Rankin has produced some exceptional books in the series and there hasn't been one that I've failed to enjoy.

The clues are all there, neatly woven in and the answer simple and obvious once you know where to look.Īm I sad to see Rebus retire? Yes and no. Rankin's way with dialogue is legendary and apart from the slightly weak Cafferty assault storyline the plotting is as good as ever. There's no denying though that this is a damned good story. In fairness I had someone completely different in the frame for the murder of the poet! Even past his best he's still good though, and there are flashes of the old genius, but there was one story line which I had worked out long before the denouement and that I thought was a little disappointing.

His irascibility and unpredictability began to seem a little out of place and rather than looking on him as a flawed genius he seemed more like a sad man past his best. I'd always thought that Rebus' retirement would be dreadful, but in the end his departure seems appropriate. With a masterly stroke Rankin has achieved the near impossible. There's even a Russian billionaire who seems able to buy whatever - and whoever - he wants. It's insightful, sharp and unfortunately all too believable when you consider that the city might well be up for sale to the highest bidder. In this, the final Rebus story, Rankin looks at the relationship between money and power in Scottish politics. The Naming of the Dead covered the period of the G8 summit at Gleneagles in July 2005. In Fleshmarket Close it was the plight of illegal immigrants. Recent Rebus novels have featured a current political hot potato. To end a bad week, local gangster, 'Big Ger' Cafferty is brutally assaulted and Rebus is the prime suspect. A Russian delegation is in Edinburgh and local politicians and bankers are keen that the case should be wrapped up quickly and without too much intrusion into their affairs, but Rebus and Clarke think otherwise, especially when there's a second killing.

With only days to go he and DS Siobhan Clarke are trying to clear some of his old unsettled cases when a dissident Russian poet is murdered in what looks very much like a mugging which went too far. In autumn 2006 DI John Rebus is due to retire, much to the relief of his superiors. Summary: The final Rebus novel sees the retiring detective hunting the killer of a Russian dissident poet and in the frame himself for the assault on a local gangster.

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