Rating: 
Summary: Rankin, King Of Tartan Noir
Review: A wealthy Edinburgh university student goes missing, and the pressure is on to find her. John Rebus and Siobhan Clarke are assigned to the case. Soon they discover that "Flip" was participating in an internet role playing game just before she disappeared. Clarke, knowing much more about computers and the internet than Rebus, starts communicating with the Gamemaster, a shadowy character at best. Rebus follows up on another clue, a small carved wooden doll in a miniature coffin. He's led to the Edinburgh Museum where a charming woman named Jean shows him similar antique coffins unearthed around Edinburgh. Inspector Rebus is now in his fifties and mentions retirement several times in this book. Siobhan Clarke had much of the spotlight in the story, as if Rankin is grooming her to take over as the main character when Rebus is no more. Although the hints of retirement for Rebus were disturbing, this book is an overall good read, if a bit overlong. This is my favorite mystery series ever and I'm looking forward to Resurrection Men in January 2002 ( UK release date ).
Rating:
Summary: Rankin, King Of Tartan Noir
Review: A wealthy Edinburgh university student goes missing, and the pressure is on to find her. John Rebus and Siobhan Clarke are assigned to the case. Soon they discover that "Flip" was participating in an internet role playing game just before she disappeared. Clarke, knowing much more about computers and the internet than Rebus, starts communicating with the Gamemaster, a shadowy character at best. Rebus follows up on another clue, a small carved wooden doll in a miniature coffin. He's led to the Edinburgh Museum where a charming woman named Jean shows him similar antique coffins unearthed around Edinburgh. Inspector Rebus is now in his fifties and mentions retirement several times in this book. Siobhan Clarke had much of the spotlight in the story, as if Rankin is grooming her to take over as the main character when Rebus is no more. Although the hints of retirement for Rebus were disturbing, this book is an overall good read, if a bit overlong. This is my favorite mystery series ever and I'm looking forward to Resurrection Men in January 2002 ( UK release date ).
Rating:
Summary: A great Scottish mystery
Review: Amazingly enough I had never heard of Ian Rankin (which astonished me as a lover of British mysteries, when I saw how many books he had written!). Inspector Rebus is the main character, who lives and works in Edinburgh and like many leading investigators not only has marital and relationship problems, but has issues with authority and following rules. OK, so far that doesn't sound too exciting, but the story itself is very gripping and has many twists and turns - you can't blieve who the culprit is! I am now very much hooked on Rankin and have bought 2 of his other books (as a starter!).
Rating:
Summary: It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!
Review: As a longtime reader of British mystery books, I have many favorite authors, but I think Ian Rankin is at the top of the list. His books are not "cosies" like Agatha Christie, but darker, moodier stories, as far from the small village setting as thay can get. This latest book is another great example of Rankin's ability to spin a great mystery story while involving the reader in John Rebus' life, good and bad, and it usually is more the latter! Wherever you start in the Rebus series, here or an earlier book, just START! You won't be sorry and you won't need any encouragement to finish all of his books.
Rating:
Summary: masterfully done
Review: At 393 pages, the author takes time to do excellent character and place development. The plot is complex and interesting, the story holding one's interest all the way through. It is intelligent, gritty, well paced: Great writing.
Plain and simple, a really really good who-dunnit. Set in the city of Edinburgh, some Scottish references and words, but not that will hold you back if you are not familiar with them. A great read.
Rating:
Summary: masterfully done
Review: At 393 pages, the author takes time to do excellent character and place development. The plot is complex and interesting, the story holding one's interest all the way through. It is intelligent, gritty, well paced: Great writing.
Plain and simple, a really really good who-dunnit. Set in the city of Edinburgh, some Scottish references and words, but not that will hold you back if you are not familiar with them. A great read.
Rating:
Summary: You Can Never Get Enough of John Rebus
Review: Edinburgh Detective Inspector John Rebus is the kind of anti-hero you hate to love. He's a rule breaking fuse ready to go off at the drop of a dime. He's a loser at love, listens to rock music, drinks too much, worries about getting old, shuns exercise and anything remotely healthy. He's also very, very good at what he does, and that is catching crooks.
Philippa "Flip" Balfour the daughter of a rich investment banker disappears and, of course, her boyfriend is a prime suspect. So also is one of her father's colleagues, but then a weird tiny hadn card doll in a miniture coffin is found and Rebus realises he faces more than an isolated case. And DC Siobhan Clarke volunteers to pursues clues left by an Internet role-playing gamer, by taking on Flip's identity in the game.
The intricate puzzle, masterful pacing and magical description of Edinburhg are guaranteed to keep you flipping through the pages, reading like a ball afire, charging toward the thrilling climax. Rankin is a pro, he never disappoints.
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Summary: The perfect police procedural
Review: For two days Philippa "Flip" Balfour has been missing, which is so out of character for the student, the police are already involved. Now it might be that the influence of her powerful father led to the early investigation by Edinburgh Inspector John Rebus.
He quickly uncovers two potential clues. One is hand carved wooden doll in a small coffin and the other is Flip's love of participating in an Internet role playing game. John tracks the dark history of the small coffins while Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke joins the Internet crowd that Flip had belonged to before vanishing. Though information is collected on both fronts, progress on the case is slow and the police have not found the link tying the two clues together, leaving this missing person investigation look more like another one for the unsolved files.
The latest John Rebus tale contains all the right stuff that has made this one of the best on going police procedural series on the market today. John and the support cast remain fresh due to little things happening to them and around them such as a thirty-year retirement of a peer. The story line combines historical and present Edinburgh, Internet technology, and the usual clues, puns, and puzzles so that the audience walks along side Rebus as he investigates. Ian Rankin will rank among the top of all the bestseller lists with this entertaining tale. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: What is this?!?!?!?
Review: I began reading "The Falls" after Christmas because it was given to me as a gift from my father. Not more that three pages into the book could I tell that this was horrible. It is slow moving and I just couldn't take it anymore. If you like mystery/thrillers and romantic suspense like I do, spare yourself, don't read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best in the series
Review: I found this, the latest in the Rebus series of mysteries, completely absorbing and difficult to put down. The plot was suitably devious, and the characters, especially Rebus and Clarke, are more fully developed then in previous books. This is a must read for anyone interested in a good, satisfying police procedural/mystery.
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