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Exit Music
Detective Inspector Rebus Series # 17

by Ian Rankin
Read by James Macpherson



      Detective Inspector Rebus is retiring; cue the Exit Music.

It's November, 2006. A body is found on King's Stables Road. DI John Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke are on the case. Rebus knows this is his last case and Clark knows she will replace him — and she's already chosen her assistant, Todd Goodyear.  The department uses the CCTV to follow the victim's last moments. The CCTV leads to other types of surveillance. The victim turns out to be a Russian, which leads to a group of Russian businessmen, Scottish politicians and bankers. Conspiracy theories abound, but leave it to Rebus to be consistent by following his own theory and working his final case his way. This tenacious detective seems to have a never ending skill for rubbing people the wrong way. You'd think it would finally catch up to him....

Rebus and Clarke make quite a team. And it shows when they meet resistance in the case; their loyalty breaks the barriers and reveals the truth. Ultimately, with Exit Music, we are reminded of Rebus' lonely personal life and his passion for his job. So how will retirement work for him? We are left wondering.

As always, Rankin draws us into Edinburgh, showing us a darker side with no shades of hope. If this is the last in the series, Rebus is a character to be missed — just as we still miss Inspector Morse from author Colin Dexter's series.

The audio version is read by Scottish actor James MacPherson. MacPherson has also narrated previous Rankin novels. I realize some may think MacPherson isn't the physical version of Rebus, but he has come to be the voice of this dogged detective. So, to me, he is Rebus, which is why I prefer the Hachette audio books over the TV series.

Ian Rankin's Exit Music is another great listen in an exceptional series.

Reviews of other titles in this series

Resurrection Men #13 [book] [audio]
Question of Blood #14 [book] [audio]
Naming of the Dead #16 [audio] [book]
Exit Music #17 [audio]
Saints of the Shadow Bible #19 [audio]
Standing in Another Man's Grave #20 [audio]
The Beat Goes On [audio] (short stories)
Impossible Dead [book] (Malcom Fox #2)
Rather Be the Devil #21 [audio]

 

The Book

Hachette Audio
September 17, 2008
Audio CD / Abridged edition 6 CDs / 7.5 hrs
1600244548 / 978-1600244544
Fiction / Detective / Scotland / Modern day
Amazon.com

The Reviewer

Brenda Weeaks
Reviewed 2008
© 2008 MyShelf.com