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Loading... A Question of Blood (2003)by Ian Rankin
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Rebus is always a good read. This one shows a bit of his family that we haven‘t seen before, and he reckons a bit with the impact of the army on soldiers‘ lives. This one does show its age in the technology (laptops plugged into the phone line to get internet) but the investigation techniques are timeless. 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 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. A former special ops soldier has walked into a school, shot and killed 2 students, and wounded a third student before turning the gun on himself. The question for Inspector Rebus is why--were the students targeted or were they random victims? Was there a motive, or did the soldier just have a psychological breakdown? And Rebus must work the case all the while being under suspicion of murder himself. I'm not a completist when it comes to Inspector Rebus, though I've read several in no particular order. I enjoyed this one--it's well-plotted, and I liked Rebus's sidekick Siobhan, who I'm not sure is a new character or a regular. Recommended. 3 stars
But of all Rankin's assets, it's his dialogue that impresses most. It kicks the story forward, not unlike the rhythm section of Rebus' beloved Stones. The speakers feel like sentient beings -- they shade, allude and obfuscate, and they are conscious that the person they're talking to is doing the same. The primary challenge of any long detective series is to turn new aspects of the character towards the light with each novel. A Question of Blood achieves this because Rebus, never previously very likable, begins the book under suspicion of being a murderer himself. A crook who had been threatening Rebus's colleague DS Siobhan Clarke has died in a fire. The detective inspector, seen with the victim earlier in the evening, is admitted to hospital with scalded hands.
Fiction.
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
HTML:When a former soldier and recluse murders two 17-year-old students at a posh Edinburgh boarding school, Inspector John Rebus immediately suspects there is more to the case than meets the eye.. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. Hachette Book Group2 editions of this book were published by Hachette Book Group. Editions: 0316159182, 0316099244 |
Investigation into the ex-army suspect for the school shooting reveals apparent criminal involvement, and a couple of army investigators are also around to menace Rebus who eventually works out their hidden agenda. Meanwhile, Siobhan is attracted to an ex RAF friend of the shooter's with unexpected consequencies.
On the plus side I enjoyed the much greater role played by Siobhan in this and the humorous interaction between her and Rebus. However, I didn't find the guest star villains - Rankin tells the story in his foreword of how they were created after a charity raffle to auction off the right to appear in the book - at all convincing. I found their parts of the story rather dragged out and thought the book could still have worked without them and with a little rewriting to cover the essentials of their role. I also wasn't convinced by the climax