Sunday, 15 April 2012

The Complaints by Ian Rankin

Started: April 11th
Finished: April 14th
Pages: 381

I needed a break from the intensity of Half-Blood Blues, so I took a detour into a mystery novel.  Mystery novels are relaxing because they have a strong plot and the bad guy always gets caught.  And Ian Rankin avoids the two great sins of mystery:  he's a good writer, and he doesn't sacrifice plausibility for the sake of proving how clever he is.  The special bonus feature of this book (for those of use seeking a novelistic respite from Nazism) is that the guy who gets murdered isn't very likeable.   So The Complaints turns out to have been a perfect choice.

Thank you Ian Rankin, and thank you for not making Rebus's retirement an excuse for quitting yourself.

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