Rebus loathes retirement. He lives in a modest, dated flat where he’s always lived and drives an old beat up Saab. He stays up late and drinks in neighborhood pubs not because of any friendships but so he doesn’t have to drive home drunk. He continues to be a heavy smoker vowing daily to cut back but never does. His daughter and grand-daughter live a couple hours away but he rarely sees them as he harbors the guilt of having been an absentee father. So when one of his few friends from his days on Edinburg’s police force, DI Siobhan Clarke calls him and asks him to consult on a murder case, he eagerly accepts.
DI Clarke is investigating the murder of a senior lawyer who was beaten to death in his home. The note left by the murderer is identical to one left at the home of Big Ger Cafferty along with a warning gun shot through his front window. Big Ger is a semi-retired gangster who Rebus has chased his entire career. They know each other so well, the mutual respect they have gained for one another has almost turned into friendship… almost. Thus the reason DI Clarke requested Rebus to consult.
Meanwhile DI Malcolm Fox has some personal problems of his own. He has romantic feelings for Siobhan but never tells her so their friendship remains platonic. Plus, Malcolm’s father is dying and in a coma. Even though Malcolm’s father kept him at arm’s length emotionally, Malcolm regrets never making an effort to show affection to his father.
Professionally, Fox’s former position with the police was in Complaints, the Scottish version of Internal Affairs, where he investigated other police officers. His reputation as such created fewer friends than enemies so finding a fit for him in an investigation unit is proving problematic. So when a covert police team from Glasgow comes to Edinburgh, Fox is assigned to the unit. The team is surveilling Glasgow gangster, Joe Stark and his hoods as they wreak havoc with the local Edinburg gangs, in search of missing contraband. As the body count rises, evidence suggests more crimes, even earlier ones, may all be connected. Clarke, Rebus, and Fox find themselves all working on separate crimes but possibly all committed by the same perpetrator.
Rankin has a way of amassing the sorriest group of protagonists possible. All failures in their personal lives but largely successful professionally. The result is a group of workaholics, driven to work because work with all its danger and bureaucratic nonsense is a coping mechanism for failed lives and a far happier place than anything waiting at home. This sad situation can only be described as human and yet intriguing for the reader.
Ian Rankin is currently on tour in the U.S. promoting Even Dogs in the Wild. I hope to see him in person this week at his St Louis event.
It was a treat to see Ian Rankin in person last night, promoting Even Dogs in the Wild. Rankin was born and raised in a small blue collar town in Scotland but even as a child was always seeking a creative outlet. He wrote stick figure comic books and longed to be a successful rock musician. His lack of talent in these venues led him to the University of Edinburgh where he nearly earned his PhD in literature but ended up writing his first John Rebus novel instead of a dissertation.
ReplyDeleteRankin has the same quick wit as his Rebus character and is known to hang out in bars in Edinburgh but Rankin appears much more social and spontaneous than his fictional character. He claims Edinburgh is completely a safe place to live and he started depicting it otherwise to minimize the tourism to his beloved city. He’s filled with humorous anecdotes like that, including one where the British Parliament discussed extending the retirement age of Scottish detectives so the fictitious John Rebus could continue to work. Apparently, Rankin wrote the first Rebus novel at age 23 but invented Rebus as a forty year old and then vowed to age Rebus in real time in future novels. Coincidently, Rebus’ popularity had not yet peeked by mandatory retirement age of 60 so Rankin had to find creative ways to continue the series.
Rankin is a rock music fan naming The Rolling Stones and Van Morrison as his favorites back in the day. Many of his titles and some of the plots come from song lyrics of Scottish rock music such as the band The Associates and musician Jackie Leven. All of these personal insights adds to the experience of reading and enjoying his work.