Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2007
464 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
The leaders of the free world descend on Scotland for an international conference, and every cop in the country is needed for front-line duty...except one. John Rebus's reputation precedes him, and his bosses don't want him anywhere near Presidents Bush and Putin, which explains why he's manning an abandoned police station when a call comes in. During a preconference dinner at Edinburgh Castle, a delegate has fallen to his death. Accident, suicide, or something altogether more sinister? And is it linked to a grisly find close to the site of the gathering? Are the world's most powerful men at risk from a killer? While the government and secret services attempt to hush the whole thing up, Rebus knows he has only seventy-two hours to find the answers.
"Rankin deftly captures the mad circus...of the G8 summit, but this background muddies the narrative waters." - PW.
"Required reading for crime-fiction followers." - Booklist.
"Surprisingly, this entry in the Rebus series is not as dark or grisly as preceding novels—so if you've been wanting to introduce someone to the world of DI Rebus, you could start with this book. Strongly recommended." - Library Journal.
"The world would be better off if Rebus attended the peace summits instead of getting bogged down with the usual posturing officeholders and violent anarchists." - Kirkus.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature.
After university and before his success with his Rebus novels, Ian had a number of jobs including working as a grape-picker, a swineherd, a journalist for a hi-fi magazine, and a taxman. Following his marriage in 1986, he lived briefly in London where he worked at the National Folktale Centre, followed by a short time living in France, before returning to Edinburgh.
Ian's first novel Summer Rites remains in his bottom drawer, but his second novel, The Flood, was published in 1986, while his first Rebus novel, Knots & Crosses, was published in 1987. The Rebus series is now ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Ian Rankin's Website
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