Book Review: Exit Music
Obsessive about reading crime thrillers, I had no qualms picking up Exit Music written by the Scottish crime writer, Ian Rankin. This novel being the seventeenth and last in the Inspector Rebus series, I was expecting it to have a fitting finish and I wasn't disappointed either.
It's late autumn in Edinburgh and Detective Inspector John Rebus of the Lothian and Borders Police is facing retirement after more than 20 years of service. With just a week away from exit, as he and his partner Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke try to close off a few cold cases, a new murder case lands upon them. A famous dissident Russian poet has been been found dead and initial evidence points to a case of mugging gone wrong.
Coincidentally, a high level delegation of Russian businessmen has been convened to bring businesses to Scotland. The politicians and the bankers in the city want the case to be closed as quickly as possible to prevent any damage to their reputation. As they continue to investigate various leads, a second murder brings across a whole new angle to the case.
Meanwhile, Rebus gets suspended for insubordination and later becomes a prime suspect in a case of assault on a local gangster Big Ger Cafferty, whom he had tried in vain to arrest for the better part of his career. Will Rebus be able to absolve himself of the blame? Will the deaths be solved in what has begun to test international relations? Read the book for all these answers.
It's late autumn in Edinburgh and Detective Inspector John Rebus of the Lothian and Borders Police is facing retirement after more than 20 years of service. With just a week away from exit, as he and his partner Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke try to close off a few cold cases, a new murder case lands upon them. A famous dissident Russian poet has been been found dead and initial evidence points to a case of mugging gone wrong.
Coincidentally, a high level delegation of Russian businessmen has been convened to bring businesses to Scotland. The politicians and the bankers in the city want the case to be closed as quickly as possible to prevent any damage to their reputation. As they continue to investigate various leads, a second murder brings across a whole new angle to the case.
Meanwhile, Rebus gets suspended for insubordination and later becomes a prime suspect in a case of assault on a local gangster Big Ger Cafferty, whom he had tried in vain to arrest for the better part of his career. Will Rebus be able to absolve himself of the blame? Will the deaths be solved in what has begun to test international relations? Read the book for all these answers.
To give an introduction to Rankin's Rebus series, I think the following line from Wikipedia should serve justice:
All the novels involve murders, suspicious deaths or disappearances, with Rebus taking on the task of solving the mystery. The resulting investigation (or investigations) depict a stark, uncompromising picture of Scotland, characterised by corruption, poverty, and organised crime.
Along the way, Rebus has to struggle with internal police politics, a struggle exacerbated by his tendency to bend the rules and ignore his superiors. He also has to deal with his own personal issues, which are often directly or indirectly related to the current investigation, risking further friction with his colleagues.
Along the way, Rebus has to struggle with internal police politics, a struggle exacerbated by his tendency to bend the rules and ignore his superiors. He also has to deal with his own personal issues, which are often directly or indirectly related to the current investigation, risking further friction with his colleagues.
This novel, which marks a conclusion to DI Rebus's time in the force, is a tour de force. Though I have read only a few novels in this series, it can be fairly surmised that Rankin has a distinct writing style encompassing elaborate, realistic plots and interesting characters. In John Rebus, he has created a flawed but honest man known for his integrity and dogged persistence in cracking the cases.
Rankin switches between multiple sub-plots (including that of Scotland's independence) with the ease of a juggler, and the denouement, which comes in the last few chapters, takes one by surprise (by it's simplicity!).
Signalling an end to Rebus's career, Exit Music delivers a knock out piece that takes the readers through the realms of money, power and crime. Rebus might have gone, but I still a few more of his adventures left to read. Then, it's time to take on Rankin's new detective series featuring Malcolm Fox!
Rankin switches between multiple sub-plots (including that of Scotland's independence) with the ease of a juggler, and the denouement, which comes in the last few chapters, takes one by surprise (by it's simplicity!).
Signalling an end to Rebus's career, Exit Music delivers a knock out piece that takes the readers through the realms of money, power and crime. Rebus might have gone, but I still a few more of his adventures left to read. Then, it's time to take on Rankin's new detective series featuring Malcolm Fox!
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