The 22nd Rebus novel!
John Rebus has long retired and has COPD. Ex-sidekick Siobhan Clarke, now a DI, is assigned to investigate the murder of a man whose body has turned up after going missing years ago; the missing person case was investigated by a team that included John Rebus. The baddies include Steele and Edwards, who were also on the original team but are now investigating bent coppers; but are they themselves bent? In fact, who isn't bending the rules? Every officer appears to be compromised in some way, including our heroes.
My biggest criticism of this book was the way in which the final solution was sprung on the reader (though there are some clues). The investigation is bogged down, making pitifully slow progress, the story itself kept going by the inclusion of a sub-plot. Then the soil analysis finally arrives and, following some extraordinarily serendipitous policing involving a chase, the solution arrives. I struggled to find any motive for the accessory. And the criminal? His behaviour during the investigation seemed to me to be totally out of character with his behaviour when the original crime was committed. This stuck-until-you-get-lucky structure may be reflective of real policing but there are certain expectations of a whodunnit which I feel were unfulfilled.
But this is only tangentially a murder mystery. It's really the chronicle of a fascinating group of characters, all of whom have skeletons in their cupboards, and a commentary on corruption and decay in public life.
Selected quotes:
- "Make sure both violence and at least partial nudity appear within the first ten minutes. Fear and desire ... are what drive us." (Ch 11)
- "'What type does Tess go for usually?' 'Sentient'" (Ch 21)
- "George's wallet probably needs WD-40, it opens so seldom." (Ch 21)
- "These days by the time a whisper reached the internet it had become an ill-intentioned and half-formed yelp, a yelp capable of spreading like the more virulent flu bug." (Ch 26)
- "Copy the action of the person opposite and they might begin to sense similarities rather than differences." (Ch 29)
- "Carlton was shaking his head, sniffing and angling his head so no tears would escape." (Ch 50)
This was an enjoyable read but I felt it was unfair to those of us who try to solve the puzzle.
Other Inspector Rebus books reviewed in this blog include:
- A Question of Blood
- The Naming of the Dead
- Strip Jack
- Tooth and Nail: Rebus in London: poor stuff
- Standing in Another Man's Grave
- In a House of Lies
November 2021; 428 pages
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