Andrea Thompson
REVIEW
Book Review - Rather be the Devil, Ian Rankin
Reviewed By
Saturday, August 19, 2017
It's quite possible that there will be a few moments during the reading of this novel where you will want to punch the air in pride. Our man Rebus still has the sharpest wit around and eases his way around tricky situations with the practiced air of one who expects little of others but demands much of himself. The acceptance of DI Siobhan Clarke and DI Malcolm Fox that Rebus will always a part of their investigative lives is well and truly established in RATHER BE THE DEVIL; it is both sweet and savvy of them both. The Rebus novels remain fiendishly clever and there's that continuing comfort also in knowing that John Rebus will not twilight out fighting the good fight alone. Having the serving Scotland police force continue to accept the input of an ex detective like Rebus, who always unashamedly operated within his own unique moral code, is supremely satisfying to his long time fans.
RATHER BE THE DEVIL is not quite new light through old windows but by novel's end you are quite refreshed and confident that this series will continue to go from strength to strength, even with the changing of the guard. The world of Rebus is now very insular – need a cop, use Malcolm and Siobhan, need a criminal lord, there’s always big Ger Cafferty etc – but the novels continue to be loaded to the hilt with vicious crimes and complicated agendas. RATHER BE THE DEVIL is a tighter work than a few of its series predecessors in that the series strengths are being employed all at once to produce an absorbing crime novel that would hold its own to a new reader, plus reaffirm the devotion of an existing fan of author Ian Rankin.
BOOK DETAILS
BOOK INFORMATION
BLURB
The death of Maria Turquand had all the ingredients that would have appealed to the salacious public forty years ago; a beautiful woman, gangsters, drugs and rock stars. Not everyone from those glory days has moved on from Edinburgh and it pleases retired detective John Rebus that this is a cold case with connections to the present. Old crimes can still wound. Secrets from the past can forever alter those that are forever tasked with keeping them hidden.
Up and coming crime boss Darryl Christie has been attacked in his own front garden and the unlikelihood that this was a random attack niggles at Rebus. Still, it needs to be investigated, and this (luckily) falls to ex colleague DI Siobhan Clarke to address. DI Malcolm Fox, somewhat more cordial now that he is no longer investigating the likes of Rebus via his previous role in Professional Standards, may have been transferred out of the area but his commanders send him back to Edinburgh anyway due to their concern that money laundering has now become a greater part of Christie’s criminal portfolio. Rebus is in good need of a distraction away from the giving up of the smokes and heavy drinking. His old nemesis Big Ger Cafferty is still puppet mastering and definitely not easing into retirement in the way he would like Rebus to believe.
| Review | Book Review - Rather be the Devil, Ian Rankin | Andrea Thompson
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Saturday, August 19, 2017 |