by Ian Rankin
This is the latest Rankin book.
It sees Rebus return to work in a temporary capacity. He has been brought in because a gangster Rebus had tried to jail previously now seems to have had his life threatened (a shot was aimed at him in his house). He has received a threatening letter also. Interestingly a London lawyer has been murdered and has received the same letter. How could the two be connected.
While Rebus, Clark and Malcolm Fox are trying to work on these crimes (who would have thought Fox would willingly be working with Rebus??) there is a team from Headquarters working on tracking the activities of a major crime boss who seems to be seeking an associate who ran off with some of their drugs. The two investigations seem to be tripping over each other.
Rebus uses his skills/history to be able to talk to the threatened gangster and another young man who longs to take over the territory. They seem to be united in trying to keep the third criminal out of their territory, or are they making overtures to work with the third guy to push one of the others out.
Then the son of the third gangster is killed and it is feared an all out turf war will occur.
Rebus, Clark and Fox solve the crimes much to the chagrin of the HQ team. It turns out there might be a cop imbedded in the criminal gang. They are not sure who he is, and also wonder if they might be dealing with a cop who has turned to the dark side.
This was a good book. It provides great character development. It was interesting, perhaps puzzling to find that from going to investigate and try to take Rebus down Fox now willingly works with Rebus and vice versa. I am not sure either of them would so readily adapt to this new relationship.
Saturday, 19 December 2015
An Unmarked Grave
by Charles Todd
This is the fourth Bess Crawford Mystery about a young woman who is working as a nurse during WWI.
Bess is at a field station near the front in France. Many wounded are being treated but also the infamous flu is also decimating the soldiers and the staff. Bess is summoned to a storage area where the dead are being held until they can be transported for burial. The young man who supervises this area points out that one of the bodies has not died of wounds nor of the flu but appears to have a broken neck.
Bess recognizes him as a young man, an officer, she knew and sets off to tell the Matron about this suspicious death. However, before she can do so she falls seriously ill to the flu and ends up being returned to England to recuperate. She thinks she might have dreamed of the death but then hears that the young man who summoned her was found hanged. It is assumed he committed suicide.
Bess confides in her father and the family friend Simon and they try to investigate from their end (as intelligence officers). She returns to France to try to find out more but before she can do so she is attacked. The camp thinks all women are in danger. Her father arranges to have a young American who had joined the Canadian army come to her location and be an unofficial guard for her. Suddenly she receives orders to go to a new medical location. She travels to another city awaiting the transfer vehicle but it never arrives. When she reports to a nursing station the head nurse accuses her of partying on the town and missing her transport. She prepares paperwork to return her to England in disgrace.
Bess meets the families of the two dead men and it confirms her feeling that the one man did not commit suicide. She also meets the family of the other man but cannot figure out who would want to murder him. Could it be because he refused to share anything from the family estate because she tran away with an actor? Bess learns that a letter was sent to the Officer's wife by an Official, who does not appear to exist. Bess is shocked to learn that the nurse who so unceremoniously returned her to England has also died/been murdered in mysterious circumstances.
Bess returns to England and is attacked on the ship by a man in a British uniform.
It turns out that the murderer is really out to get revenge on Bess and her family because her father did not promote him.
This was by far the best of the books. The others have been okay. This was kept my interest more, perhaps because the crime actually involved the main character.
Bess
This is the fourth Bess Crawford Mystery about a young woman who is working as a nurse during WWI.
Bess is at a field station near the front in France. Many wounded are being treated but also the infamous flu is also decimating the soldiers and the staff. Bess is summoned to a storage area where the dead are being held until they can be transported for burial. The young man who supervises this area points out that one of the bodies has not died of wounds nor of the flu but appears to have a broken neck.
Bess recognizes him as a young man, an officer, she knew and sets off to tell the Matron about this suspicious death. However, before she can do so she falls seriously ill to the flu and ends up being returned to England to recuperate. She thinks she might have dreamed of the death but then hears that the young man who summoned her was found hanged. It is assumed he committed suicide.
Bess confides in her father and the family friend Simon and they try to investigate from their end (as intelligence officers). She returns to France to try to find out more but before she can do so she is attacked. The camp thinks all women are in danger. Her father arranges to have a young American who had joined the Canadian army come to her location and be an unofficial guard for her. Suddenly she receives orders to go to a new medical location. She travels to another city awaiting the transfer vehicle but it never arrives. When she reports to a nursing station the head nurse accuses her of partying on the town and missing her transport. She prepares paperwork to return her to England in disgrace.
Bess meets the families of the two dead men and it confirms her feeling that the one man did not commit suicide. She also meets the family of the other man but cannot figure out who would want to murder him. Could it be because he refused to share anything from the family estate because she tran away with an actor? Bess learns that a letter was sent to the Officer's wife by an Official, who does not appear to exist. Bess is shocked to learn that the nurse who so unceremoniously returned her to England has also died/been murdered in mysterious circumstances.
Bess returns to England and is attacked on the ship by a man in a British uniform.
It turns out that the murderer is really out to get revenge on Bess and her family because her father did not promote him.
This was by far the best of the books. The others have been okay. This was kept my interest more, perhaps because the crime actually involved the main character.
Bess
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