Dead Souls: An Inspector Rebus Novel (Inspector Rebus Novels) - Softcover

Rankin, Ian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312974205 ISBN 13: 9780312974206

Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2000

Synopsis

Weary, wary, hard-drinking Detective John Rebus returns in author Ian Rankin's internationally acclaimed, award-winning series. As complex and unpredictable as the brooding mists that envelop his Edinburgh beat, Rebus is ever resourceful and determined-but this time, vulnerable and challenged as never before, with complications in his personal life, and events that shake him to the depths of his being... A colleague's suicide. Pedophiles. A missing child. A serial killer. You never know your luck, muses Rebus. Driven by instinct and experience, he searches for connections, against official skepticism. But at night, unsoothed by whiskey, Rebus faces his ghosts-and the prospect of his daughter's possibly permanent paralysis. Soldiering through dank, desperate slums and the tony flats of the Scottish chic, Rebus uncovers a chain of crime, deceit, and hidden sins-knowing it's himself he's really trying to save. . .

About this title

Review

When an author as successful as Rankin has been with his tough and idiomatic Scottish thrillers, a problem sets in after several books: how to keep the formula fresh.

Rankin has delivered a powerful series of books featuring his beleaguered Detective Inspector John Rebus, and while never less than gripping, a certain tiredness seemed to be setting in. Thankfully, Dead Souls is a resounding return to form, with a plot as enjoyably labyrinthine as any Rankin enthusiast could wish for, and pithy dialogue that fairly leaps off the page. Stalking the streets of Edinburgh on the trail of a poisoner, Rebus hits upon a freed pedophile and his subsequent outing of the man leaves him with very mixed feelings. But another problem develops for Rebus: a convicted murderer has him in his sights for some lethal games. And the tabloid press lionizing of Rebus won't help him in this situation.

As always, Rankin is perfectly ready to tackle contentious issues--precisely the thing that gives his books their powerful sense of veracity. And Rebus, no longer in danger of having a soap opera-like accumulation of personal problems, seems as fresh and well-observed a character as in those first exhilarating books. Rankin has caught his form again, with even more assurance. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk

From the Publisher

9 1.5-hour cassettes

About this edition

• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0312974205
• ISBN 13: 9780312974206
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 448