Resurrection Men
Inspector John Rebus #13
By Ian Rankin 

     Foreign police procedurals can be fascinating, especially if the cases presented are as involved as the characters. The Rebus series seems to have a loyal following and since this book fell to me for a review, I figured it was time to find out why. Now, jumping into the middle of a series can be confusing, maybe even frustrating. This is almost the case with Resurrection Men, except that I became so caught up in the Resurrection Men and the case they were assigned that the past episodes spoilers were enough to catch me up.

     Inspector John Rebus is employed by the Edinburgh police. In a recent case he loses his temper and throws a cup of tea, barely missing his superior. Rebus’s lack of control has him heading back to Scottish Police College. There he meets up with other temperamental police who have been sent to retrain. Rebus knows he is a valuable asset to the Edinburgh police. He could rebel this Old Copper lesson and get away with it. Instead Rebus’s passion for detecting pulls him into the old case assigned to his group. Readers will discover that Rebus has more going on at the college than expected. It’s a great plot twist that adds to the action. While working the old crime boss case with the Legal Outlaws, Rebus keeps tabs on the office by way of Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke. Clarke has a professional and personal case to deal with also throughout the storyline.

     Now these may seem like typical plot lines in a typical police procedural, but trust me, they are not. They are layers intricately woven together to test the mind of Rebus and the readers observing his policing. There are other notable characters that help Rebus carry it all off.

     This type of writing cannot be a one time fluke. Resurrection Men clearly shows that Rankin is a gifted writer deserving of the nominations and writing awards he has received. The Inspector Rebus series is one series I will highly recommend from now on.

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]