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RATING: |
Date of Release: September 2003 |
Publisher: Allen & Unwin |
Review Source: |
As always in Rankin's novels, Rebus's bad attitude to his superiors comes back to bite him - even though doctors testify that damage to his hands is a scalding from trying drunkenly to get into an over-hot bath, it is regarded as circumstantial evidence of his possible guilt.
The high-school shooting looks at first sight like another ex-SAS crazy going wild - and here Rebus's own past as an SAS washout comes to haunt him - and the constant meddling of army investigators screams cover-up. In fact, though, this is one of those occasions on which Rebus' slightly paranoid preparedness to see connections everywhere pays off and he manages to solve both crimes and a lot of other unsuspected pieces of mayhem as well.
Along the way, the book offers Rankin's usual intense commentary on embattled masculinity and what it means to be a Scot, and this excellent sequence's usual portrayal of an Edinburgh where modernity rubs up against time-worn slums and ancient privilege.
Excellent
