Krishna
We had reviewed an earlier book – featuring Inspector Rebus, the detective in this series, titled The Falls. This is our second book. First, a disclosure. The Falls is not the first book in the series but the twelfth. This one is the Fifteenth in the series. I read books fairly out of order sometimes based on what I manage to get (library returns and a book exchange program near my house). Fortunately they are all standalone books and thus I do not seem to miss any continuity. This applies to many of the authors including Ann Perry.
Now, in this book, the station Rebus worked in had lost it’s CID status and so investigators like him were being ‘loaned out’ to other areas. He was currently assigned to a shady area called Knoxland, on the outskirts of Edinburgh. He is now at the murder site of a stab victim.
Siobahn is another detective who works with him on multiple books. She is here too.
An old client of theirs, businessman John and Alice Jardine come to see her. Their older daughter was raped and murdered and Siobahn (in a previous book perhaps?) worked with them. They were impressed with her empathy. Now, it appears that their younger daughter Ishbel vanished without a trace. She had packed her bags and was eighteen, so the police would not help. Alice says that she was seen in the company of a shady man in a luxury car a few days ago, as reported by a coworker where Ishbel was employed.
Meanwhile, there are two skeletons found when a building was renovated. They turned out to be not murders but a hoax. Tha adult skeleton was a lab specimen and the child’s skeleton was plastic.
There is an immigrant who is killed and Rebus breaks up a renting mafia run by a father son duo.
Yes, the story wanders, but the details are interesting. A summary like this cannot do justice to the shades in the storytelling so I guess you need to read one book to find out if this author is for you. There is an immigrant who was murdered in a flat and in investigating, Rebus meets an immigrant lawyer whose life he had saved. When he goes to meet the family of the immigrants in a far flung facility constructed for them he needs the help of relatives to communicate the news to his wife who does not understand English.
The woman identifies the body as that of her husband. Meanwhile, Rebus, though not legally required, provides toys and books for the children who seem to have ‘no childhood’ in the detention centre.
The story goes in predictable route. The man who was antagonistic to Ishbel’s sister was murdered. Siobahn knows that Ishbel would be a prime suspect (was it a revenge killing?) but does not inform the parents as they will find out anyway. Steve Holly, the slimy reporter, is in this book too. And does his thing.
Now, the story looks very boring as there are no action scenes, no violence (only investigations post murders) but the story is really interesting because – you have the office politics of the police, you have the victim’s family, you have the brash attitude of Rebus and Siobahn and their liking for each other (even if that is not sexual attraction).
The sense one gets is that, like Perry Mason, if you like this author’s style and descriptions in one Rebus book, you will like all of the books in that series.
This book is no different. They get the bad guys in the end, but it is not spectacular guess work a la Sherlock or ‘using the brain cells’ a la Hercule Poirot.
In spite of it all, the book manages to be interesting because it has – like every other book I have read in this series – a lot of local colour, the office politics of the police department, investigative reporters who are disliked as they are not nice.
There are some pieces of action at the end. Siobahn almost drowning and Rebus confronting the ringleader of illegal immigrant smuggling gang.
All in all, you have the impression of walking into the lives of the residents for a while, and that is the strength of this author.
7/10
— Krishna