BOOK REVIEW

Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin. Edgar Allan Poe Award

(Brought to you by kat impatientreader.com)  Resurrection Men is the 13^th novel in the Inspector Rebus series, and I'd recommend that you don't jump into the series here as I did.  Start at the beginning with Knots and Crosses (1987).

Both Ian Rankin and his Inspector Rebus series are venerated among mystery fans, which I couldn't see at first. Resurrection Men seemed a boring read with way too many complex storylines and no personality for the flinty Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke or the stoic Detective Inspector John Rebus.

However, I forced myself onwards.  Gradually, I got to know Rebus and Siobhan, and appreciate the terse, gritty writing.  Siobhan and Rebus don't come across that clearly, I think, because Rankin has already thoroughly explored them in the previous 12 books.

However, Rankin is aware of the extreme complexity of his plot.  He helpfully provides FIVE separate lists of characters! Readers, be warned.  You might want to take notes.

Chapter One opens as Rebus endures an interview from a career counselor at Tulliallan, the Scottish Police College. Tulliallan is a remote place halfway between Glasgow and Rebus's home turf of Edinburgh.

Bad cops (resurrection men) get sent to Tulliallan for one last chance to learn teamwork and resuscitate their careers. Rebus, whom many consider a bent cop, earned his ticket here by throwing a mug of tea at his commanding officer (also his ex-lover). 

In reality, he acted on orders to insinuate himself into the bad cops as a spy.  His superiors want information on the Wild Bunch, four detectives who may have committed grand theft and murder.  Rebus must invent a scam to ensnare these criminal cops while not destroying his own career or getting whacked as an informer.  

That right there is a great mystery plot.  But we get more – way more!

The Wild Bunch must learn teamwork at Tulliallan by unraveling a cold case involving Edinburgh's worst gangster.  So we have two major plots. Then Rebus's protégé Siobhan gets her own case back at the precinct:  a murdered art dealer with connections to Rebus's cold case!  If this weren't enough, Siobhan gets many viewpoint chapters herself. 

Well, readers, I struggled along, and the complexity kind of grew on me. Resurrection Men is available at Amazon through this link:

Resurrection Men: An Inspector Rebus Novel (Inspector Rebus Novels)

Noteworthy Links:   Wonderquest - Science Q/A! The Connection - Tech blog! Author site - John the Eunuch Historical Mystery series, Cozy Mystery List for all your cozy mystery needs, Obsidian Bookshelf - reviews of gay-themed fiction. Impatient Reader is not responsible for content found through offsite links.