Standing in Another Man's Grave (edition 2012)

Thank you Ian Rankin! Rebus is back with all the usuals including Malcolm Fox from Complaints. One can't ask for more but then the story is strong and the tour of the road to Inverness and surroundings is a real plus, especially if you have been there. I hope to be reading another Rebus soon! ( )

I dont think I have enjoyed a Rebus more. I found the style a bit punchier but that made it more readable for me.

Having Malcolm Fox involved added a nice dimension. But also Rebus doesnt seem quite so obsessive, maybe being out of the Police agrees with him on some levels. ( )

Was expecting slightly more Malcolm Fox in this one, not that I’m complaining as its wonderful to reunite with an old friend. Semi-retirement – even though he’s a civvie working in the cold case unit isn’t really retirement - hasn’t changed Rebus, I suspect that nothing will ever change Rebus, and now that the age restriction for serving policeman has changed he’s hoping to get back in.

By chance Rebus picks up on a cold case that he thinks may be connected to a current investigation, reuniting him with Siobhan Clarke. Apart from the joy of seeing the band back together, its great to see Rebus back doing what he does best, making connections to build a solid case. But Fox is lurking in the background keeping an eye on Rebus as he’s determined to prove that Rebus is crooked and prevent his return to the force.

My only small criticism is that having spent the last two books with these characters there wasn’t enough of The Complaints in the book, although I really enjoyed seeing Rebus’s perspective on Fox. Another superb book from Ian Rankin and I’m impatiently waiting for Saints of the Shadow Bible to be published. ( )

Rebus is back, older, a little more melancholy and bleak and maybe even a littel creakier. But he is back and that is all that matters.

While Rankin ran out of things to say about Rebus, we suffered from the silence. Bu the is back now.

Rebus is offically retired in this caper and working in the old case offcie with other retirees. All is calm and boring until a missing girl case dredges up a few other missing girl cases.

Rankin was in a happy mood when he wrtoe this obviously because it is a huge reunion, with Siobhan Clarke palying a prominent role, Ger Rafferty making a presence as does Malcolm Fox from The Complaints. Even though Rebus has slowed down a bit, his senses are as keen as ever, and since he is drinking wine more often than not, he is also less prone to headaches and hangovers. The action is riveting as always and the references to music as clever and welcomed as ever. ( )

Arthur Conan Doyle tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes but had to bring him back due to popular demand. I don't know whether popular demand had anything to do with Ian Rankin's new novel, which features John Rebus. Much of the novel reads to me as a meditation on the changes we all are living through, and on the question of whether some of what we now consider out-moded or out-of-date continue to have value. And it's cast within a suspenseful plot involving serial killings and Rankin's newer series hero, Malcolm Fox, as well as a cast of characters familiar to readers of the earlier Rebus books. ( )