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- Verified Buyer
“In a House of Lies” (HL), is the fifth and the very best of the Rebus post-retirement books, following “Exit Music” (EM), written in 2010. EM concluded (?) a seventeen book series of novels of Scottish Police DI John Rebus; “Knots and Crosses”, published in 1987, was the first. I would also rank HL in the top three of all Rebus novels. As I write this ( Feb, 2019) I have no idea what other Amazon readers think of this new release – usually I check the decimal score, 4.5?, and number of reviewers, 89?, but I was anxious to get into this new one, and…..well, maybe later.I have enjoyed the first four retired Rebus books but I felt something had been missing, and I didn’t much care for the “yesterday’s news” treatment of our protagonist. I had read some other Rankin stuff after EM – I believe there were two highlighting a new character, Malcolm Fox, whom I never cared for, and another focusing on an art theft as I recall; it put me to sleep, more than once. I am sure the author did not plan for Rebus retired, and that fan pressure contributed to the Rebus books post EM. HL makes the case that the last five are on a par with the first seventeen.HL deals with a dead body recently found in the boot of car hidden in a small forest; the victim, a young PI, had been missing for the past twelve years. And so begins a rather complex plot, with many characters, old and new, subplots right and left and mostly linked, great dialog, scenes that you will reread just for the sheer pleasure they deliver, scenes that leave you hanging……a book you look forward to picking up again. It starts slow. I suggest that readers carefully note all characters – that will not be easy but it will pay dividends. Thankfully, it does NOT rely on DNA. I don’t recall seeing the term in the book, but it does introduce some relatively new forensic science. And there is a terrific climax; of course, it is not a shoot-‘em-up, but I will tell you it is so Rebus perfect, and you will be teased for the prior twenty pages with hints of what is to come. It is evident even to a casual reader like myself that Rankin really worked and re-worked this one. There are so many nice little touches than a writer of lesser skills just cannot conjure up in such a long-term series – and I think that is what has been missing in some earlier Rebus novels. It is incredible that Rankin has been able to bring all these characters with a freshness and a taste of old times that leave the series faithful praying for more. This is a six, on a one to five scale.
