Having read several Ian Rankin novels prior to Dead Souls, this novel reaches new heights of readability.
Previous novels have seen the development of the John Rebus character and provided enough details to keep the reader uncertain of which side of the line Rebus will step to next.
Having developed the chararcter in some very dark novels such as 'Tooth and Nail' it would appear that Dead Souls concentrates more on the story and the surroundings. With the novel set in Edinburgh this is an excellent feature.
Dead Souls follows several storylines which are connected to Rebus, as you would expect in everyday life - a similar style of writing to the 'Frost' books by R D Wingfield.
This book for me was particularly enjoyable, I found it lighter(not in content but in mood) than the previous novels such as 'Black and Blue' and 'The Hanging Garden'. I also found that this was the first Ian Rankin novel that I could read and read, you feel as if you are in Edinburgh yourself at some points and could almost be one of the chararcters.
The other excellent feature with not only Dead Souls but all of the Rebus novels are the cross references to previous situations and stories that have been featured in other books, the balance is perfect, enough to trigger memories of previous books for those that have read them, however not too many to deter those that have not read any Rebus novels before.
Overall the characters, storyline and surroundings of this novel are excellent and provide thought-provoking read.
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