The Falls by Ian Rankin
Oct. 18th, 2008 02:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
A student has gone missing in Edinburgh and there's very little for Detective Inspector John Rebus to go on apart from his gut feeling that there's more to this case than a runaway high on unaccustomed freedom.
Two leads emerge: a carved wooden doll in a tiny coffin and an Internet role-playing game. Rebus concentrates on the coffin, eerily reminiscent of sixteen similar relics found on a hillside in 1836, leaving DC Siobhan Clarke to deal with the cyberspace Quizmaster. She's young enough to navigate the net, but she may not have the experience to spot the pitfalls in a game where lives depend on split-second timing. With Rebus buried two hundred years in the past, DC Clarke is going to need more than just luck to save both their skins - professional and personal ...
Revolving around the disappearance of a university student, Rankin's tightly structured plot encompasses a genuine historical mystery (doll's coffins left on Arthur's Seat) and internet role-playing. From the start, Rebus doesn't believe that Philippa Balfour will be found alive, but Rankin stretches out the tension and his attention to procedural detail is masterly. There are the usual red herrings, cleverly concealed details that you don't appreciate until the end when the story strands are tied up and also a romance element between Clarke and Grant and Rebus and Jean Burchill, a museum curator and friend of Gill Templer.
What I particularly enjoyed though was the way in which Rankin keeps a sense of realism to his depiction of the police force, in particular the retirement of DCS 'Farmer' Watson and promotion of Gill Templer, who is keen to impose her own regime on Rebus and St Leonard's. The history between Templer and Rebus makes for some fascinating scenes, underscored by Templer's concern about his drinking, but Rankin is clever in expanding on this to show Templer's relationship with her female staff, particularly Ellen Gates, who she humiliates for her ambition, and her attempts to sponsor Clarke through the ranks. Templer is an interesting character in her own right, and I look forward to seeing how Rankin handles her in the subsequent books. Interestingly, Watson's retirement also forces Rebus to focus on his own future, aware that he rapidly approaching the mandatory retirement age, which gives him even more depth.
Although Rebus and Clarke are kept separate through this case, Rankin balances their individual strands perfectly, drawing out their own particular skills - Rebus's intuition and Clarke's dedication. They're similar in that they each want to do things their own way, but Clarke is more politically savvy than Rebus and seems to care more about the consequences of their operations. Rebus is partnered with the unfortunate Ellen Gates for most of his strand and it's interesting to see how he behaves with a new colleague and how she reacts to what Templer did to her.
I did manage to guess one of the outcomes to the book, but the other surprised me, which is always the mark of a novelist on top of his game. If I had a gripe, it was with the depiction of journalist Steve Holly, who seems to fall into the classic cliche of uncaring reporter who'd screw over anyone to get a story. While this didn't spoil the story, I hope that Rankin won't bring him back in subsequent works as I don't see he adds anything other than a desire to see him get what he deserves.
All in all though, it's a well-crafted, satisfying read from one of Britain's top crime writers.
The Verdict:
A must for Rebus fans and anyone who likes well-structured crime fiction populated by well drawn characters.
A student has gone missing in Edinburgh and there's very little for Detective Inspector John Rebus to go on apart from his gut feeling that there's more to this case than a runaway high on unaccustomed freedom.
Two leads emerge: a carved wooden doll in a tiny coffin and an Internet role-playing game. Rebus concentrates on the coffin, eerily reminiscent of sixteen similar relics found on a hillside in 1836, leaving DC Siobhan Clarke to deal with the cyberspace Quizmaster. She's young enough to navigate the net, but she may not have the experience to spot the pitfalls in a game where lives depend on split-second timing. With Rebus buried two hundred years in the past, DC Clarke is going to need more than just luck to save both their skins - professional and personal ...
Revolving around the disappearance of a university student, Rankin's tightly structured plot encompasses a genuine historical mystery (doll's coffins left on Arthur's Seat) and internet role-playing. From the start, Rebus doesn't believe that Philippa Balfour will be found alive, but Rankin stretches out the tension and his attention to procedural detail is masterly. There are the usual red herrings, cleverly concealed details that you don't appreciate until the end when the story strands are tied up and also a romance element between Clarke and Grant and Rebus and Jean Burchill, a museum curator and friend of Gill Templer.
What I particularly enjoyed though was the way in which Rankin keeps a sense of realism to his depiction of the police force, in particular the retirement of DCS 'Farmer' Watson and promotion of Gill Templer, who is keen to impose her own regime on Rebus and St Leonard's. The history between Templer and Rebus makes for some fascinating scenes, underscored by Templer's concern about his drinking, but Rankin is clever in expanding on this to show Templer's relationship with her female staff, particularly Ellen Gates, who she humiliates for her ambition, and her attempts to sponsor Clarke through the ranks. Templer is an interesting character in her own right, and I look forward to seeing how Rankin handles her in the subsequent books. Interestingly, Watson's retirement also forces Rebus to focus on his own future, aware that he rapidly approaching the mandatory retirement age, which gives him even more depth.
Although Rebus and Clarke are kept separate through this case, Rankin balances their individual strands perfectly, drawing out their own particular skills - Rebus's intuition and Clarke's dedication. They're similar in that they each want to do things their own way, but Clarke is more politically savvy than Rebus and seems to care more about the consequences of their operations. Rebus is partnered with the unfortunate Ellen Gates for most of his strand and it's interesting to see how he behaves with a new colleague and how she reacts to what Templer did to her.
I did manage to guess one of the outcomes to the book, but the other surprised me, which is always the mark of a novelist on top of his game. If I had a gripe, it was with the depiction of journalist Steve Holly, who seems to fall into the classic cliche of uncaring reporter who'd screw over anyone to get a story. While this didn't spoil the story, I hope that Rankin won't bring him back in subsequent works as I don't see he adds anything other than a desire to see him get what he deserves.
All in all though, it's a well-crafted, satisfying read from one of Britain's top crime writers.
The Verdict:
A must for Rebus fans and anyone who likes well-structured crime fiction populated by well drawn characters.
