and shattered relationships." The opening pages get us into the story quickly, economically. It's a clear-cut narrative style with no extraneous stuff. The parrying between various characters is done deftly. Perhaps Rankin will resurrect Rebus by giving us some of his earlier cases, or perhaps Shiv will become the series main character with Rebus assisting from some bar stool.

This is a fantastic novel. Well written with an intricate and surprising plot. Rankin is at the top of his form.

I have re-read this excellent novel recently. As it happens, it was not to be the last Rebus novel [thankfully]. I had thought that Rankin had flagged a little and, like Conan Doyle [another Edinburgh author], wanted to be rid of his creation, but subsequent novels proved me wrong.I was in Edinburgh earlier this year and spoke to an ex-cop who confirmed the authenticity of Rankin's work and his faultless research.One of Rankin's truly great traits is the complexity of his plots and characterization. I have to draw a mind-map for each of his novels just to keep up! The mind-maps set out the cast of characters and their relationship to each other and are an effort to work out 'whodunnit'. After all that, it turns out that the butler did it [not!]. I recommend any reader to keep a notebook handy [or draw up one of Tony Buzzan's mind-maps].Rankin is the best of his genre in the UK or the US.

Wish I could be more helpful to potential readers, but I find it difficult to put into words why I so enjoy this series. And perhaps that is the greatest compliment one can pay a writer - that he, in this instance, writes so well that he "effortlessly" makes the characters so clear and compelling. The plot is interesting but nothing that will blow your mind - cops and robbers, money, corrupt politicians, greed, jealously, privilege, poverty. But it's the characters that really carry this novel, characters that are sketched with wonderful economy of language but are immediately understood and known.Perhaps a list of my favorite authors will give my 5-stars some context: Jo Nesbo, Thomas Perry, Lawrence Block, Olin Steinhauer, George Pelecanos, John Sandford, Philip Kerr, Michael Connelly, Stephen Cannell, Lee Child, Robert Crais, David Hosp, Stephen Hunter, Stuart Kaminsky, Dennis Lehane, Henning Mankell, Richard Price.If there is an author that you admire from my list, Rankin will not disappoint.

I have to let you know how good this author is....well I love him and his writings. I have read all his Inspector Rebus novels, plus his first "The Flood" and I can't find enough superlatives to describe how good he is. I halfway through his Malcolm Fox "Complaints" it is so good I don't want to put it down. I rate Ian Rankin as one of the top 10 authors of the world. I hope he keeps in writing great books. I'm sure you won't be disappointed in his work...give him a go.

Rankin is a great story-teller who knows how to set up readers up without making them feel foolish.Here the old way of policing which seems to have solved cases on gut and instinct is being replaced by a new system which is rigorously run by rules and dogged by police who police the police to make sure the rules are followed.An older cop on the brink of his retirement has one last chance to solve a case. Now he has to race against time, the system, and the criminals.A nail-biting ride for the reader who feels every setback and suffers along with the main character. Facing the music is almost as painful as facing the exit music.The question is there life after retirement from a job which has defined you is a powerful theme lying behind the plot line.And Rankin does not give any easy answer.

ditto

I buy every book this man writes and am only sad that he can't produce many more. a reallygood read.

As usual, a great story from Ian Rankin. A world famous Russian poet is killed in a brutal attack on an Edinburgh street. A tale invoking Russian politics economic rivalry corruption and sordid parties. But there is a twist in the tail.

If it was meant originally to be the last rebus, it failed. Rankin is capable of tying the loose ends much better

Rebus part en retraite mais reste un flic humaniste jusqu'à la dernière page. Heureusement il me reste encore d'autres histoires de Ian Rankin à lire.