Book Review: Mortal Causes
Keeping up with crime thrillers is an arduous task in itself, especially when it comes to following a crime thriller series. With a generous exception of handful authors, I don't tax myself by keeping tabs on every sundry book that makes its way to the bookstore. John Rebus, Harry Bosch and Jack Reacher (to name a few) are such exceptions.
In fact, Ian Rankin and Michael Connelly's central characters have interesting parallels - both lead a tumultuous personal life, battle their own demons; but they are honest, steadfastly loyal to their jobs, and at the same time ruthless and determined to weed out evil no matter how big the stakes are. Furthermore, Rankin's depiction of Edinburgh is a master-stroke that brings alive the city's underbelly in a myriad number of ways.
His sixth novel Mortal Causes is set during the Edinburgh festival, a time when the city is packed with tourists and revelers. The police, for their part, are on high-alert after receiving anonymous bomb threats. Unfortunately, there has been a murder in the city's subterranean streets and further investigation by DI Rebus reveals a possible sectarian angle. But when the real identity of the victim is made known, all hell breaks loose and what happens next forms the rest of the story.
Amidst all this we have Rebus and his personal life, his unstable relationship with Patience, he trying to help Father Leary, another recurring character in Rankin's Rebus novels, on a problem in the notorious neighborhood of Gar-B. While sectarian violence takes center-stage, corruption and terrorism are other plot devices that Rankin resorts in order to ramp up the thrills as Rebus and his team race against the ticking clock to subdue the nefarious elements. The writing is excellent, and all the loose ends are tied satisfactorily.
On the other hand, I felt there were far too many 'key' characters, some difficult to recollect given their miss and blink appearances. This sort of robs away some of the excitement that Rankin successfully builds up. Aside from the exploration of Rebus's equation with a dreaded gangster Ger Cafferty, his usual sidekicks Siobhan Clarke and Brian Holmes seem to be perfunctory additions. This could perhaps be attributed to the book being one of the earliest in the series (This is the problem when you read them out of order!). And not to forget the silly incongruous romantic sub-plot between Rebus and the obsessive Caroline Rattray. I expect Rankin to pursue this affair further (did he?), but I am not holding my breath. Taut and gritty, Mortal Causes is a fairly enjoyable thrill ride.
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| Mortal Causes |
His sixth novel Mortal Causes is set during the Edinburgh festival, a time when the city is packed with tourists and revelers. The police, for their part, are on high-alert after receiving anonymous bomb threats. Unfortunately, there has been a murder in the city's subterranean streets and further investigation by DI Rebus reveals a possible sectarian angle. But when the real identity of the victim is made known, all hell breaks loose and what happens next forms the rest of the story.
Amidst all this we have Rebus and his personal life, his unstable relationship with Patience, he trying to help Father Leary, another recurring character in Rankin's Rebus novels, on a problem in the notorious neighborhood of Gar-B. While sectarian violence takes center-stage, corruption and terrorism are other plot devices that Rankin resorts in order to ramp up the thrills as Rebus and his team race against the ticking clock to subdue the nefarious elements. The writing is excellent, and all the loose ends are tied satisfactorily.
On the other hand, I felt there were far too many 'key' characters, some difficult to recollect given their miss and blink appearances. This sort of robs away some of the excitement that Rankin successfully builds up. Aside from the exploration of Rebus's equation with a dreaded gangster Ger Cafferty, his usual sidekicks Siobhan Clarke and Brian Holmes seem to be perfunctory additions. This could perhaps be attributed to the book being one of the earliest in the series (This is the problem when you read them out of order!). And not to forget the silly incongruous romantic sub-plot between Rebus and the obsessive Caroline Rattray. I expect Rankin to pursue this affair further (did he?), but I am not holding my breath. Taut and gritty, Mortal Causes is a fairly enjoyable thrill ride.
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