Number Seventeen in the Rebus Series
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Ian Rankin was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960. His list of books is now into the thirties and this book is number seventeen in his enormously popular Rebus series. He lives with his wife and two sons in Edinburgh.
I have not read very many of Ian Rankin's novels, Inspector Rebus or otherwise. What I can say is that the two or three of his most recent novels that I have read have been extremely enjoyable. Exit Music set in Edinburgh is like a breath of fresh air after being fed a diet of American thrillers set in the smog filled streets of New York or San Francisco.
The book opens with DI Rebus winding down and attempting to tie up any loose ends before his impending retirement, but then a murder takes place and retirement for Rebus seems just that little bit further away. The murder appears at first sight be a mugging gone wrong and involves the death of a Russian poet. The death coincides with the visit of a delegation of Russian businessmen. The politicians who run Edinburgh want the case cleaned up as quickly and quietly as possible.
Rebus is not about to take his finger off the pulse just yet and the more he digs, the more convinced he becomes that this is not a random attack and this seems to be confirmed when a second killing takes place. This case is turning ugly and complicated. Why did it have to happen a few days before his retirement. That is the question Rebus keeps asking himself . . . ?
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One of Rankin's finest
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James MacPherson is the Frank Sinatra auf audio books! His readings are always superb but this time it is his best yet. He gives an authentic voice to each character and understands the dynamics of the book perfectly. The five CD format is a good abridgement of the book. The story in itself is interesting and well told- better than the last instalment of the Rebus series. Rebus had mellowed in the last books and now he really is back as a complex character and not an entirely likeable one. His old problems with authority are back with a vengeance. Exit Music tells the story of Rebus' last case and his last ten days before retirement.Rankin said in interviews that he was still undecided as to whether Rebus will return or not. The ending of Exit Music is very good as it shows as a very dark side of Rebus' psyche and the true nature of his relationship with Cafferty. From my point of view this is one of Rankin's best.
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