The falls

Rankin has long been celebrated by connoisseurs of hard-boiled British procedurals; now it seems he's ready to make the jump to mass-market commercial success. His latest thriller is already the number-one best-seller in the U.K.; perhaps the only thing holding it back from similar success here is the appalling American trend toward teetotaling hard-boiled heroes. Rankin's hard-drinking, chain-smoking, terminally melancholic hero, Edinburgh detective John Rebus, feels most comfortable in "small, smoky bars filled with disappointed men." He has plenty to be disappointed about this time: he's decided to sell his flat but has nowhere to go; he's feeling more and more alienated from his younger, team-player colleagues; and he can't seem to get a handle on his latest case--the disappearance and probable murder of an Edinburgh coed. Then a link turns up to a series of disappearances dating back 30 years, and Rebus hits the trail like a dog after a bone. The bone proves elusive, but the trail is rich with Scottish history, leading all the way back to a centuries-old case involving body snatchers selling cadavers to medical students. Paralleling the historical path on which Rebus treads, his protege, Siobhan Clarke, follows a twenty-first-century lead involving the victim's obsession with online game-playing. Rankin handles both strands of his plot superbly, juggling Rebus' cadavers with Siobhan's e-mails while the suspense builds to a remarkably exciting finale. Best of all, though, is the ever-deepening, ever-darkening portrait of the aging Rebus, the anti-organization man trapped in a world where mavericks are an endangered species--except at a few "small, smoky bars" where they sip whiskey with the other dinosaurs. --Bill OttAdult Books Young adult recommendations in this issue have been contributed by the Booklist staff and by reviewers Nancy Bent, Michael Cart, Emily Chambers, John Charles, Patty Engelmann, Sally Estes, Sharon Greene, Roberta Johnson, Judy King, Leone McDermott, John Mort, Shelley Mosley, Karen Simonetti, Candace Smith, Linda Waddle, Daniel Winslow, and Linda Zeilstra. Titles recommended for teens are marked with the following symbols: YA, for books of general YA interest; YA/C, for books with particular curriculum value; YA/L, for books with a limited teenage audience; YA/M, for books best suited to mature teens.

A number one U.K. bestseller, Rankin's 13th novel featuring Scottish Det. Insp. John Rebus may be his breakout book in the U.S. Rankin's brilliant evocation of a moody Edinburgh, deeply human characters and labyrinthine plot give dimension to this always absorbing series. With his stubborn insistence on tying up the frayed ends of every knotty clue, and iconoclastic refusal to be a team player, hard-drinking Rebus is a bane to his superiors but a blessing to readers. University student Philippa Balfour, daughter of the powerful head of a private bank, disappears; the few clues are incongruous a puzzling Internet role-playing game she participated in and a doll in a tiny wooden coffin found near her discordant family's home. Rebus's assistant, Det. Constable Siobhan Clarke, tackles the mysterious Internet game; Rebus ignores his superiors by obsessively following the coffin's obscure historical implications, aided by museum curator Jean Burchill, a friend of newly appointed Det. Chief Supt. Gill Templer and a promising anodyne to Rebus's lonely personal life. Readers won't be able to skim this dark, densely written novel, but they won't want to. Artfully placed red herrings, a large cast of multifaceted characters and a gripping pace will keep them engrossed. And Rebus is a character whose devils and idiosyncrasies will leave them eager for more. (Nov. 8) Forecast: A bestseller in Ireland, Australia and Canada as well, this novel may achieve similar heights here, spurred by a tour by the Edinburgh author, winner of Britain's Gold Dagger Award. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In his latest police procedural, Edgar-nominated Rankin (Set in Darkness) explores Edinburgh's gruesome past and dark present. Investigating the disappearance of Philippa Balfour, a young woman from a wealthy banking family, Inspector John Rebus has only two clues to work with: an e-mail message on Philippa's computer, indicating that she was playing an online game with the mysterious Quizmaster, and a tiny wooden coffin found near the Balfour family home. While Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke attempts to track down the Quizmaster by playing the game in Philippa's place, Rebus focuses on the coffin. Is there a connection with 18th-century body snatchers, or is the link more contemporary? The possibility of a serial killer also arises. Combining complicated multiple plot lines with finely drawn characters and fascinating Scottish lore and settings, Rankin once again proves himself a master of the gritty British crime novel. For all mystery collections. Wilda Williams, "Library Journal" (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

John Rebus, the Edinburgh detective inspector who manages to antagonize someone weighty in the course of nearly every investigation (Set in Darkness, 2000, etc.), has barely finished interrogating David Costello about the disappearance of his girlfriend Philippa "Flip" Balfour and downed a few single malts at the retirement farewell for his superior, the Farmer, when he decides, without sanctions, to search Flip's flat, where he bumps into her dad John, a partner in a private bank, who has him suspended. While DC's Siobahn Clarke and Grant Hill, assigned the task of reading Flip's e-mail, are becoming enmeshed in the cryptic clues left for them by someone logging on as the Quizmaster, Flip's body is found-along with a doll in a handmade miniature coffin. Rebus's latest romance, Museum of Scotland curator Jean Burchill, alerts him to its historical counterparts: eight other doll-filled coffins found at other young girls' death sites. Disgraced police press liaison Ellen Wylie and retired pathologist Donald Devlin study old autopsy reports; avaricious local potter Bev Dodds unearths yet another tiny coffin; the specter of notorious grave robbers Burke and Hare looms; and Jean's research into the career of Dr. Kenneth Lovell almost brings her to the same end as Flip before Rebus effects an 11th-hour rescue, then zeroes in on his original suspect. Like Rebus, readers will find no city more beautiful than Edinburgh, no locale more intriguing than Arthur's Seat-and no characters in the genre more provocative or sharply delineated than Rankin's ongoing cast. Author tour

/*Starred Review*/ Rankin has long been celebrated by connoisseurs of hard-boiled British procedurals; now it seems he's ready to make the jump to mass-market commercial success. His latest thriller is already the number-one best-seller in the U.K.; perhaps the only thing holding it back from similar success here is the appalling American trend toward teetotaling hard-boiled heroes. Rankin's hard-drinking, chain-smoking, terminally melancholic hero, Edinburgh detective John Rebus, feels most comfortable in "small, smoky bars filled with disappointed men." He has plenty to be disappointed about this time: he's decided to sell his flat but has nowhere to go; he's feeling more and more alienated from his younger, team-player colleagues; and he can't seem to get a handle on his latest case--the disappearance and probable murder of an Edinburgh coed. Then a link turns up to a series of disappearances dating back 30 years, and Rebus hits the trail like a dog after a bone. The bone proves elusive, but the trail is rich with Scottish history, leading all the way back to a centuries-old case involving body snatchers selling cadavers to medical students. Paralleling the historical path on which Rebus treads, his protege, Siobhan Clarke, follows a twenty-first-century lead involving the victim's obsession with online game-playing. Rankin handles both strands of his plot superbly, juggling Rebus' cadavers with Siobhan's e-mails while the suspense builds to a remarkably exciting finale. Best of all, though, is the ever-deepening, ever-darkening portrait of the aging Rebus, the anti-organization man trapped in a world where mavericks are an endangered species--except at a few "small, smoky bars" where they sip whiskey with the other dinosaurs. ((Reviewed August 2001)) Copyright 2001 Booklist Reviews

In his latest police procedural, Edgar-nominated Rankin (Set in Darkness) explores Edinburgh's gruesome past and dark present. Investigating the disappearance of Philippa Balfour, a young woman from a wealthy banking family, Inspector John Rebus has only two clues to work with: an e-mail message on Philippa's computer, indicating that she was playing an online game with the mysterious Quizmaster, and a tiny wooden coffin found near the Balfour family home. While Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke attempts to track down the Quizmaster by playing the game in Philippa's place, Rebus focuses on the coffin. Is there a connection with 18th-century body snatchers, or is the link more contemporary? The possibility of a serial killer also arises. Combining complicated multiple plot lines with finely drawn characters and fascinating Scottish lore and settings, Rankin once again proves himself a master of the gritty British crime novel. For all mystery collections. Wilda Williams, "Library Journal" Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

A number one U.K. bestseller, Rankin's 13th novel featuring Scottish Det. Insp. John Rebus may be his breakout book in the U.S. Rankin's brilliant evocation of a moody Edinburgh, deeply human characters and labyrinthine plot give dimension to this always absorbing series. With his stubborn insistence on tying up the frayed ends of every knotty clue, and iconoclastic refusal to be a team player, hard-drinking Rebus is a bane to his superiors but a blessing to readers. University student Philippa Balfour, daughter of the powerful head of a private bank, disappears; the few clues are incongruous a puzzling Internet role-playing game she participated in and a doll in a tiny wooden coffin found near her discordant family's home. Rebus's assistant, Det. Constable Siobhan Clarke, tackles the mysterious Internet game; Rebus ignores his superiors by obsessively following the coffin's obscure historical implications, aided by museum curator Jean Burchill, a friend of newly appointed Det. Chief Supt. Gill Templer and a promising anodyne to Rebus's lonely personal life. Readers won't be able to skim this dark, densely written novel, but they won't want to. Artfully placed red herrings, a large cast of multifaceted characters and a gripping pace will keep them engrossed. And Rebus is a character whose devils and idiosyncrasies will leave them eager for more. (Nov. 8) Forecast: A bestseller in Ireland, Australia and Canada as well, this novel may achieve similar heights here, spurred by a tour by the Edinburgh author, winner of Britain's Gold Dagger Award. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.