****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Before Rebus, Ian Rankin wrote books that weren't bad, they just weren't good. With Rebus, he found his voice. The first Rebus books were not great - I'm not a fan of serial killers, and think they are just lazy writing (a writer can fiddle out of coming up with a good plot with a serial killer) - but Rebus always has been that special character who takes on a life of his own. I read without putting them down - a new Rebus meant I was checked out of all activities until I closed it at the end. I became a Rebus/Rankin fan, and would buy his books as soon as they came out in the UK - a pretty spendy tribute. When Rebus retired, I still believed in Rankin, and bought the first post-Rankin book as before - full price, hard cover, postage to the U.S. And was I sorry. The man had lost his focus and it showed (and how any respectable reviewer could give that truly unworthy book a good review stuns me.) With Fox and the Complaints, he began to try and build a new character, although it was heavy going. I read them - after waiting for them to show up at the library - no more new hardcovers from U.K. - and decided I would be willing to read more, but from now on I would wait for the local library to get them in. Then I saw that Rebus was coming back, happy, happy. Still a little suspicious, I bought it new, hardcover, but waited for the U.S. edition. Having read it, I can say that Rankin's voice is, albeit a little rusty, coming back to him. Rebus continues to be a great character and Rankin is the man to channel him. I'm still not a big fan of serial killers, and I usually prefer only one false ending and one real ending over endless endings that aren't endings - that's a small quibble though. Rebus shines through. And Siobhan, incidentally, has developed over the years into an interesting and complex character also. I'm glad that Rankin didn't just try going on with her alone, it would have been a glass 3/4 empty. Together they work. Thank you, Ian Rankin, with all my heart for giving me a good read. I've missed you and I'm happy to see you again.
