Ian Rankin

I've just finished A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin. It didn't fail me. Like the best episodes of CSI or Law and Order it delivered the goods. The difference is this back ground. Scotland. Scottish laws and Scottish characters. Glasgow is not LA. Inspector Rebus is a bit like Dirty Harry but with more depth. The characterization in Rankin novels makes as deep as the plots can be dark. Siobhan is the female detective in this novel and she's not at all like an American Wonder woman but she's real and smart and unique. Indeed the whole thing can be occurring next door. It's that proximal. True people and true crime. Frightening really and yet the joy is in the unravelling. A really good Sherlock Holmes needle in haystack tale where there's no butler just ex SAS, drug runners, politicians and sleazy street characters. In the end I come away with the feeling of the 'thin veneer of civilization' and the few who touch up the paint. What a good read.

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