Fleshmarket Close (Paperback)

The question, at this stage in Rankin's career, is not "can he write a bad book?" but, "can he even write a lacklustre one?" The answer, unequivocally, is no. At first, I was a little nervous about this new novel, which sees Rebus investigating the stabbing of a Kurdish immigrant in a grotty underpass on an Edinburgh housing scheme called Knoxland. Partly because the "asylum-seeker issue" is so incredibly well-worn in this country, taking up more pages of newspaper-columnage than any other, probably. I was a little worried that it'd feel a little recycled, a little tired, but I was wrong to be worried. I had misplaced my faith in Rankin! Honestly, when you routinely get one novel per year (well, roughly) that is always of such quality, it's very easy to forget how good some authors are.

The issues here do not feel tired at all. Instead, what Rankin does is use his novel as a kind of melting-pot for the discussion so far, as well as adding a few snappy ingredients of his own. It serves as a level-headed, cool examination of an issue that so often gets drowned and distorted in its own hysteria.

As Rankin himself has said, it's a book about what it means to be on the edge, to be an outsider. Here, it also succeeds unquestionably. We are practically barraged with images of outsiders, of people living just on the fringe or outside the lines. Rebus himself is an outsider here: St Leonard's CID is being disbanded, its officers sent to other stations. Rebus, along with Siobhan Clarke, is placed in the unfamiliar territory of Gayfield Square, and finds himself tagging along at the edge of an investigation in which he really has no place, though no one seems to care what he's doing anyway. That no one seems to give any care what he's up to helps to build the impression that the bosses want him out. And it's a message that they aren't delivering with much subtlety: at his new station, Rebus hasn't even got a desk, and has to make do with a table by the coffee machine. Most of the action takes place outside of Edinburgh, including the case which forms Siobhan's sub-plot: she's investigating the disappearance of Banehall resident Ishbel Jardine, whose dead sister's rapist (!) has just been released from jail. Siobhan, as has become the trend, actually takes up almost as much of the book as Rebus himself. No matter; either way you've got a fascinating protagonist.

This is also a book about the many ways that people are used by others, whether willingly or not, and the abuse of power. At times, it's an angry book, and this is tempered by an even greater maturity in the writing. It was difficult to imagine it improving any more, but it has. Rankin's prose has rhythm and flow, and has even more of a "you don't realise you're reading" quality than even before. The sentences really, really gel. Rebus, too, is continuing to mature over the past four novels: he's no less angry, no less lost, but there's a kind of resigned wisdom in him lately. He's possibly less impetuous, less volatile, but he is just as sure of his actions and the justice of them. He's just as hard as ever.

Fleshmarket Close is another outstanding book in a simply outstanding run of around 8 novels. In a world where the media can no longer be relied upon, in which news is not sold on its quality or verity but on how it's delivered to us, there's an increasing validity to the argument that art is the place where you must go to find the most piercing social comment, the most thoughtful and intelligent discussions of society and issues. This book is an excellent social novel, and it's also a very brave one: it's possible to get a little tired of books which present both sides of an argument and don't even attempt to consider answers, books which highlight issues but don't try to really bite into them. Books, essentially, which sit on the fence. Rankin doesn't do that here, he jumps off it. We're clearly left with an impression of what Rankin feels is correct and what is not (though, of course, not in every case; he doesn't pretend to have all the answers; or even most of them), and it's very refreshing to see a novel seems at times to be saying that things don't have to be shades of grey all the time. Overall, it may not in the end be Rankin's best, (though the first 200 pages possibly are), but Fleshmarket Close is, down to the exceptionally brilliant final lines of its epilogue, another very fine crime novel.

With the closure of the St Leonards CID, DI Rebus and DS Clarke find themselves assigned to neighbouring Gayfield Square. With his reputation following him wherever he goes, Rebus is more than aware that his floating status is supposed to annoy him enough that he will want to leave of his own accord. Now in his mid-fifties, Rebus is getting even closer to retiring but there's always one more case left in the man who knows Edinburgh like the back of his hand.

Siobhan is approached by the parents of a missing teenager who again want the assistance of the officer who helped them once before. The rapist who destroyed their other daughter is out and about, stirring up not so old hatreds and charging the community to speak up. Siobhan teams up with the local police when the ex-con is murdered, wondering as she does so whether she is investigating as assistance to a bewildered family or to determine their involvement with the murder.

Rebus is loaned out to an investigation of a murder in a dismal estate called Knoxland. Knoxland is well known for its racial problems and proximity to a immigration detention centre that brings out strong opinions in the small village that rely on its employment. The residents aren't talking and Rebus has seen enough of the like to know that the silence could be borne out of fear as much as it could be the habit of the angry poor to remain uninvolved.

The character of John Rebus would arguably have to be the best in British crime fiction. Author Ian Rankin serves up his hero warts and all, packaged into tales of the city that tackle the issues of the day from all perspectives. "Fleshmarket Close" is the fifteenth novel in this series, and while it concentrates less on the personal life of Rebus with several crime plots being played out simultaneously, it gives enough of an indication that future novels of the series might be markedly different from what we're used to seeing. The protégée, if you like, Siobhan Clarke gains strength with each appearance and this novel also raises the question as to exactly how the relationship between Rebus and Siobhan will continue.

There's a lot happening in this novel so a clear head is required to keep track of the merging plots and large array of characters. Rankin's flair with the details might have you back tracking repeatedly, but it's a small price to pay for your yearly dosage of Detective Inspector John Rebus.

Author Ian Rankin seems to be pushing some of the limits of this franchise - Rebus cannot go on forever. Rankin has apparently suggested that at one book each year, he could write FIVE MORE Rebus novels, by which time the fictitious detective will be 60 and due to retire. I'm not sure about this - I think Rankin would do better to put Rebus out to pasture now while he's at the top (just), and dedicate his time to new ideas and new heroes.

John Rebus finds himself ensconced in a murder mystery- a Kurdish immigrant is found murdered in a housing development called Knoxland. Rebus's original police station has closed, and he is trying to find a place for himself. His reputation precedes him; he is known as a troublemaker or trouble finder and not an easy person to deal with. He is also known as someone who is trustworthy and honest (well, to a degree). He must push himself into this investigation, and as always Rebus finds the truth and a little more. Rebus is a kinder, gentler man in this novel. He attempts to develop a relationship with an artist who is fighting to have an immigrant detention center closed. However, Rebus is the enemy so to speak, so this relationship is not an easy one. Rebus is also watching is drink, not really drinking less but watching it so he has developed a real social conscience- he doesn't drive while drinking.

In the meantime Siobhan Clarke, Detective Sergeant, a close friend of Rebus's has developed her own mystery. She is asked by parents to look for their daughter, Ishbel Jardine. She had been involved in their older daughter's rape and subsequent suicide. Now this daughter has gone missing, and the parents are worried.
She is drawn into the search and then to find the murderer of this first daughter's rapist.

Both of these mysteries have close ties, and Rebus and Siobhan work together. Is the murder of the immigrant a racist plot? The twists and turns lead to a mass immigrant con game with big money at the core. The disappearance if ht young girl leads to consequences not expected.

The relationship between John Rebus and Siohban Clarke has been innocent but friendly and now something more is hinted. These two understand each other and have a close working relationship, but could something closer work for the tow of them? I enjoyed this book more than any others. However that said, the history of Rebus and Siohban gives us insight into how their personalities have developed and changed. A wonderfully written and perceptive book. Recommend highly prisrob