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Ian Rankin made it clear from the start that Inspector John Rebus's days were numbered. There was to be none of the Ruth Rendalls here, where Wexford never aged a day across the series. Twenty years ago, Rebus was nearly 40. So yep, he's due for retirement in 2007. And as you might guess the old dog is never going to go quietly. So his investigation into the death of a Russian poet on the streets of Edinburgh, and a sub-plot where it looks like Rebus might be framed, rattle the cages of those above. Rankin's books have never been 'just' crime fiction. The advantage of writing them in real time means he can refer to stories in the headlines – last time out it was G8 summit. This time it's whether Scotland is up for sale, so to speak, as the wealthy Russians move in, and the Scottish Parliament knows that thorny issue of devolution from the rest of the United Kingdom is always there like the elephant in the corner of the room. So the backdrop to EXIT MUSIC is made up of the expensive new Parliament building, Scottish Nationalist politicians scenting power, the Alexander Litvinenko story (the Russian killed by radiation poisoning on the streets of London) and Russian billionaires buying up Britain. EXIT MUSIC is a highly appropriate title for what is in effect an elegy to an unconventional career. As always Rebus's impeccable music taste makes a fitting soundtrack to the city of Edinburgh and to Rankin's portrayal of a man who has no idea where retirement will take him, and isn't looking forward to finding out. There's also, too, the symmetry of the opening line: "The girl cried out once, only the once . . ." If you've got a good memory you may well reckon it sounds familiar – in fact, it's the same as the start of KNOTS AND CROSSES, our first sighting of Rebus (and now available in a collectors' edition, complete with previously unpublished material). The action takes place in the course of 12 days. Rankin uses his tableau of Edinburgh to perfection, as Rebus criss-crosses the city, often at night. The telescoped feel to the action is present, too, in the cast where Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke work with a team stripped to the bone – two DCs and a pushy young PC who wants to move to CID. There's unfinished business, too, in the form of gangster 'Big Ger' Cafferty, whose career has dogged that of Rebus. The portrayal of the relationship between Rebus and Siobhan is particularly well done. There's awkwardness there as his leaving date approaches. She knows she will miss him, but doesn't want his cold case luggage dumped on her, and knows too that it is an opportunity to cut free from his often obstructive shadow. EXIT MUSIC is utterly compelling. The plot will do just fine, but in many ways that's the least of it . . . The book is a measured and bleak end to a formidable career – and one where not all those loose ends have been tied up. Rankin, the consummate professional, knows how to leave his audience craving more.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, August 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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