A Question of Blood

I must start by stating that my review is only for the Brilliance Audio version of A Question of Blood, read by Michael Page. I say this because had it not been for the narrator I would likely have scored it higher.

The book follows the typical Rebus style with he and Siobhan working together yet dealing with separate cases that are somehow linked. Rebus is in hot water (*ahem) with his bosses, as per usual thanks to his maverick ways and reputation. Plenty of twists and turns in the book though one of the events at the end involving Siobhan left me confused as I couldn't make sense of the reasoning behind it.

Anyway it's another great story in the series and was, on the whole, most enjoyable.

Sadly the narrator cost this edition a couple show more stars and somewhat spoiled the book for me.

Firstly, Let's face it, both Rebus and his creator are Scottish and hail from Edinburgh so why they chose and english narrator instead of a scot is a mystery. Granted Michael Page does perform a fairly decent if rather over-the-top scottish accent but I'm more used to the natural flow of James MacPherson who manages an English accent more naturally than Page's Scottish.

Secondly, he reads sooooo sloooowwwly, I had to increase the speed substantially to avoid falling asleep. I don't want narrators to rush it but honestly this was painfully slow.

Third, and most important for me, was the mispronunciation of a number of words throughout the book, by far the worst of which was DCS Gill Templer, who he pronounces with a hard G as in a fish's gill, when it is obviously pronounced Jill with a soft G (like the whiskey measure, something Rebus would likely appreciate). This had me constantly cursing through gritted teeth "it's Jill you ****" every time I heard it which is pretty often. No chance of immersion in the book with stupid errors like that repeatedly pulling me out of the story.

Still, it's a good book but I'd advise that you either read it yourself or buy the audiobook with a different narrator to enjoy it more. show less

Close to perfect Rebus. Credible plot, satisfyingly twisty and complicated. Characters fully drawn and comfortable in their skin. Writing taut and confident. Technology stuff has aged somewhat.

In A Question of Blood, Detective Inspector John Rebus once again finds himself in hot water, suspected of murder, facing suspension and in DCS Gill Templer’s bad books. The main plot centres on an apparently senseless shooting at a school. Rebus and his sidekick Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke are called upon to help with the investigation of the shooting. Meanwhile, a criminal who has been stalking and hassling Clarke turns up dead, and the circumstances of this murder make Rebus a natural suspect. The story is somewhat labyrinthine, but the narrative is atmospheric and briskly told, filled with fascinating detail and memorable and eccentric characters. Few crime writers can equal Ian Rankin when it comes to setting. The Edinburgh show more of the Rankin novels is one of the most vividly drawn cities in literature. A Question of Blood is another compelling and thoroughly enjoyable entry in the Rebus series. show less

Edinburgh - indeed, all of Scotland - is shocked when an ex-Army man bursts into a private school and kills two students, wounding a third before turning the gun on himself. DI Rebus is drafted into the subsequent investigation because it is believed that he might have insight into the man’s motives, being ex-Army himself. However, his ability to help is limited by the fact that he has recently sustained serious burns to his hands, unfortunately right when a lowlife who had been stalking DS Siobhan Clarke dies in a house fire, later determined to be murder - and Rebus was seen entering the man’s apartment shortly before the fatal flames…. The 14th entry in the long-running Rebus series retains the complexity, realism and show more contradictory nature of its protagonist, although one must wonder what police service would continue to employ a cop who continuously goes against regulations, charters his own course in uncovering malfeasance and generally remains under suspicion of wrongdoing himself! Having come to the series late, I have the comfort of knowing that he’s not in serious danger of expulsion or death because there are many more books to come; but I sincerely hope that the last scene between Rebus and Siobhan does not portend what it seems to suggest! Recommended. show less

The 14th book in this wonderful series, and it is just as fresh now as at was at the beginning. It's even better though because we've had 13 books to get to know the irascible Rebus and his sidekick Siobhan. This book starts out with Rebus and Siobhan trying to figure out what caused an ex-SAS soldier to walk into a private school and kill two boys and wound another and then turn the gun on himself. As Siobhan says, "There is no mystery here". But it turns out that there is indeed a mystery here and before they've finished solving it, Rebus finds himself in trouble with the higher-ups again, and both find themselves in some physical danger. It was enough to keep me turning pages, and I had to stay up late to finish the book. That's Ian show more Rankin's Rebus does to me. This book also provides us with more insight into Rebus' past and family life. Rankin's skill as an author manifests itself in the book with extremely tight plotting and his extraordinary character development. Rebus continues to intrigue. I read these books for the great mystery, but also for the sharp portrayal of a character that has come to seem real to me. Rankin is a master at creating three-dimensional, realistic characters. All good enough reasons to justify, to me anyway, my addiction to this series.2014 show less

"A Question of Blood" (Ian Rankin’s 14th John Rebus novel) is a complicated police procedural told in seven parts, one part for each day it takes Rebus and Siobhan Clarke to close the books on the Edinburgh school shooting that claims the lives of two students. The case does not appear to be a difficult one because one of the three students in the room at the time of the murders has survived to tell what he saw and the alleged murderer, an outsider, has killed himself at the scene. For Rebus and his Edinburgh police colleagues it is a question of why, not who.

John Rebus, always the outsider even among his peers, is determined to answer that question and soon finds himself in conflict not only with certain of his fellow officers but show more with two Army investigators that seem determined to cause him as much personal grief as possible. For a loner, though, Rebus does have one or two loyal friends willing to cover his back when he needs it most. One of those friends is in charge of the school shooting investigation and is willing to use Rebus in an “unofficial” capacity even though, midway through the investigation, Rebus has been suspended by his superiors. The other is Siobhan Clarke, the young policewoman for whom Rebus has formed a rather unlikely attachment.

It is precisely this emotional attachment to Siobhan that gets Rebus into so much trouble. He is so determined to stop the career criminal that has been threatening her that one night he is seen leaving the man’s home at precisely the wrong moment. As a result of this connection to the stalker, if Rebus is to figure out the why of the school murders, he is going to have to avoid the phone calls and visits of the investigators whose job it is to determine whether or not he is guilty of violent criminal activity.

"A Question of Blood," at its heart, is a book about relationships, families, loners and friends. John Rebus is not close to anyone in his family and can count his friends on one hand. In his own way, he probably loves Siobhan Clarke but there is no way he ever could, or would, express his feelings to her. Some of his friends are much like Rebus; they spend too much time in pubs or sitting alone at home drinking themselves toward the next hangover – and they rather enjoy the lifestyle.

Rankin’s Edinburgh is the perfect city for loners. It is a dark, wet and rowdy place, and its streets are populated by teenage thugs that respect no one unwilling to mix it up with them. Rebus can only stomach what he sees because of his deep sense of outrage about what is happening to his city and those around him. Police work is all he has left and, even though he does as much as he can to protect the innocents of Edinburgh, he senses that his is a losing battle. He accepts his fate, however, and is a little unnerved by the emotions he finds himself feeling and expressing at the end of day seven.

"A Question of Blood" is a satisfying police procedural with an extra twist or two but John Rebus fans will enjoy it most because of the opportunity it gives them to spend some time with their old friend. For such a loner, John Rebus is an easy guy to like.

Rated at: 4.0 show less

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Another excellent Rebus novel, let down a little bit by the end - the solution to one of the mysteries depends on someone simply by coincidence having been in the right place at the right time and then doing something rather unexpected conveniently for the plot, another mystery depends on the memory of one of the viewpoint characters and is revealed to us only at the very end though presumably the character in question has been aware of it all through the book. Also I now have spotted that whenever we start to hear in great detail about Siobhan's (Rebus's sidekick's) observations of her surroundings, something 'orrible is about to happen to her. But on the way there we have the usual brilliant show more interweaving of professional jealousies, moments of heroism, awful politicians (a recurrent Rebus/Rankin theme), music, and stories from various levels of society which intersect each other in unexpected ways. Pretty accessible to the newcomer as well, I would think. show less