Exit Music

July 7, 2008
Insp. John Rebus has just 10 days to solve the apparently motiveless murder of Alexander Todorov, an expatriate Russian poet, before he reaches 60 and mandatory retirement in Edgar-winner Rankin's rewarding 17th novel to feature the Edinburgh detective (after The Naming of the Dead
). When the dogged Rebus and Det. Sgt. Siobhan Clarke look into the crime, they find an array of baffling conspiracies involving Russian businessmen, Scottish bankers and local politicians pushing for an independent Scotland. A second murder, of a man who'd taped one of Todorov's poetry readings, ensures the case gets extra resources, and Rebus's own interest is whetted by the possible involvement of Edinburgh crime boss “Big Ger” Cafferty. Clever, insightful prose more than compensates for the byzantine plot. There's an appropriately wistful tone to this final entry in the series. Fans will miss Rebus and wonder what on earth he'll do in retirement.

Starred review from October 27, 2008
James MacPherson’s home-grown Scottish burr is put to excellent use narrating Rankin’s 17th and possibly best crime novel featuring Det. Insp. John Rebus of the Edinburgh police. At 60, it’s retirement time for Rebus and, as expected, Rankin’s rebellious series hero isn’t going quietly. Not with the murder of a dissident Russian poet to solve and a career-long battle with local crime lord Big Ger Cafferty to close down. MacPherson easily conveys Rebus’s gruff impatience, Cafferty’s deeper, nastier menace and Det. Siobhan Clarke’s brittle coolness. He even manages to lose the burr long enough to get past several Russian-thick accents. Though Rebus’s mention of perusing his unsolved cases in retirement offers some hope of future sleuthing, this reads like a farewell novel. Along with its expected well-crafted procedural elements, Rankin has included several moments of wistfulness and regret, and MacPherson makes the most of every one of them. A Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, July 7).

Narrator Tom Cotcher does wonders with Ian Rankin's newest mystery about Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus. In this installment, a visiting Russian poet is beaten to death on Rebus's patch two weeks before our inspector is due to retire. Rebus's assistant, DS Siobhan Clark, is in charge of the investigation. Then we learn that the last person to have seen the poet is Rebus's long-standing nemesis. Cotcher has it all--spot-on Scottish accents and believable, distinct voices that help us understand the characters. His delivery of straight narrative is also excellent, keeping the plots and subplots moving at just the right pace. If this turns out to be the last Rebus novel, he certainly goes out in style. R.E.K. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine


Detective Inspector John Rebus has 10 days until retirement when Russian poet Alexander Todorov is discovered beaten to death after a public reading. Rebus and his partner, Detective Siobhan Clarke, investigate. James Macpherson's Scots accents are varied and mellifluous. Rebus's burr is thick while Clark's accent is lighter and more crisp. Macpherson rolls his "r"s and flattens his vowels as the speakers shift from polished, barely accented Edinburgh politicians and bankers to gruff Russian diplomats. Sharp-tongued Rebus and strong-willed Clarke snap at each other while hunting down clues that unravel the poet's life. At the same time, they keep running into thick-accented underworld criminals bent on destroying Rebus's reputation before he retires. Macpherson's own mild Scots accent provides a soothing interlude from the thick brogues that require attentive listening. M.K. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Starred review from August 15, 2008
All good things must come to an end, and Rankin's Inspector Rebus series does so in the aptly titled "Exit Music". Rankin began planning this swan song when one of his police consultants pointed out that in 2007 Rebus would be set to retire at the mandatory age of 60. For fans of John Rebus, it's a tough book, because every page turned means getting closer to having to say goodbye to an old friend. The story itself is a complicated yarn involving a poet, a diplomat, an audio engineer, financiers, and politicians. But the plot definitely takes a back seat to the character studiesof Rebus, Siobhan Clarke, and many other notable names from the series. The case and the book are both a fitting end to the storied career of one of Edinburgh's finest; plots and characters are tied up nicely, but not with too neat a bow. Strongly recommended for all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 6/15/08.]Amy Watts, Univ. of Georgia Lib., Athens

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2008
Twilight is the operative word for UK crime fiction this fall. First, John Harvey brings back the great Charlie Resnick (Cold in Hand), only to leave the Nottingham inspector slouching toward retirement with a new tragedy to bear. And now Ian Rankin hands a gold watch to the ever-curmudgeonly John Rebus. With only a few days until hes officially retired, Rebus isnt going gently into any good nights, though hes not above feeling a bit maudlin: Ciggies, booze, and a little night music. What else did he have? Fortunately, he has one last meaty casethe murder of a dissident Russian poet, passing through Edinburgh on a speaking tour. Theres much more to it than that, of course, and soon enough Rebus smells a wholesale cover-up involving a group of Russian businessmen being courted by the citys power elite. Also in the mix is Rebus longtime nemesis (and ironic alter ego), crime boss Big Ger Caverty, who faces his own kind of twilight. Rankin hits every note on the nose here, from the mixed emotions of Rebus longtime partner Siobhan Clarke, eager for promotion yet reluctant to see her mentor edging toward mortality, to Rebus bullheaded insistence on going out the way he came in, mistrusting teamwork in all its guises, or, as Siobhan describes his career, decades of bets hedged, lines crossed, and rules broken. The joy of a Rebus novel has always been reveling in those broken rules and crossed lines. What is the appeal of character-driven crime fiction, you ask? Watching Rebus do his job and stick it to every company man (or woman) who gets in his way.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)