I must admit, I was a bit concerned about Ian Rankin’s THE NAMING OF THE DEAD. The plot centers around the 2005 Gleneagles G8 summit meeting in Scotland, the associated political turmoil and the thousands of protesters who swarmed to the site, some to give a message, some merely to disrupt and cause trouble. There’s also a sideways glance at the disgusting and shameful terrorist bombings of London’s public transport system in July of the same year. This is territory ripe for political preaching.
And there seems to be a lot of that about nowadays. Especially in serious literary fiction, we tend to see proselytizing by left-leaning authors who almost invariably choose the side of the purported victims, taking on a self-flagellating, we-must-atone-for-our-sins approach. It’s usually all very tedious and frequently has little to teach the reader.
But Rankin is different. After more than 20 novels, he is too professional and balanced to fall into that trap. Instead, he presents a fairly even-handed look at the whole thing, the corruption behind the power on both sides, and keeps up a running theme of how all actions – even seemingly inconsequential ones – can have dire results.
Detective Inspector John Rebus and Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke are on the trail, trying to find the murderer of one Cyril Colliar. Colliar was scum, a brutal rapist and one of the dregs of society. Police aren’t all that interested in finding the culprit, but then another ex-sex offender turns up dead. And it’s possible that a serial killer is on the loose. Couple that with a mysterious death at the Gleneagles site – a death that Special Branch is really trying to cover up – and you have an excellent outing for both Rebus and his fans.
Rankin is the master of the telling detail, the extra little bit of “business” that explains the situation extremely well. He is relentless in his dissection of police culture, pub culture, protestor culture and political culture. No one emerges entirely unscathed, least of all Rebus. This is a smooth read, worth every one of its 400-plus pages, and a must for anyone who follows the difficult road carved by Rebus.
Oh, and there’s an explanation for what made President Bush fall on his mountain bike at Gleneagles as well. Who knew? –Mark Rose
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• BLOOD HUNT by Ian Rankin
Related posts:
- The Book of the Dead
- Cover unearthed for Preston/Child’s BOOK OF THE DEAD
- Dead Wrong
- Blood Hunt
- Already Dead
