Get Hold Of Rather Be The Devil (Inspector Rebus, #21) Formulated By Ian Rankin Available Through Digital Format

been reading this series sinceI know what you're thinking, odd choice for ayear old amp can't imagine not getting my annual shot of Rebus, The characters have become living, breathing people amp it's like catching up on the news with old friends,

This one finds Rebus retired amp facing a health scare, Mind you, the fact he no longer gets a pay cheque doesn't stop him from showing up for work, The way he sees it, as long as Big Ger McCafferty is walking around, it's his job to be the hard man's shadow.
The plot weaves together a famous cold case with present day power struggles among Edinburgh's crime bosses, Malcolm Fox amp Siobhan Clarke join forces to unravel a snarly mess of assault, murder, money laundering amp office politics, And whether they like it or not, Rebus is along for the ride amp frequently takes the wheel,



If you haven't yet shared a pint with Rebus, do yourself a favour amp start at the beginning sitelinkKnots and Crosses.
Every book builds the history of the characters amp their relationships, making each instalment all the more rewarding, The quality amp consistency is such a rarity in a business always looking for the next big shiny star, And while this may not be the best of the bunch that would be's sitelinkSaints of the Shadow Bible IMHO, it is the smart, entertaining read we've come to expect.
. I doubt whether Ian Rankin would like me comparing his new novel to a comfy pair of old slippers but sorry! That's exactly what I have to do.
You put those slippers on, get comfy in your favourite armchair, and with feet up, the world just fades away, That's how I feel about John Rebus, I start reading and the world can take a back seat, Yes he can be grouchy, and playing by the rules doesn't figure in his vocabulary, but that's what I love about him.


Rebus is a couple of years into his retirement now, but he's not gonna let a little thing like that interfere with his investigations.
In an unofficial capacity, he's working alongside former colleagues, gathering and sharing information for this latest case,

The latest novel sees him investigating a cold case from the's when a young vivacious socialite was murdered in one of Edinburgh's most luxurious hotels.
The hotel was full and there were many suspects at the time but noone was ever brought to justice, Along the way this cold case becomes entwined with the more recent case of a brutal attack on Edinburgh's latest 'Mr Big', Darryl Christie, who's also suspected of money laundering.
Alongside Christie, Big Ger Cafferty, old style gangster, though now a pensioner, still maintains a presence in the city, and still has that air of menace about him.
Cafferty still believes the old ways are the best, and extracts information by means of torture, not a man to cross!

As is usual, Rebus has his own unique and humorous way of interacting with the characters, and has special relationships with the old school gangsters that help him gain information that other cops can only dream about, and primarily, it's the interaction with these characters that make Ian Rankin's novels special.
The language and the humour stand out, He knows the streets of Edinburgh and he portrays the gritty, seedier side of this wonderful city like no other writer can.


This is a very complex plot and needs complete concentration, but with Rebus at the helm, concentration is pretty much guaranteed.
As an avid reader of crime novels, I have to say that Rebus is probably my favourite character of them all.
Another compelling read from this great author,

Thank you to Netgalley amp Orion for my ARC for which I have given a fair and honest review
I will never NOT read an Ian Rankin book.
Edinburg detective John Rebus is officially retired and in the middle of a health scare, He's quit smoking and cut back on his drinking, but then a fortyyearold murder that was never solved captures his attention and he's off to the races again, even if he's not running quite as fast as he used to.


The victim was a beautiful married woman named Maria Turquand who had a date to meet her lover in a luxurious hotel.
She was found strangled to death, but most of the obvious suspects had ironclad alibis, Adding to the confusion was the fact that a famous rock star was staying at the hotel that day, and the place was a circus.
In the end, there were too many possible suspects and too little evidence, and the case was never solved,

Rebus is recounting the mystery to his new lover over dinner one night in the restaurant of the hotel where the murder happened.
This piques his curiosity and he starts digging into the old files on his own, No sooner does he do so, than someone close to the original crime is killed, Someone, it appears, would not like to see Maria's killer found,

At the same time Rebus begins digging into the Turquand case, an up and coming mobster named Darryl Christie is badly beaten outside his home.
The case falls to Rebus's former understudy, Siobahn Clarke, and it appears that Rebus's old nemesis Big Ger Cafferty might have been involved.
Rebus thus worms his was into Siobahn's investigation and is soon back on the job, albeit without a badge,

Finally, Rebus's adversaryturned grudging friend, Malcolm Fox, has received a big promotion and is working financial crimes, He's assigned to a money laundering investigation that appears to involve the aforementioned Darryl Christie, Almost immediately, his case is tied into Clarke's, and Rebus invites himself into that investigation as well,

The result is a very intricate but intriguing plot in which Rebus, Clarke and Fox combine forces in an effort to chase down any number of bad guys and resolve a number of complicated crimes.
It's great fun watching them work together and the interaction among the three and their various targets is the highlight of the book.
Rebus may be retired, but he still just keeps getting better and better, Nada que reprocharle a la penúltima entrega de mi querido Rebus, Oficialmente jubilado, y pagando las consecuencias de una vida llena de cigarrillos, Me encanta cuando la trama se centra principalmente en mi querida Edimburgo, y también me encanta cuando aparecen todos los personajes principales de sus anteriores novelas, aunque sigo pensando que me gustaba más el Fox de asuntos internos que el actual.
Me encantan esos diálogos, sobre todo en su versión original he leído ambas versiones, la inglesa y la española, y no hay color.
En esta novela, sin embargo, quizás haya un exceso de tramas principales y secundarias, debido, pienso, a que tenemos a toda la cuadrilla presente.
Ello quizás me haya hecho perder un poquito la atención en algunos capítulos, Y sí, en definitiva, no consideraría a “Rather be the devil” entre sus mejores entregas, Lo cual no le quita ningún mérito,

A la espera de leer la que, parece, su última entrega “In a house of lies”, Que, además, me ha sido regalada directamente desde allí por una persona que conocí en estos gratos ambientes de GR.


Eso es lo bueno que tiene la literatura con o sin mayúsculas: que nos une a los amantes de pasar página tras página ya sea física o electrónica en espera de encontrar relatos como el presente.
Siempre a la búsqueda de esa lectura que no te deje indiferente, Y, de ello, autores como Mr Rankin tienen gran parte de culpa, Afortunadamente. Ian Rankin's marvellous creation John Rebus returns in a well plotted story, with believable characters amp more Scottish gallows humour, This time an unsolved murder case from the past concerns Rebus amp he's also worried about Hank Marvin, older readers like myself will get this reference when they read the book, but no spoilers here, It's funny how the last few pages of a book can turn a four star review into a five star one.
I have read and enjoyed many of the Rebus books, Not this one. For whatever reason, I couldn't follow the story, Many characters. Inadequate transitions. Confusing plot. Actually no plot, up to the point I stopped reading aboutpages, I feel as if I've known John Rebus forever, and I suppose I have, I've read allbooks in the series to date, and I'll read any more Ian Rankin writes,

Rebus has a steady girlfriend, has stopped smoking, and drinking mostly, and he is supposed to be retired, When Darryl Christie, Edinburgh's crime boss, is attacked, the police think Rebus's old foe Big Ger Cafferty might be involved,

Rebus is also trying to solve an old murder, With time on his hands, the death of the beautiful, promiscuous Maria Turquandyears earlier still preys on his mind, Are the two cases linked

Rebus helps as Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox piece together what's going on, Edinburgh plays her part as the setting as beautifully as ever, Rather Be the Devil Inspector Rebus,by Ian Rankin,

It's been so comfortable getting to spend time with my old friend Rebus, This story was no exception to that rule, This time we find rebus dealing with some health issues, some serious health issues, The smoking and drinking is being dealt with accordingly, This time his maladies can no longer be swept under the rug,
Rebus is no longer a main stay at the precinct, Retirement isn't coming easy to this long time detective, Detecting is in his blood and has been for a long time, The main topic on Rebus's mind is a cold case, A case from years ago that went unsolved, It's been gnawing at him all this time and he's determined to set it at rest,

Am I attached to rebus Am I addicted to this series Do I enjoy every word on every page The answer is a resounding YES, YES.
YES! This story had everything and everyone including Rebus's longtime nemesis Big Ger Cafferty, Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm fox are evolving as a working team and play an important part in Rebus's posse,
Retirement! What's that The best is yet to be for Rebus,

In thisst book in the 'Inspector Rebus' series, the detective is retired, but still manages to investigate cases.
The book can be read as a standalone, but knowledge of the characters is advantageous,



Retired Scottish detective John Rebus is in his sixties, suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD, and a bit overweight.




Rebus's girlfriend, police pathologist Deborah Quant, is encouraging the detective to give up cigarettes and cut down on beer, and Rebus is trying.
. for health reasons.



Rebus and Quant are dining at Edinburgh's iconic Caledonian Hotel one evening when the detective recalls an unsolved crime that occurred in the hotelyears ago, in.




A socialite named Maria Turquand was strangled in her room, and despite numerous possible suspects no one was arrested for the crime.
Persons of interest included Maria's banker husband Maria's playboy lover and members of a rock band staying in the hotel, several of whom had slept with Maria.


Rebus decides to reinvestigate the Turquand murder, and wheedles the case files out of his longtime associate, DI Siobhan Clarke.




From the files, Rebus learns that detective Robert Chatham, who's now retired, looked into the Turquand cold case a few years ago.




Rebus contacts Chatham, and the two pensioners discuss the killing over breakfast in a café, Soon afterwards, Chatham's dead body is pulled from the River Forth,

With a fellow officer drowned in suspicious circumstances, Edinburgh's police squad is all over Chatham's death,



At the same time, the police squad is working on a couple of other cases, A rising young criminal named Darryl Christie, who owns nightclubs and betting shops, has been badly beaten and a wealthy bank heir called Anthony Brough, who allegedly launders dirty money through Christie's enterprises, has gone missing.


The money laundering activities attract the attention of investigators at the Serious Crime Campus at Gartcosh, where DI Malcolm Fox a former associate of Rebus and Clarke now works.




Fox is quickly sent to 'help' the Edinburgh police, with instructions to report back everything he hears.


People who come to the attention of the police include Craw Shand a crook who likes to confess to crimes he didn't commit Big Ger Cafferty a criminal kingpin, who's being squeezed out by younger bosses Aleksander Glushenko a Ukrainian mobster gang members who do Christie's dirty work and more.


Fox and Clarke work on the cases in their official capacity, and Rebus who can't mind his own business sticks his oar in as well.
There are numerous complications before the investigations come together is an overly complex but satisfying fashion,

You can find my reviews at: sitelink blogspot . .