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A Question of Blood (A Rebus Novel)

A Question of Blood (A Rebus Novel)

by IanRankin (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2003

    $11.82

  • Used

    Paperback 2005

    $3.25
Synopsis

A shooting incident at a private school just north of Edinburgh. Two seventeen-year olds killed by an ex-Army loner who has gone off the rails. As Detective Inspector John Rebus puts it, 'there's no mystery'...except the why. But this question takes Rebus into the heart of a shattered community. Ex-Army himself, Rebus becomes fascinated by the killer, and finds he is not alone. Army investigators are on the scene, and won't be shaken off. The killer had friends and enemies to spare - ranging from civic leaders to the local Goths - leaving behind a legacy of secrets and lies. Rebus has more than his share of personal problems, too. He's fresh out of hospital, hands heavily bandaged, and he won't say how it happened. Could there be a connection with a house-fire and the unfortunate death of a petty criminal who had been harrassing Rebus's colleague Siobhan Clarke? Rebus's bosses seem to think so...

$11.82

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Quantity

3 in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 360
 Edition: First Edition
 Publisher: Orion
Published: 22 Aug 2003
ISBN 10: 0752851101
ISBN 13: 9780752851105
Book Overview: Ian Rankin's last two novels - THE FALLS and RESURRECTION MEN - have been number one in both hardcover and paperback. Ian now has an incredibly high profile. In 2003, he had his own TV series (IAN RANKIN'S EVIL THOUGHTS), received his OBE, guested on NEWSNIGHT REVIEW and was a constant contributor to the national press. In 2003, Rankin sold over one million books and he now makes up 10 per cent of all UK crime sales!

Media Reviews
'The real strength of Rankin's work...- is that it's a good deal more than a crime novel. The genre is simply the wrapping in which a complex story of human flaws and frailty is contained...Fortunately, A Question of Blood is just about as good as Rankin gets. As a crime novel, it stands favourable comparison with almost anything else currently being written in - or out of - the genre. Detective Inspector Rebus, I suspect, has a way to go yet' -- Allan Laing GLASGOW HERALD 'He writes with a natural rhythmn which exerts an almost hypnotic effect' -- Andrew Taylor THE INDEPENDENT 'You'll love every second of it' DAILY MIRROR 4-STARS 'Exemplifies the enhanced craftmanship of the author's recent work; the sheer number of handicaps Rebus overcomes and of the puzzles he solves evinces a relishable virtuosity' -- John Dugdale SUNDAY TIMES 'A rich absorbing narrative in which the focus is not on who did it - that we know - but why. Artful, moving and entertaining' -- Peter Gutteridge THE OBSERVER 'Retiring the DI would be a risk, but this 16th Rebus suggests that, while readers wouldn't push him, Rankin could survive that jump' -- Mark Lawson THE OBSERVER 'Ian Rankin's John Rebus...is a flawed but very human creation, and his Edinburgh and its inhabitants beautifully drawn and utterly real' -- Myles McWeeney IRISH INDEPENDENT 'Exceptionally well-plotted book, which is guaranteed to hook you and keep you hooked' -- Antonia Fraser SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Still miles ahead of most modern British crime fiction' SHERLOCK MAGAZINE 'Recent crime writers...have at their disposal all the opening for alienation afforded by the modern world - and, if one of them has to be singled out as being especially attuned to contemporary murder and social malaise, it is Ian Rankin' -- Patricia Craid TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'Skilfully composed and powerfully written, with a vein of compassion that Rankin taps to startling and justified effect' -- Philip Oakes LITERARY REVIEW 'He is an addictive writer, which accounts for his immense popularity, but he is also a serious and disturbing one...What he does after Rebus is an interesting question. To track back and offer us some of Rebus's earlier cases would be to reduce the novels to mere entertainment, hugely popular no doubt but a betrayal of his remarkable talent' -- Allan Massie THE SPECTATOR 'Rankin at his raw-edged, page-turning best. Plot strands expertly twist around each other, puzzles are puzzling and the Edinburgh/South Queensferry locations are as real and atmospheric as it gets. With Rankin you can practically smell the fag-smoke and whisky fumes' -- Martin Radcliffe TIME OUT 'Rankin is the thinking man's thriller writer' -- Vincent Banville IRISH TIMES 'This latest story crackles with tension, energy and suspense. And it's a credit to Rankin's writing that despite our familiarity with the detective inspector, it is quite believable that Rebus is capable of committing a violent crime to protect a friend' -- Lise Hand SUNDAY TRIBUNE (Ireland) 'Nobody is better than Rankin at creating a diversion or leading readers astray only to abandon them in a cul-de-sac' -- Alan Taylor SUNDAY HERALD (Glasgo) 'As his best, few writers can match him for imaginative, multi-layered plots...he has returned to form with a novel of startling depth...In a genre where murder is the norm, it is a testament to Rankin's talent that he succeeds in making death seem as incongruous and painful as it does in real life' -- Nicola Upson NEW STATESMAN 'This gritty, fast-paced novel confirms why Rankin is such an indisputable leader' -- Allan Radcliffe THE LIST (Scotland) 'Seamlessly plotted, effortlessly compelling read. Rankin is in total command of his idiom. Rebus himself may be showing signs of burn-out and disaffection with conventional police procedure, but there is no indication that the series is running out of steam' -- Simon Humphreys MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Rankin is an astute social commentator and, as here, serious observation is often at its most effective when it comes in the form of exciting entertainment' TRIBUNE
Author Bio
Ian Rankin was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960. In 1997 he was awarded the Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction for BLACK AND BLUE. His subsequent Rebus novels have all been international bestsellers. He lives with his wife and two sons in Edinburgh. In 2003, Ian received an OBE for his services to literature.