Let it bleed

despite the order being placed so near to Christmas and the projected delivery date being in the new year, I received this item in plenty of time to gift wrap it for Christmas. Very good service indeed!

Scottish author Rankin's eighth Inspector John Rebus novel begins on "A winter night, screaming out of Edinburgh." A car chase in pursuit of two young maybe-kidnappers, ends in violence and suicide, launching this dark, atmospheric tale of conspiracy and greed. The Edinburgh winter is nearly as vivid a character as the intense, brooding Rebus. Alone again and incapable of expressing his emotions, Rebus lives for his job and sleeps in his chair - after more than a few pints and shots.Still haunted by the surreal death of the would-be kidnappers, Rebus is confronted with another spectacular suicide, this one for the edification of an ambitious councilman. Doggedly pursuing tenuous connections, Rebus begins to unravel an elaborate scheme with roots in the prisons and slums and the highest offices in Scotland. And more people die.With a complex and absorbing plot, shot through with blasts of icy Edinburgh wind and Rebus' bleak determination, this is another powerful and absorbing winner from a strong, talented writer.

Poor Rebus. When I read about his life, my heart goes out to him. Even when his life is full of problems of his own making. Rebus dislikes obeying authority, and chooses to obey his own moral compass, and that compass is not always pointed in the right direction. In this dark view of Scotland, Rebus happens to be on hand when chasing two young men who have absconded with a car, and maybe a daughter of a prominent politician. Cornering these two kids on a bridge, Rebus is horrified to see them fall backwards off the bridge, on purpose. That horrible sight is enough to send Rebus searching for answers to a whole bundle of questions...all of which end up pointing to a corrupt city government. Those in charge of this whole fiasco are astute enough to appeal to Rebus' own sense of concern for his city and his land...if he blows the scandal wide-open, many jobs will be lost. Rebus is mortal enough to not want to hurt families by forfeiting possible jobs...and the corrupt men who are raking in a fortune through financial shennanigans know this.In the end, Rebus finds a way to solve the problem. I am not sure he is happy with the solution, but then Rebus is rarely happy. Too bad he cannot seem to work as hard at his own relationships and his excessive drinking, as he does at his work. Scotland must be the sister city of Pittsburgh, USA. We have the same overcast skies, and a bar on every other corner, and a church on the rest of them. Loads of bridges too!Karen Sadler

Ian Rankin is amongst the best crime novelists writing today. His books are always tense, tenacious, and thrilling. At the heart of them is Rebus, a cop with bad habits and a fair dose of caustic, Scottish wit - as human and blemished as they come. Rebus knows that murder is usually motivated by passion or greed, but when the bodies begin to pile up - four of them - Rebus realizes that there's nothing simple about his latest case. In his trail for the culprit, he stumbles across a conspiracy that runs all the way to the top of the Scottish political ladder. If you've not yet picked up a John Rebus mystery from Ian Rankin, you should do so now. Rankin is the thinking man's crime writer. He mixes social comment with deep characterization and stirs it all into great plots and sub plots. Let it bleed is one of his outstanding examples and there's a hole in your reading if you miss it.

All of the Inspector Rebus novels share a gritty sensibility, a dry Scottish wit, and well drawn characters. Sometimes the plots don't live up to the rest of the package. But not this novel: Ian Rankin has put together a wonderfully dark and intricate mystery that remains plausible and compelling to the end. Don't miss it!