This is the fifth book in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series, another cracking crime novel.
It was written while he travelled the US on a grant from the Chandler-Fulbright Fellowship, and includes a fictional Elvis themed restaurant, and more actual locations in Edinburgh such as the mortuary, the street where Rebus lives and the police station. Like Strip Jack, it is very Scottish and the use of slang, wordplay and customs of the area that I have no idea what they mean is very welcome.
The Black Book is quite dense with plot, actually a little too much going on for my liking. It's intricate, with several stories intertwining until the end where he admirably wraps it up.
There is the wealthy gangster the police can't collar, a pedophile moving into a flat across from the school, a gay couple running an Elvis-themed restaurant paying protection money to the mob, a man who gets stabbed but won't report it - and his brother the local butcher, a sting operation on a local cab company, bodies being dumped into the sea, Rebus' brother being kidnapped, various low lifes who will do whatever for cash - including selling Rebus a requested gun, and then reporting the offence to have him kicked off the force.
The main story revolves around a fire in a seedy hotel five years ago, a crooked poker game and the charred body that was found in the rubble. Rebus is sure there are current connections and investigates despite being warned off by his superior Watson.
Rebus' girlfriend has kicked him out of the house, so he shacks up with his brother (just out of prison) and four students. Brian Holmes, the detective inspector, has also been thrown out of his house, and ends up attacked and in the hospital. A new sidekick in the force is Siobhan Clarke, who closely works with Holmes and Rebus and adds another dimension to the team.
I didn't find this as fun to read as the others. Altogether there are over thirty-one characters to keep track of, and it wasn't always easy. Each time it picked it up, I had to remind myself what was happening. To Rankin's credit he manages to keep the plots going, tie them all together and pull it off in the end.
If you are looking for an interesting, solid plot, this crime novel has it all, and then some.
1993 / Paperback / 340 pages
Comments