Fine, as it goes, but it didn't hold my attention as well as these often do. Good enough, though. ( )

I have loved the John Rebus series for a long time. I've faithfully read every book in this series as soon as they came out, but I was a year or so late to get to this one. The main reason for that is because I've been putting off reaching the end. As Rebus has been retired for a number of years by the time this book came out , and as his health has been deteriorating, he doesn't get around as much as he used to. It was interesting to see him mix it up a bit in this, and, as always, he's way ahead of the pack when he is on the hunt. I did not like the way this book ended because it certainly leaves everything up in the air, but we see a new Rebus. One who is reflective, and ready to atone for what he feels were the many sins that he committed when he was in the force. He knows a reckoning is coming, and typically Rebus, he wants to meet it head on and on his own terms. I particularly love the poem that this book title was based on:
"I was a single father
But I just can't complain
Got a heart full of headstones
As I step down from the train."--Jackie Leven
I see there is another book coming out soon which should give some closure to the way that this book ended. You can bet I'll be reading that one. ( )

This is prime Rankin, well at least until the end.

Framed as Rebus facing atonement for the sins of his past, it quickly diverts to a murder mystery. in this case, where the primary investigator is former protege Sioban Clark.

Rebus comes in and out of the tale, but most of the story is devoted to Clark and a corrupt station house.

The writing is crisp, and the story entertaining until the end.

The end comes abruptly, and I'm still not sure what happened. Even after reading the last page several times.

Still, Rankin is a master, and this one brings more pleasure than disappointment. ( )

Ian Rankin came to Winnipeg on his book tour for this book. I doubt Winnipeg is a major market for his books but he's been here several times and I like to support authors who include us on their tours. So I bought the hardcover and went to the author event and then got him to sign it. So, this book will be staying in my personal collection.

John Rebus is getting old and so is his arch nemesis, Morris Gerald Cafferty. Rebus is maybe doing a little better than Cafferty because he can at least walk his dog whereas Cafferty is confined to a wheelchair. Despite being on opposite sides when Rebus was with the police and Cafferty headed up the largest crime syndicate in Edinburgh, the two keep in touch. So, when Rebus gets a text from Cafferty it's not an unusual occurrence. Cafferty wants to hire Rebus to look into whether a former colleague who disappeared some years ago is alive and back in town. It was always assumed that Cafferty had Jack Oram "disappeared" because he cheated Cafferty on some jobs. Cafferty swears that he didnt and that Oram took off before he could do anything. Cafferty tells Rebus that he wants to apologize to Oram because although Oram did skim money from him he did it because his brother had died of cancer and he wanted to help out the family. Rebus isn't convinced of Cafferty's benevolence but he undertakes to look for him and pass on a message. Rebus' former colleague, DI Siobhan Clarke, Is part of a major inquiry into the murder of another cop who was threatening to spill the beans about all the corruption at one police station. This cop initmated that John Rebus was on the take even though he was never part of this station. Hanging over the development of the plot is the knowledge that Rebus ends up in court for some crime. As hard as it is for fans of the curmudgeonly detective to believe, could it be that DI Rebus was actually a bad cop? It's only when the reader gets to the end of the book that the nature of the alleged crime is revealed and we are kept on tenterhooks about what happens to him.

And we'll have to keep waiting for a bit more because Rankin took a sabbatical year in 2023. It sounds like he had fun (see his website) and I can't begrudge him some time off but he's promised a new book for the fall of 2024 and I'll be looking for it. ( )

I having been saying for years the end of the Rebus series is near. I liked this book a lot but it is clear there is probably only one more book left. I look forward to seeing the bang! ( )