The Falls [Hardcover]

Success has a price, and the remarkable acclaim (both critical and commercial) that greeted the gritty Edinburgh-set crime novels of Ian Rankin has set the author a considerable problem. How does he maintain the freshness of detail and atmosphere that have made his books such riveting reading? And how does he keep his tough detective DI John Rebus from degenerating into a series of mannerisms? If Raymond Chandler grew tired of Philip Marlowe and Conan Doyle of Holmes, Rankin would have been in good company if he gave up on Rebus. Fortunately, his belief in the character clearly remains as powerful as ever, and The Falls is the most impressive Rebus novel in many a moon. The detective's personal problems--overused of late--are wisely sidelined in order to concentrate on a highly intriguing (and topical) plot.

When a student vanishes in Edinburgh, there is pressure on Rebus to find her, particularly as she is the scion of a family of extremely rich bankers. Needless to say, this is more than just the case of a spoilt rich girl breaking out of the cage of family responsibilities, and a carved wooden doll in a coffin found in her home village leads Rebus to the Internet role-playing game that she was involved in. And when DC Siobhan Clarke, a key member of Rebus' team, tackles the Virtual Quizmaster, Rankin finds himself struggling to save her from the same fate as the missing girl.

Consummate plotting has always been Rankin's trademark, and that skill is put to maximum use here. The balance between developing the characterisation of the ill-assorted team of coppers that Rebus assembles and the labyrinthine twists of the plot is maintained with an iron hand, and Rankin's mordant eye remains as keen as ever:

"You okay, John?" Curt reached out a hand and touched his shoulder. Rebus shook his head slowly, eyes squeezed shut. Curt didn't make it out the first time, so Rebus had to repeat what he said next: "I don't believe in heaven." That was the horror of it. This life was the only one you got. No redemption afterwards, no chance of wiping the slate clean and starting over. Rebus said "There is no justice in the world." "You'd know more about that than I would", Curt replied.

--Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'The scene setting is vivid and the narration by a Scot, actor James Macpherson, essential to bringing the story to life.' (www.FromBumptoGrump.co.uk ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

'The scene setting is vivid and the narration by a Scot, actor James Macpherson, essential to bringing the story to life.' www.FromBumptoGrump.co.uk --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The 12th Inspector Rebus bestseller - a powerfully gripping novel where past and present collide... --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

A student has gone missing in Edinburgh - completely out of character. She's not just any student, though, but the daughter of extremely well-to-do and influential bankers. There's almost nothing to go on until Detective Inspector John Rebus gets an unmistakable gut feeling that there's more to this than just another runaway spaced out on unaccustomed freedom or worse. Two leads emerge: a carved wooden doll in a toy coffin, found in the student's home village, and an Internet role-playing game. The ancient and the modern, brought together by uncomfortable circumstance and a curmudgeonly detective happier with long playing records than digital technology ... In this powerful novel, Rankin, who 'moves dialogue with the precision of a chess-master', (Irish Times) brings together past, present and future in a terrifying duel of good - in the persons of DI Rebus and DC Siobhan Clarke - and evil. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Ian Rankin lives with his wife and two sons in Edinburgh having returned from a six-year sojourn in France. James Macpherson, though also a stage actor with varied roles to his credit, is best known for his thirteen years as DC (now DI) Jardine in Taggart. He won the BBC Radio Carleton Hobbs Award and continues to work on radio and presents a regular books programme for Radio Scotland. He was born in Hamilton and lives in Glasgow. James Macpherson has played DCI Jardine in Taggart for sixteen years, and has acted on stage in plays as diverse as The Taming of the Shrew and works by Hamish Wilson. He has presented a regular books programme for Radio Scotland - for which he has interviewed Ian Rankin. He won a Gold Award for his reading of Strip Jack at the Spoken Word Awards 2004. He lives in Glasgow. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.