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Review Archive for author's that start with ... R
Review Archive for author's that start with ... R
Reviewed on this page: Rebus's Scotland (Ian Rankin), Watchman
(Ian Rankin), Mortal Causes
(Ian Rankin), Bleeding Hearts (Ian
Rankin writing as Jack Harvey),
Witch Hunt (Ian Rankin writing sa
Jack Harvey),Blood Hunt
(Ian Rankin writing as Jack Harvey), The
Falls (Ian Rankin), Resurrection Men (Ian Rankin), The Jack
Harvey Novels (Ian Rankin),
Beggars Banquet (Ian Rankin), A
Question Of Blood (Ian Rankin),
Fleshmarket Close (Ian Rankin),
The
Flood (Ian Rankin), The Naming of the Dead (Ian Rankin),
Dark
Hearts of Chicago (Horwood and Rappaport), Roots of Evil (Sarah
Rayne), Tower of Silence (Sarah Rayne),
A Dark Dividing
(Sarah
Rayne),
Spider Light (Sarah Rayne), The Death Chamber (Sarah
Rayne),A Field of Darkness (Cornelia Read), The Music of the
Spheres
(Elizabeth Redfern),
Peepshow
(Leigh Redhead),
Rubdown
(Leigh
Redhead), Cherry Pie (Leigh Redhead), All She Ever
Wanted (Patrick Redmond),
Déja Dead (Kathy Reichs),
Fatal Voyage
(Kathy Reichs),Grave Secrets (Kathy Reichs), Monday
Mourning
(Kathy Reichs),
Cross Bones
(Kathy Reichs),
Break
No Bones (Kathy Reichs), Bones to Ashes (Kathy Reichs), Devil
Bones (Kathy Reichs), Saigon Tea (Graham Reilly),
Scarecrow
(Matthew
Reilly),
Black Monday (R Scott Reiss),Piranha to Scurfy
(Ruth
Rendell) Adam and Eve and Pinch Me (Ruth Rendell),The Rottweiler (Ruth
Rendell), Thirteen Steps Down (Ruth Rendell),
End In Tears (Ruth
Rendell), The Water's Lovely (Ruth Rendell),
Not In The Flesh
(Ruth Rendell),
Hollowpoint
(Rob Reuland), White Devils
(Will
Rhode),
No-One You Know (Michelle Richmond), Self's Punishment
(Thomas Richter),
The Prayer Of The Night Shepherd
(Phil Rickman),
At
Risk (Stella Rimington),
Secret Asset (Stella Rimington),Illegal
Action (Stella Rimington),
The Villa (Nora Roberts),Heaven
and Earth
(Nora Roberts),
The Shark Mutiny,(Patrick Robinson),
Strange
Affair
(Peter Robinson),
Meet Inspector Banks (Peter Robinson),
Hard
Rain (David Rollins),
Map of Bones
(James Rollins),
A Case
Of Knives
(Peter Rose),
Buried Evidence (Nancy Taylor Rosenberg),
The
Human Stain
(Philip Roth),
The Plot Against America
(Philip
Roth),
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J. K. Rowling
), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows(J K Rowling),
Shalimar
The Clown
(Salman Rushdie),
The Hit List
(Chris Ryan), The
Watchman
(Chris Ryan),
The Increment
(Chris Ryan),
REBUS'S SCOTLAND
by Ian Rankin
photographed by Tricia Malley and Ross Gillespie
ISBN 0752852450
192 pages
December 2 2005
$49.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
March 22 2006
If you are reasonably familiar with Ian Rankin's Rebus series you have probably glimpsed Scotland, especially Edinburgh, through John Rebus's eyes or, putting it another way, through the eyes of his creator, Ian Rankin. Likewise, if you are familiar with Rankin's recent books, you will have seen the photographic work of Malley and Gillespie, since they have been responsible for the impressive covers of the novels. In REBUS'S SCOTLAND the reader will find an amalgam of the photographs and the prose specifically designed to illustrate more prolifically the country familiar to the author and fictional detective alike.
Rankin makes it abundantly clear that Rebus's experience incorporates a great deal of the author's history. Rankin's relatives are transferred, holus bolus, to paper as are various youthful experiences and opinions. Both author and detective are Fifers; neither visits frequently yet both are indelibly marked by their upbringing in the area. Both tend to be outcasts.
Rankin incorporates a large volume of extracts from his various books in order to get his perceptions across to his readers. The photographs, mostly captioned, in black and white, with certain key areas out of focus, provide a dramatic backdrop to the prose.
The author explains how his work evolved, how he came to use real places rather than the original fictional places he originally employed. He also notes the inspiration for various tales and draws the reader's attention to the manner by which he is able to bring his opinions before the public.
No doubt readers enamoured of Rebus's accustomed watering holes will rejoice in seeing photos of the interior of the Oxford Bar where Harry, once touted as the rudest barman in Europe, now reigns supreme as owner. (His rudeness is now exhibited only to the favoured few.)
Not only is light cast on sights and scenery of Scotland as perceived by the remarkable duo of Rankin and Rebus, the musical tastes of both men are examined, as are, indeed, the musical likes of Siobhan Clarke.
Ian Rankin is now famed in Cardenden (where both he and Rebus grew up) by having a street, Ian Rankin Court, named after him; just recognition indeed.
For those readers who enjoy discovering rather more about their favourite
authors than is made very obvious in their fiction, this coffee table book
will prove a welcome addition.
WATCHMAN
by Ian Rankin
ISBN 0752860348
265 pages
Orion
January 9 2004
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Wels Pickles
January 2 2004
Scots novelist Ian Rankin is, arguably, one of Scotland's, indeed, Great Britain's, finest crime novellists. Although he had initially concentrated on writing poetry and short stories, one of his short stories took on a life of its own and became his first novel The Flood published in 1986. Others of Rankin's inventory include (in no particular order) :The Falls Set in Darkness, Rebus: The Early Years , Dead Souls, Death Is Not The End, The Hanging Garden, Herbert In Motion and other stories , Black and Blue, Let it Bleed , Bloodhunt, as Jack Harvey, Bleeding Hearts as Jack Harvey , Witch Hunt as Jack Harvey, Mortal Causes, The Black Book, Tooth & Nail, A Good Hanging and Other Stories, Strip Jack, Wolfman, Hide and Seek, Resurrection Men, A Question Of Blood and Knots and Crosses. Of recent years publishers have taken to rereleasing Rankin's early work. Watchman was written in 1988 and is a welcome addition to my bookshelves since I did not read it in its previous incarnation.
Rankin describes Watchman as a 'young man's book' and it is certainly very different from his later, brooding, Rebus books. The author admits that Miles Flint, the protagonist, changes from a ruminative, 'professional voyeur' to a ruthless man of action. He happily credits great authors such as Graham Greene and John Le Carre as being fonts of inspiration for him, saying that their anti-heroes were probably instrumental in the creation of both Miles Flint and his overwhelmingly popular Detective Inspector John Rebus.
Rankin includes historic events such as the IRA bombings in London to add verisimilitude to his own IRA story. His big fictional bombing is located in unfortunate Kew Gardens - but this does not occur until the action is well underway.
Miles Flint displays paranoid tendencies, in that he always drops cutlery so he can (he thinks unobtrusively) search under restaurant tables for bugs and always inspects underneath his car before driving away, just in case someone has attached explosives to it. That is about the extent of it until, on his night off, he invites himself along on surveillance of a suspect codenamed 'Latchkey' to avoid going home to face a marriage which seems to have become loveless. A simple stratagem sees Latchkey escape the watchers and assassinate an Israeli diplomat. Flint is blamed for the mishap.
Miles is sent to Northern Ireland, told he will thus be able to redeem himself, by his superior, Partridge, who appears next in line for the directorship. Someone Flint had once considered his friend, gossip monger Billy Monmouth, gives him the cryptic warning to 'be careful' but does not elaborate. When Miles arrives in Ireland, he is horrified to learn that the arrest in which he was supposed to aid is an execution, and he is one of the trio due to be executed.
The blurb writer happily informs readers that Miles becomes involved with a suspect, a young Irishwoman. Wouldn't it be lovely if blurb writers actually read books before writing their descriptions - one of the reasons I don't read blurbs until after I read a book! Miles has decided to rehabilitate his marriage as well as his reputation, prior to leaving England, and dalliance is the last thing on his mind.
Rankin maintains terrific speed and suspense with his customary proficient writing. Certainly there are more surprises in this book than in his recent Rebus books but the writing does not simply seek cheap thrills. There is still a great deal of thought put into all aspects depicted of a spy's life. This is, as the writer acknowledges, an extremely short book, but loses nothing of its quality thereby.
Since the publishers have been rereleasing early Rankin works for the
past few years, as well as the customary one new book a year, it will be
interesting to discover which new old book is due next for resurrection.
I trust it will be another I have not previously read.
MORTAL CAUSES
by Ian Rankin
Orion
ISBN 0-75284-414-8
$17.95
August 3 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Ian Rankin's Detective Inspector John Rebus is gradually becoming as familiar to fans of televised crime fiction as Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford or Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse. Of the latter two characters Rebus, himself a dour Scot plagued by internal demons and phantoms more closely resembles the recent murder victim (with author in the role of murderer) Inspector Endeavour Morse. Both characters are renowned for breaking conventional rules and alienating those in authority. The affable Wexford was never so despised by his superiors.
As Rankin has matured as a writer, so the Rebus books have become more complex. This plot layering is obvious even in the few years that separate this TV tie-in re-issue of Rankin's 1994 Mortal Causes in comparison with, say TheFalls of 2001 or Set in Darkness of 2000. While Rankin has been very successful under his own name, this did not preclude his authorship of three titles, Witch Hunt, Blood Hunt and Bleeding Hearts under the nom-de-plume of Jack Harvey. These novels were not successful on their initial release, through no fault of their author, but one trusts that this shortcoming has been remedied by their recent re-issue. Rankin possesses a wicked sense of humour, a fact obvious in the Jack Harvey novels although not so apparent in the later Rebus books. The villain of the first Rebus book, Knots and Crosses, became the slightly re-jigged hero of one of the Harvey novels and in those same novels in-jokes abound. Dead Souls, Death Is Not The End, The Black Book and Tooth & Nail are others of Rankin's books but this is, of course, by no means an exhaustive list.
Mortal Causes opens with the torture and killing of a victim as seen from that victim's point of view. The murder takes place in a no longer used part of town, in fact, in a section that has been built over. Rebus is called in to investigate and points out that the young man has been executed in a manner that possibly ties his death to Irish Protestant terrorist organisations. Then the identity of the victim comes to light and Rebus finds himself under pressure from more than one direction. Another plot thread sees Rebus trying to do a favour for a friend, a Catholic priest who is distressed to discover an outreach centre being too successful in promoting peace and co-operation between rival Catholic and Protestant gangs.Gangster Big Ger Cafferty, Rebus' nemesis from more than one book, is also a major part of the plot and as the number of casualties increases, Rebus is horrified to find even his domestic life is under threat.
Rankin is an excellent writer. His plots are never unbelievable nor unnecessarily convoluted. His characters are well drawn and certainly those appearing in more than one novel gain depth with each appearance. This author never falls prey to the downfall of some writers in permitting his crisp prose to become flowery and completely unrepresentational of real life dialogue. One can only trust that TV viewers are impelled by what they see on the small screen to read the books, and from the books such as Mortal Causes to follow further the adventures and misadventures of Rebus in the later stories.
BLEEDING HEARTS
by Ian Rankin writing as Jack Harvey
Orion
ISBN 0-75284-332-X
$16.95
September 7 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Scottish author Ian Rankin scarcely needs any introduction to mystery and thriller fans. He is the author of the exceedingly popular Inspector Rebus series featuring the dour John Rebus who is, in almost all aspects, the counterpart of Colin Dexter's similarly popular Inspector Morse. Rebus, in his early years, did not provide sufficient income for the Rankin family appearing, as he did, only once a year. Rankin's publisher was unwilling to release more than one book each year under the Rankin name so the nom-de-plume Jack Harvey was invented for a set of three novels. Witch Hunt, Bleeding Hearts and Blood Hunt. These books were by way of being experimental in that they were not a series and were very different from Rankin's usual work in their treatment of the protagonists. They also permitted Rankin to use rather more humour than that available for the perennially unhappy Rebus.
The initial publication of the three books (Bleeding Hearts was
released in 1994) did not meet with success. Since the writing is uniformly
excellent the lack of success is a mystery in itself - unless their was
a fault with the publicity. Earlier this year a collection of the three
novels was released and since then the individual books are again being
brought to readers' attention.
ÝÝÝÝÝÝBleeding HeartsÝ makes clever use of the first person in order to give the chief protagonist, assassin, Michael Weston, a sympathetic appeal. The title of the book employs word play since Michael always shoots for the heart, and from afar so he does not have to come close to his victim. Death is always at a distance. The third person narrative in the book is used in the scenes belonging to the detective, an American former cop, the proud owner of personal habits and characteristics guaranteed to make the reader shudder.
Leo Hoffer, the repugnant detective of Bleeding HeartsÝ is paid by a millionaire to track Michael, whom he has named the Demolition Man, or simply the D-man because of the assassinís habit of setting off explosions as a diversionary tactic when he is making a hit. Weston respects Hofferís abilities and there is a bond between this unlikely duo.
Where there is
an assassin there are, of course, corpses but Rankin does not delight in
dabbling in gratuitously bloody detail. The story is engrossing and, needless
to say, very well told.
WITCH HUNT
by Ian Rankin
Orion
ISBN 0-75284-289-7
$16.95
June 8 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
I suppose it is a truism that one can never have too much of a good thing. Thus, a bare five months after the issue of the collection of The Jack Harvey Novels we now have the reissue of Witch Hunt, written by Ian Rankin under the nom-de-plume Jack Harvey. At the time of my reviewing the anthology I lamented the fact that the novels, on their first release, had not been very successful and put that down to inept publicity. I trust the reissue of the individual books at considerably less than the price of the set will find the wide readership this author deserves.
Since the book has already been reviewed by me, I shall simply reprise some of my comments from the original critique and trust no one will take me to task for self plagiarism.
Scottish born Ian Rankin is the author of the Inspector Rebus novels, a remarkable series set in Edinburgh. Rebus, like his English counterpart, Inspector Morse, the invention of writer Colin Dexter, is a dour character constantly at odds with both Fate and his superiors. In a foreword to The Jack Harvey Novels, Rankin explains the genesis of the Harvey nom-de-plume. He and his wife and baby son, Jack, needed money which was not sufficiently plentiful from the Rebus books. Publishers were unwilling to release more than one work by a particular author in a single year so, after the Rankins moved to France, the author set about writing stand alone books as Jack Harvey. And why Jack Harvey? Jack, after his baby son (now there's a turnabout) and also because Jack Higgins' work is popular and readers might just confuse the two Jacks; and Harvey was his wife's maiden name. Besides, the name would place his work at eye level on bookshop shelves, unlike 'Rankin' which is usually more at knee level, a low blow.
Rankin possesses a great sense of humour, which one would not guess from the Rebus books. Witch Hunt exemplifies this admirably with loads of fun with words as well as some in jokes about the Rebus series.
The author is quoted as saying that all the Harvey books were by way of being experimental. Witch Hunt deals with a female assassin, dubbed Witch by her pursuers. There had not been too many female killers dealt with in fiction until then (although of late they have been proliferating somewhat). Rankin was able to make Witch a sympathetic character (although ruthless) while depicting equally compassionately the character of Dominic Elder.
Dominic Elder, the hunter of Witch, has cause for pursuit in that his daughter was the accidental victim of a fatal terrorist attack: he is determined to discover if Witch, she of the teddy bear and Tarot pack, had inadvertently killed the girl. Nonetheless, there is a bond between pursuer and pursued and the final outcome is dramatic and surprising.
If you,
Dear Reader, are a devotée of Rankin's work and missed out on the
first publication of Witch Hunt do add this to your 'to be read'
list. Rankin, under whatever name he writes, is a master craftsman.
BLOOD HUNT
by Ian Rankin writing as Jack Harvey
Orion
ISBN 0-75284-406-7
$16.95
421 pages
April 5 2002
reviewed by Denise Wels
Is there a mystery aficionado who has not encountered and enjoyed the work
of Scot Ian Rankin? If, in fact, there is, then, Dear Reader these snippets
of information are addressed to you. Ian Rankin is the author of the Inspector
Rebus novels (Dead Souls, Set in Darkness, The Falls, Resurrecton Men
as well as many others) a remarkable series set in Edinburgh.
Rebus, like his English counterpart, Colin Dexter's (now deceased) Inspector
Morse,
is a dour character constantly at odds with both Fate and his
superiors. In the nineties Rankin experimented with some stand-alone books
under the nom-de-plume of Jack Harvey. Despite their high
quality of workmanship, perhaps as a result of poor marketing strategies,
these books did not take with the readership accustomed to John
Rebus, so it is good to find them now being reissued.
Ian Rankin possesses an admirable sense of humour which he exercises rather more liberally in the Jack Harvey novels than he does in his Rebus books, although for the diligent there are nuggets waiting to be unearthed in the latter. In the Jack Harvey novels Rankin felt he was more at liberty to experiment both with characters and situations so readers are well rewarded by daring these pseudonymous works.
Blood Hunt features a hero who appeared in a different guise in the Rebus book Knots and Crosses. The novel also deals with environmental issues, including the very topical Mad Cow Disease or BSE, and the callous disregard for the welfare of the planet as well as merciless indifference toward individual human lives by big business involved in chemical companies.
Gordon Reeve, formerly of the SAS and now the proprietor of an outward bound training camp, sets out to solve the murder of his journalist brother . He is, at the same time pitted against a former SAS colleague, Jay, who is out to assassinate Reeve at all costs, for perceived wrongs. There is something of a bond between the two (as there is between hero and so-called villain in all the Jack Harvey novels) because of their shared history and consequent knowledge of each other's abilities and possible failings.
Rankin appears to have a great knowledge of weapons, a knowledge he displays to great advantage in this book. With such themes for the thriller it is inevitable that there is a great deal of violence and blood letting, but this is not gratuitous gore, such as is found in the work of some other authors reviewed this month, but very necessary to the plot. As is always the case with the work of Ian Rankin, the pace of the book never slackens. The author is extremely literate and never flounders for words: a master-craftsman in every sense. My one regret with the work is that, presumably, Rankin does not intend further tales along these lines.
The Falls
by Ian Rankin
Orion
ISBN 0-75283-861-X
April 6 2001
$27.95
reviewed by Denise Wels
Scottish author Ian Rankin (Knots and Crosses, The Hanging Garden, Set in Darkness, The Jack Harvey Novels et al.) has continued his justifiably acclaimed Rebus series with the twelfth Rebus novel, The Falls. For those fortunate enough to live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane (fortunate insofar as the visit goes, at any rate) Rankin will be touring those cities, being a guest at the Sydney Writers' Festival, 14-20 May 2001. He will not, alas, be visiting Adelaide.
The author has a talent for characterisation. Constant readers will note the development of character of protagonists such as Gill Templer and Siobhan Clarke since their first appearances in earlier novels. Templer, who always plays by the rules despite an earlier involvement with Rebus, in this book succeeds Farmer Watson as the new DCS. Siobhan is cut from the same cloth as Rebus and throughout the series has seen herself, almost unwittingly and unwillingly , model her policing methods on those of Detective Inspector Rebus, as a rule breaker within the team. Like Rebus, Siobhan prefers to keep developments to herself and work alone.
Philippa 'Flip' Balfour, daughter of a wealthy Edinburgh merchant banker, has disappeared, so of course pressure is brought to bear on the police department to make the search for her a prime objective. Constantly out of favour with authority, DI Rebus is instructed to investigate the discovery of a miniature doll in a tiny balsa coffin, found by a local woman potter at The Falls, location of a diminutive waterfall where Flip used to play as a child.
Rebus attempts to tie in the coffin with others found in Arthur's Seat many years earlier and Rankin thereby introduces fascinating historical detail into the novel, taking us back to the Resurrectionists, Burke and Hare... who actually hastened the demise of those they resurrected. The author skilfully intermingles actual characters with the fictional and thus adds a certain seeming authenticity to the story.
Siobhan finds the computer Flip was using and sends a message to the mysterious Quizmaster who controlled a role playing game in which Philippa Balfour was a player. Intrigued, and feeling that the game had something to do with the disappearance, Siobhan, initially with the help of DC Grant Hood, then later with that of Eric 'Brains' Bain, solves the clues.
The author draws an unpleasant picture of politics within the Edinburgh police force, depicting officers' attempts to gain a coveted position and the ill-will thereby generated. As usual, Rebus is on the periphery despite playing a guiding role. As usual, too, his habitual pessimistic and dour outlook causes him occasionally to contemplate his own possibly hastened demise.
In this book Rankin is kind to Rebus in that the Detective Inspector finds a lover but loses an old and valued friend. He also finds plenty of peril. Cerebral challenges are accompanied by physical danger which altogether provides a pleasing mix.
This author never includes violence and fountains of blood for simple shock value... grue is there only to advance the plot. Similarly, the sex scenes are tastefully, rather than lubriciously, narrated.
Devotees
of Rankin's work cannot fail to come away feeling extremely satisfied after
reading Rebus's latest set of adventures and misadventures and those readers
who have not yet met the Detective Inspector should reward themselves by
going out to obtain this book and making his acquaintance forthwith.
RESURRECTION MEN
by Ian Rankin
Orion
ISBN 0-75284-706-6
$29.95
February 8 2002
reviewed by Denise Wels
Ian Rankin, a graduate of the University of Edinburgh , held down many jobs, including that of a journalist, before finally making a name for himself writing crime fiction. Detective Inspector John Rebus first appeared in 1987 in the novel Knots and Crosses. After the publication of that book the success of both Ian Rankin and John Rebus was certain. Rankin has won the Chandler-Fullbright Award, twice won the CWA Short Story Dagger and was shortlisted for the 1995 Anthony Award. Black and Blue won for Rankin the Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction. All in all an impressive record which is a pretty good indication that fans may anticipate much enjoyment in reading any new book by Ian Rankin. Some others of the authors books are The Falls, Rebus: The Early Years, Set in Darkness, Dead Souls, Death Is Not The End ,The Hanging Garden, Let it Bleed and of course the Jack Harvey Novels, Bloodhunt, Bleeding Hearts and Witch Hunt. These titles comprise only a feaction of the complete list of Rankin's work.
Any Detective Inspector John Rebus novel is far from a light hearted frolic but Resurrection Men is arguably even darker than some others of Rebus' adventures. The title of the book refers to groups of policemen who have, for various reasons, shown themselves unable to accept authority and are therefore sent for retraining to Tulliallan, the Scottish Police Training College. The current intake includes John Rebus in its membership. Rebus has, uncharacteristically, lost it and hurled a mug of tea at his superior officer ,Gill Templer. Now he finds himself with a strange set of companions who seem, in some way, to be linked. They are given an unsolved case to work on in order to improve their team capabilities. The main problem Rebus finds with the case is that he knows rather too much about it, knowledge he would prefer not to share with either his colleagues or his superiors.
Siobhan Clarke, newly promoted to the rank of Detective Sergeant, remains in Edinburgh working on the murder case from which Rebus has been abstracted, the murder of an art dealer. As the case progresses, Clarke is seen by her peers to resemble Rebus more and more as her methods of obtaining results grow more to resemble his. Like him, she is not a team player but also like him she is a brilliant detective yet she finds this murder case extremely taxing. Rebus' nemesis. Big Ger Cafferty is again a player on the wrong side yet one whom authorities see as a friend of Rebus. The Oxford Bar, that Mecca for mystery fans visiting Edinburgh serves abundant liquor to police and civilians alike.
Rankin's Rebus books become more and more complex as time passes. The quality of the narrative is always very high, the prose straightforward and the situations believable. The characters of both Rebus himself and Siobhan Clarke are more developed as they are exposed to greater dangers both moral and physical. There is never any slackening of tension as the mysteries are gradually unravelled. As ever, the reader is left wondering just where Rebus can go from here and must be anxious to find out with the release of Rankin's next book. May it be soon!
THE JACK HARVEY NOVELS
by Ian Rankin
Orion Trade
ISBN 0-75283-788-5
$29.95
19 January 2001
reviewed by Denise Wels
Scottish born Ian Rankin is the author of the Inspector Rebus novels,
a
remarkable series set in
Edinburgh. Rebus, like his English counterpart, Inspector Morse,
the invention of writer Colin
Dexter, is a dour character constantly at odds with both Fate
and his superiors. In a foreword
to The Jack Harvey Novels, Rankin explains their
genesis. He and his wife and baby
son, Jack, needed money which was not sufficiently
plentiful from the Rebus books.
Publishers were unwilling to release more than one work
by a particular author in a single
year so, after the Rankins moved to France, he set about
writing stand alone books as Jack
Harvey. And why Jack Harvey? Jack, after his baby son
(now thereís a turnabout) and
also because Jack Higginsí work is popular and readers
might just confuse the two Jacks;
and Harvey was his wifeís maiden name. Besides, the
name would place his work at eye
level on bookshop shelves, unlike ëRankiní which is
usually more at knee level, a
low blow.
Rankin possesses a great sense of humour, which one would not guess from
the Rebus books. The first of
these novels, Witch Hunt exemplifies this admirably with
loads of fun with words. Throughout
the three books the diligent reader may also discover
sly in-jokes related to the Rebus
series.
The author explains that all three works, Witch Hunt, Bleeding Hearts
and
Blood Hunt were by
way of being experimental. The first of the three dealt with a female
assassin, dubbed Witch by her
pursuers, the second with a male hired killer, but one
portrayed in such a way as
to engage the sympathies of the reader, and the third featured a
hero who was a variation of the
villain in the Rebus book Knots and Crosses. This last
deals also with environmental
issues, including the very topical Mad Cow Disease or BSE,
and the callous disregard for
the welfare of the planet as well as merciless indifference
toward individual human lives
by big business involved in chemical companies.
Bleeding
Hearts makes clever use of the first person in order to give
the
assassin, Michael Weston, a sympathetic
appeal. The title of the book employs word play
since Michael always shoots for
the heart, and from afar so he does not have to come close
to the victim. Death is always
at a distance. The third person narrative in the book is used in
the scenes belonging to the detective,
an American former cop, the proud owner of personal
habits and characteristics guaranteed
to make the reader shudder.
Dominic Elder, the hunter of Witch, has cause for pursuit in that his daughter was the accidental victim of a fatal terrorist attack: he is determined to discover if Witch, she of the teddy bear and Tarot pack, had inadvertently killed the girl. Nonetheless, there is a bond between pursuer and pursued and the final outcome is very surprising.
Leo Hoffer, the repugnant detective of Bleeding Hearts is
paid by a
millionaire to track Michael,
whom he has named the Demolition Man, or simply the D-man
because of the assassinís habit
of setting off explosions as a diversionary tactic when he is
making a hit. Weston respects
Hofferís abilities and there is also a bond between this
unlikely duo.
The third book is quite different, in that Gordon Reeve, formerly of the
SAS and now the proprietor of an outward bound training camp, sets out
to solve the murder of his
journalist brother and at the
same time is pitted against a former SAS colleague, Jay, who is
out to assassinate Reeve at all
costs, for perceived wrongs. Again, there is a bond.
It is very difficult to do justice to the three books in one short review.
Suffice it that each book proceeds at breakneck speed but is tremendously
well written. Rankin
displays an intimate knowledge
of weapons which gives one furiously to surmise and of
course, there must be concomitant
blood letting which is not pleasant, but necessary.
Rankin, in his foreword, says the books were not popular. I can only attribute
that to the marketing. Certainly, I had not previously read any Harvey
books and had only recently heard of them despite the first having been
released in 1993. They are thrillers of
high quality and it is a great
pity that Harvey will produce no more of these thought-provoking works.
BEGGARS BANQUET
by Ian Rankin
ISBN 0-75285-239-9
308 pages
Orion
$29.95
October 4 2002
reviewed by Denise Wels
Ian Rankin is undeniably one of the best British writers of crime fiction today - as well, thanks to the adaptation for television of his Rebus series, as being one of the better known authors. When it comes to crime fiction written by Scots I cannot think of one whose work I prefer. Like his primary protagonist, Detective Inspector John Rebus, Rankin was born in Fife. He studied at Edinburgh University where he obtained an M.A. in English Literature. Later, he won a Chandler-Fullbright Award, which enabled him to study in the U.S. He has also won a collection of awards including the CWA Short Story Dagger and an Anthony award. His books include The Falls Set in Darkness Rebus: The Early Years , Dead Souls Death Is Not The End , The Hanging Garden , Herbert In Motion and other stories, Black and Blue Let it Bleed, Mortal Causes The Black Book , Tooth & Nail, Strip Jack, A Good Hanging and Other Stories, Hide and Seek , The Flood, Knots and Crosses, Watchman, Resurrection Men and Bloodhunt Bleeding Hearts and Witch Hunt the last three written under the nom-de-plume of Jack Harvey.
Rankin's work, of latter years, seems to have been taken over by the good Detective Inspector John Rebus which is a pity since there is far more to the man than this dour and tortured character. Beggars Banquet provides ample evidence of that facet of Rankin's writing since although there is a seasoning of John Rebus throughout the stories, other fare as well is served to the discriminating reader in this feast of literature. In his very entertaining introduction Rankin explains that he writes his short stories between Rebus books largely to take a break from his best known character.
In the introduction, too, the author casts some interesting light on his career - how his writing began properly as poetry/lyrics for a young band of which he was a member. His poetry told stories so it was not a big jump from song lyrics to short stories then to his first novel The Flood.
While it would not be possible to summarise all the plots of the individual stories comprising this volume, let it be said that Rankin takes the reader through games of Patience - and a mystery inspired by Rebus' girlfriend, Patience - through puzzles set in the art world and another set in the past, in the period piece The Serpent's Back to the appropriately timed Rebus anti-Christmas story No Sanity Clause. One of my own favourites is the non-Rebus The Hanged Man.
Rankin writes his stories with never a wasted word. He is well known for
skillfully excising anything that might be seen as excess fat - not for
him the fictional equivalent of cholesterol-clogged blood vessels
as his stories circulate through the mental alimentry canal of his readers.
Rankin's sharp wit is always evident in his narratives and I doubt the
man could ever produce a dull story. If you like your reading in short
grabs but prefer to read a complete narrative at a sitting, then this tightly
plotted collection is for you.
A QUESTION OF BLOOD
by Ian Rankin
ISBN 075285111X
360 pages
Orion
September 5 2003
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Wels
August 2003
Ian Rankin must surely be a household name in any home where readers enjoy British crime fiction. Scots born Rankin gained his MA at the University of Edinburgh where he studied English Literature, specialising in American fiction. Appropriately enough, he won a Chandler Fulbright prize which enabled him to travel to the US and learn about the country which produced so many of the authors he admires. A former journalist, working on a music magazine, Rankin frequently introduces music into the Rebus books, ascribing favourites to the Detective Inspector which I would imagine mirror his own tastes.
Rankin's early published work tended to be more in the field of poetry and short stories but one of his stories expanded to become his first published novel, The Flood. It was not until Knots and Crosses that John Rebus was born, literarily speaking, and from then on Rankin's work achieved popularity with crime fiction aficionados. Since then, of course, any fan of Rankin's would not dream of visiting Edinburgh without taking the Rebus tour or, at the very least, having a drink in the back streets Oxford Bar and probably receiving a glower from the ill-tempered barman there.
Rankin's bibliography includes (to mention but a few) Hide and Seek, Tooth and Nail, Strip Jack, The Hanging Garden, Dead Souls, Set in Darkness, Resurrection Men and writing as Jack Harvey Witch Hunt, Bleeding Hearts and Blood Hunt.
A Question of Blood, like all the Rebus novels have become increasingly over time, is very dark. It begins with an injured John Rebus talking to Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke in an Edinburgh hospital. Rebus has badly scalded hands but he is, as usual, very secretive about his private life and is refusing the say how he acquired the damage. A miscreant who has been stalking Clarke has been burned to death on the same night he was seen in the company of John Rebus and Rebus is discovered to have accompanied the criminal to his house so of course the Detective Inspector becomes a murder suspect.
Siobhan Clarke has told Rebus of a fatal shooting at a private school in a town outside Edinburgh. Three people - two of them students and one a gunman - have been killed and another injured. The gunman is ex-SAS and the two dead students belonged to the school cadets. Because of his army background - he almost became a member of the SAS himself - Rebus has been asked to help with the case. The fact that one of the dead boys is the son of Rebus' cousin should, of course, preclude the Inspector's association with the case but rules have never before fazed Rebus so there is no reason they should do so now. In any case, Rebus faces suspension - a not uncommon occurrence for the hapless detective.
Rebus has to battle with his memories of being ex-Army returned to civilian life, as was the gunman, without being 'switched off' by the authorities from being a killer. As usual he must battle his superiors as well as criminals in order to discover exactly why the murders occurred and just what is going on with illegal weapons being sold in Edinburgh. And why were drugs found on the gunman's boat? Why, too, is the Army inordinately interested in the case?
Rebus suffers much pain, both physical and psychological, in this novel.
Siobhan Clarke, becoming more and more like Rebus as time progresses, finds
herself in extreme peril. The unattractive side of Edinburgh adolescents
is displayed as are the dark interests that might corrupt them. As in an
earlier novel,
Strip Jack, Rankin allows his disdain for some politicians
to show through his narrative. There is, as always, black humour on display
to accompany the depressing violence and the incomparable detection as
well as the excellent characterisation typical of the novels of Ian Rankin.
FLESHMARKET CLOSE
by Ian Rankin
ISBN 0752851136
399 pages
Orion
October 8 2004
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
October 1 2004
There are several authors whose books I eagerly await each year. Ian Rankin is one of them. I have never been disappointed by this Scottish author's work. FLESHMARKET CLOSE certainly didn't change the trend. Detective Inspector John Rebus first appeared in KNOTS AND CROSSES in 1987. Over the years, as Rankin has polished and developed - and perhaps even got to know the dour detective more intimately - the character, Rebus has become more complex and possibly even more pessimistic.
Detective Inspector John Rebus, along with Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke (who, more and more closely, resembles her mentor) no longer have a permanent police station they can call home. Now they are crammed into Gayfield, a place where the coppers resent the intruders. Rebus, despite his rank, has no desk nor computer. Siobhan, at least, has a desk.
Rebus refuses to take the hint from his masters that he would be better off retiring. His lungs and liver (probably in addition to his lights) already in peril, would surely have an even shorter life than that enjoyed by them in the abused body of the pre-retiree. Thus, Rebus, the unwanted, tends to attach himself to any case that interests him, hoping not to be turned away.
An illegal immigrant is found murdered in one of the slum housing developments of Edinburgh. A woman companion who refuses to identify herself reports the murder. Rebus finds the conundrum of who, how and why irresistible so follows the trail that leads him to a detention centre and the misery of its inmates. His battered heart is, if not won, at least borrowed, by the children of the dead man, children who are living in the horrible surroundings that should never house young and innocent beings of any nationality.
Siobhan, meanwhile, is approached by the parents of a girl who was raped and committed suicide some years previously. The criminal who raped her has been released from gaol and the victim's young sister has vanished.
Siobhan allows her heart to be ruled by the situation of the parents so follows the trail of the runaway through the less salubrious districts of Edinburgh, including one rejoicing in the nickname of the Pubic Triangle. She is also called upon to witness the exhumation of two skeletons, that of an adult and of a baby, inexplicably buried in cement in the cellar of a bar.
A seedy journalist is one of the more unpleasant people encountered by both Rebus and Siobhan. An Immigration officer of Jamaican descent reluctantly coopts Rebus into helping him investigate illegal immigrants. Somehow, however, the officer has rather more information on the case than he cares to divulge to Rebus.
John is exposed to the sad lives of the immigrants and finds himself unexpectedly affected by their trials and by the people who exploit them for gain. He becomes the unwilling idol of a lawyer who is working for the rights of the people. He also becomes the admirer of a woman artist dubbed Our Lady of the Vigils who protests regularly outside the detention centre.
Of course, it would not be a Rebus book if the doughty detective were
not subject to physical peril and injury. Rankin, as usual, persecutes
his popular protagonist while purveying his peerless prose to do so. The
standard of Rankin's work has received many tributes in the form of various
awards conferred on his since his very early days. He doesn't exhibit any
fascination with unnecessary gore in his marvelously written work,
just extremely well thought out plots and a wide knowledge of humanity's
very sad condition.
THE FLOOD
by Ian Rankin
ISBN 0752873105
205 pages
Orion
September 1 2005
$25
reviewed by Denise Pickles
August 26 2005
Is there a crime fiction fan out there who has never heard of Ian Rankin, the creator of Inspector Rebus? Unless you are one of those rare beings, you are going to have to put away any ideas and preconceptions about the writing of this gifted author before plunging into THE FLOOD, Rankin's first published novel. In an introduction, Rankin warns the reader that THE FLOOD is a young man's book, that it is not a crime novel (well, there IS crime within it)and that it is about the perils and pitfalls of growing up. Apart from these caveats, the style is quite different from that in the author's subsequent mystery fiction output.
The narrative begins with ten year-old Mary Miller fiercely protecting her doll, Missie Lizzie, from a cruel attack by boys older than her brother Tom. They steal Missie Lizzie and, in an effort to seize back her beloved toy, Mary finds herself pushed into the 'hot burn' a chemical laden stream running from the coal mine on which the townspeople rely for their livelihoods. Mary nearly drowns. During the night following the incident, Mary has what will later prove to be a prophetic dream. While the girl sleeps, her hair turns silver.
When Mary is fifteen, she has a baby, Sandy. She never discloses the identity of the boy's father and he grows up knowing he is the child of someone the townsfolk call a witch. Subsequent to the death of her parents, Mary is solely responsible for her son but he is fortunate that several of his peers decide to be his friend. When Sandy is the age his mother was when he was born, he meets Robbie, an adolescent tinker, and Robbie's sister Rian in a deserted house. Then follows a strange and distressing time for the boy.
This is a beautifully written book. The prose could almost be described
as poetic; it is certainly evocative of images both bright and gloomy.
The agonies of adolescence, of discrimination and misery are tellingly
evoked. The characters are realistically drawn and their lives convincingly
portrayed. Rankin confesses that people saw his own birthplace of Cardenden
in the fictional village of Carsden. If the simile is accurate, it is a
boon to the world of literature that Ian Rankin was able to escape the
village and find his feet as a very successful writer in the larger world.
THE NAMING OF THE DEAD
by Ian Rankin
420 pages
ISBN 0752868594
Orion
November 3 2006
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
November 3 2006
There surely can't be too many authors whose protagonist has affected the psyche of their native land to the extent that questions have been asked in parliament about him. This has happened to Ian Rankin's Detective Inspector John Rebus in the Scottish Parliament. Readers who are enthusiastic about the dour, pessimistic and now nearing retirement Detective Inspector may feel a pang of hope that Rankin may, on the strength of that, consider at least, if not abandoning his proposed career in 'graphic novels', at least continuing writing his unillustrated fiction. After all, even if he doesn't wish to examine the life (presumably alcohol sodden) after retirement of Rebus, he has fifteen years of a career about which to write prequels, given that the first Rebus novel was set after that doughty detective had been working in the police force for that length of time. Even so, since the Rebus character has been exhibiting, right from the first, growth and change, I wonder how Rankin would be able to change him back to the young investigator he used to be, a man not so disillusioned with life and authorities.
On Friday July 1 2005, Rebus is attending the funeral of his younger brother Mickey. Although they had been close when boys, the pair had grown apart, a regretful thought to which Rebus returns throughout the novel. He is anxious to leave the funeral celebrations as soon as possible and when he returns calls from Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, after switching his mobile back on, he is somewhat relieved to be able to plead work as an excuse to absent himself.
Siobhan has been attempting to contact Rebus because she has found a patch missing from the jacket of a murdered rapist, Cyril Colliar, a man employed by Rebus' nemesis, Big Ger Cafferty.
John meets Siobhan at the Clootie Well (a fictional spot mirroring the function of the well on Black Isle) in Auchterarder. People leave items of clothing there to appease the sprites and prevent bad luck. Sure enough, the missing piece of jacket is there so the pair arrange to have a Scene of Crime set up.
The police presence is stretched at that time. It is the beginning of the G8 talks and protesters are massing. Most police have been coopted into the effort and reinforcements are arriving from all over Scotland and England. Rebus had been excluded from the preparations since the authorities distrust him and are inclined to sideline him from any meaningful actions while awaiting the inevitable day of his retirement.
While the police are still present at the site, Commander Steelforth of the Special Branch appears. He and his men have been sent from London and Steelforth makes it obvious he is an obnoxious man intent on impressing his own authority on the local police.
Detective Sergeant Clarke's parents are part of the protest contingent and they introduce a multi-metal pierced girl named Santal to her. Santal is equipped with a digital camera which is probably intended to film police brutality against the marchers.
Rebus is the only member of the CID available when a call comes from Edinburgh Castle, locus for a dinner of the G8 VIPs, to say someone has fallen, jumped or been pushed, to his death from the ramparts. The victim is an MP. Rebus does not go along with the verdict of suicide and decides to investigate, despite the obvious disapproval of Steelforth
When it appears there may be three victims of the murderer who accounted for Colliar, Siobhan is put in charge of the case by the Chief Constable. Rebus is to assist her.
Ian Rankin never pulls punches in his novels but THE NAMING OF THE DEAD is particularly powerful. Incorporating the real events surrounding the G8 summit as well as the horror of the London bombings of the seventh of July, the author manages to imbue the narrative with a feeling of the shocked reactions of the people who endured the events.
Big Ger Cafferty has a large part to play in this book and forms an unlikely and uneasy alliance with Rebus, the man who hates him. Cafferty has always been an evil presence in the series but prior to this outing has lacked the three dimensional life he achieves in this adventure, even taking into account his unpleasant habit of feeding corpses to his pigs in order to destroy evidence.
The journalist Mairie Henderson, reluctantly reconciled with Rebus, makes a welcome appearance in the narrative, somehow reinforcing the depths of determination and near desperation of Rebus as he seeks to forget the black future of retirement.
Perhaps because of its relationship to real life, this is one of Rankin's best efforts to date -- and given his bibliography, that is saying something. As usual, there are no wasted words; the plot, though intricate, is realistic and the characters impressive in their evolution.
One can only hope that Rebus continues to solve mysteries in future
books.
DARK HEARTS OF CHICAGO
by William Horwood and Helen Rappaport
ISBN 9780091796587
633 pages
HUTCHINSON
London
June 1 2007
$32.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 13 2007
William Horwood is the author of the Duncton Chronicles, books that have charmed a large audience of readers over time but who is Helen Rappaport? She is an historian, formerly an actor, but having met Horwood, decided to embark on a joint project, the writing of DARK HEARTS OF CHICAGO. The novel is set in 1893 Chicago, home of the Chicago World's Fair, beinning at the fag end of that landmark event.
The body of a girl of approximately twenty is found in the noxious Bubbly Creek, resting place of much of Chicago's chemical pollution, as well as organic contamination. To the horror of the onlookers, the body is warm -- and still not dead. She is packed off to an asylum, the management of which is soon to be passed from a somewhat indolent physician to a younger, very ambitious man, Dr. Eels.
The reader soon learns that the victim is New York resident, Anna Zemeckis, a Latvian librarian, who had been permitted to stay with relatives in Chicago but something mysterious happened to her and she disappeared. Her father, Janis, is distraught when told his daughter is dead, a victim of a street car accident, and he writes to Joseph Pulitzer, proprietor of the New York World asking him to publish a warning to other parents never to let their daughters visit Chicago.
Emily Strauss has worked twelve months on the Pittsburgh Echo and sees herself as a seasoned journalist (I wonder what she would think of modern day Journalism courses!) She beards Pulitzer in his house, forcing him to listen to her plea for a job, and is told she should, from a pile of Pulitzer's mail, decide on a story and write it within nine days. The letter Emily rescues from the pile is from Janis and Emily is to pen a story about young girls disappearing in Chicago.
The reader must, of necessity, display a certain amount of bravery in order to pick up this hefty work and invest hard earned money and the prospect of more than a single night's reading into the dubious rewards of a debut cooperative venture. Be reassured, the novel well repays the investment. Although it must be admitted that at times the story is hard going, on the whole it is entirely engrossing. There are plenty of perils to face Pauline -- I mean both Anna and Emily -- and the Chicago of the late nineteenth century is portrayed vividly, from the social to the antisocial, the milieu of fashionable ladies to the dark side of pornography, prostitution and political machinations. To add an even darker icing to the confection, possible abuses of the psychologically disadvantaged and poverty stricken are dangled before the reader.
While some of the book may seem to carry overtones of Charles Dickens, it must be borne in mind that that author was writing on a contemporary scene while this duo are recreating the past. As such, it is a creditable effort and any shortcomings may be perceived as roughness due to the novelty of the authors' collaboration.
The writers incorporate historical figures, such a Pulitzer and a Chicago identiy known as Mr. Crazy, one Isaiah Steele, a man who makes a generous contribution to the girls' wellbeing.
Apparently this book is the first of a series. If its successors
achieve the same professionalism, it will be a series well worth reading.
Sarah Rayne's website is at http://www.sarahrayne.co.uk/
ROOTS OF EVIL
by Sarah Rayne
ISBN 0743257316
457 pages
Simon & Schuster
July 2005
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 20 2005
If, Dear Reader, you begin to read Roots of Evil (and it is my earnest recommendation that you do so) and think to yourself that it is a very polished performance for an author with only three books to her credit, you would be correct in your astonishment. In fact, Sarah Rayne has been writing published novels since 1982. The Rayne nom de plume is the relatively new identity for a British writer of horror and gothic fiction - but we are left guessing as to the identity of that novelist. If her work in that category is as fascinating as that exemplified in Roots of Evil, I, for one, shall attempt to seek out books by her in the alternative genre.
Lucy Trent, granddaughter of the infamous film star Lucretia von Wolff who made her debut in movies that predated sound and colour, is working on a presentation of silent horror films for her employer, Quondam Films. Her concentration is broken when schoolteacher Trixie Smith visits her workplac, requesting information on Lucretia for use in a postgraduate thesis on The Psychology of Crime in the Nineteen-fifties." Especially important to Trixie is information on a child other than Lucy's mother and sister, the only two known for certain to be Lucretia's daughters, the mysterious Alraune. Lucretia had been famous for the movie Alraune which depicted an early successful attempt at artificial insemination in which the posthumous semen of a hanged man was used to fertilise a prostitute but the girl thereby conceived was born without a soul. There were several versions of that film but Lucretia's was particularly successful,
Lucy is inclined to help Trixie and contacts relatives with her recommendation. She is horrified shortly thereafter to hear of a death on the premises of Ashwood Studios in a scenario mimicking the two murders attributed to Lucretia and the film star's subsequent suicide.
It is very evident, from the first pages of Roots of Evil, that Sarah Rayne is extremely well read and has an intense love and knowledge of the English language. Two of her characters derive pleasure from completing quotes begun by the other. At times, her prose verges on the poetic. The action of the tale never flags; the characters - the virtuous ones, that is - are attractive and the mysteries are guarded almost until the conclusion of the narrative, thanks to the artful use of sleight of words and elegant deception. There are vivid depictions of pre WWII Vienna as well as an intimation of the horrors of camps such as Buchenwald and Auchwitz. This reviewer was left wondering about the similar sounds of the words 'Ashwood' and 'Auchwitz'. Could that have been a deliberate move by the author?
The novel contains interesting questions of identity as well as implications for the nature vs. nurture debate. For those readers who enjoy their mysteries seasoned with insinuations of blood curdling horror, this is a must.
Without a doubt, an audience perusing Roots of Evil will wish to read Rayne's previous works Tower of Silence and A Dark Dividing.
TOWER OF SILENCE
by Sarah Rayne
ISBN 0743450892
378 pages
Simon & Schuster
August 2004
$18.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 4 2005
Sarah Rayne, a long time writer of horror fiction under a different (still secret) name, switched genres when she was inspired by a newspaper article on Indian funerary rites, to pen TOWER OF SILENCE. Despite her new playground being, nominally, suspense fiction (and suspense abounds in the work) there are, nonetheless, large dobs of what could well be seen as horror within this excellently written novel.
Selina March is almost stony broke (to use parlance at which the lady herself would shudder). Her goddaughter, Gillian, persuades her that she should redecorate her very old domicile of Teind House, located in Inchcape in Scotland, and transform it into a B&B in order to augment her income. This having been done, author Joanna Savile comes to stay with the intention of doing research for a new book. Joanna is interested in nearby Moy, a hospital for the criminally insane, with a particular concentration on the story of former child murderer Mary Maskelyne. Joanna visits Moy for the interview then disappears.
In 1948, a group of children, including Selina and Christabel Maskelyne, sister of the not yet conceived Mary, are taken hostage by insurgents in Rajasthan, in north western India. They are taken to the Tower of Silence in Alwar, a place where the bodies of the dead are lodged that they may be eaten by birds of prey. The rebels set out to execute the children but Selina escapes by hiding within the tower. Her parents are murdered but Selina is returned to relatives in northern Scotland, where she has lived, despite the deaths of her aunts and great-uncle, ever since. Initially discomfited and tormented by the resemblance of an Irish Round Tower adjacent to the house to the Tower of Silence, Selina eventually comes to see its value to her. She also realises that the secrets it contains must be protected from casually prying eyes.
This work made the long list of the Theakston Old Peculier prize and no wonder. It is a shame it did not get as far as the short list but it was up against intimidating competition from the likes of Minette Walters and Ian Rankin. In all her work, Sarah Rayne makes manifest her tremendous love of and feel for the language. Her characters are never at a loss for an apposite quote. These self same characters are truly delightful - in a macabre sort of way. Rayne lovingly details layer upon layer of events, beginning with horrors inflicted on children during their childhood as well as horrors inflicted by those children, until they result in the all too believable adults of the present. Given that Joanna Savile is an author, one can only wonder how many of the views she expresses might be those of Rayne herself - I was particularly taken by the notion of the writer as vampire.
The narrative explores three time frames: the present of the story (which appears to be the late nineties), the events of the abduction in 1948, and the intermediate time when Selina and Mary are growing up. The possible effects terrifying abominations might have upon children as well as neglect and poorly understood actions of adults are extrapolated into a spellbinding, tense tale. The book is a tour de force as well as a portrait of a Tour de Silence . Despite the horror of the story, it is possible to laugh at some of Ms Rayne's dark humour - including a wry, ironic twist at the conclusion.
It would be a pity were any true aficionado of suspense fiction deprived
of reading TOWER OF SILENCE, or, indeed, any of the author's output
so far which includes ROOTS OF EVIL and A DARK DIVIDING .
The upcoming SPIDERLIGHT will be anticipated with a great deal of
pleasurable impatience.
A DARK DIVIDING
by Sarah Rayne
ISBN 0743450906
420 pages
Simon & Schuster
July 2005
$18.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
July 26 2005
Here's a treat for readers who have, like me, developed a taste for the work of the pseudonymous Sarah Rayne. First released in 2004 and now available in an eminently affordable paperback format, it is definitely a book not to be missed.
One time journalist in the "upper echelons" of Fleet Street but now a hard-up reporter for the Bellman , a journal specialising in "human interest" stories, Harry Fitzglen is ordered by his editor, Clifford Markowitch, to cover the opening of a new art gallery in Bloomsbury. Harry is affronted at the prospect of lowering his standards to such an extent until Markowitch dangles a bait in front of Harry's contemptuous nose. While socialite Angelica Thorne is the driving force behind the gallery, her photographer partner, Simone Marriot, who used to be known as Simone Anderson, has a colourful history, one involving deaths, disappearances and possible collusion within the medical fraternity. Markowitch tells Harry he must follow "a pathway into the past". Even if Fitzglen is unable to solve the mystery of two decades ago, at least the story of Simone, as she is at present, will make a good human interest story.
How many readers did not have an invisible playmate in their childhood? Simone has one whose thoughts she can feel in her head. This remains a constant until she and her mother Melissa move to Weston Fferna when Simone is eleven. There Simone is appalled to find Mortmain House, Dead Man's House, which has loomed large in the stories told to her by the 'little girl', her telepathic friend. There, too, Melissa tells Simone that she was born a conjoined twin but that her twin, Sonia, had died shortly after their birth.
In parallel with the story of Melissa and her twins is told the story of Charlotte Quinton who, in 1900 bears what are then called Siamese twins (after the first documented case, that of Chang and Eng Bunker). Charlotte who, like Melissa, is trapped in a loveless marriage to an abusive husband, names her twins Viola and Sorrel, then is devastated to be told they have died. A thread which braids the two tales is the book discovered by Harry which details the atrocities committed against children and the poor in Mortmain House at the turn of the century.
Sarah Rayne has a social conscience, as she has ably demonstrated in her other books, Tower of Silence and Roots of Evil. She is remarkable in that she is able to detail horrors committed by society in beautiful prose which contrasts starkly with the dark deeds she portrays. Her love of the language and ability to use it to fashion tales which can seep into the soul and stir the conscience is remarkable. Obviously a poetry lover, Rayne uses A Shropshire Lad, poetry by A E Housman written in 1896, as a macabre harmony to haunt the story. Like A Dark Dividing, the poem may be read on more than one level. The author's use of the verses emphasises the eerie, sombre atmosphere of the book. The characterisations in the work are no less complicated than the dense and complex plot. Mortmain House itself could almost be considered a character in its own right.
Sarah Rayne is said to write in the horror genre under another name.
If this is so, it would be safe to assume she is a mistress of that art.
She is certainly able to evoke horror in more than one form in her trio
(so far) of books. Another work, Spider Light, is forthcoming in
the new year. No doubt new converts to Rayne's novels will be very anxious
to continue their acquaintance with the prose of this marvelous author.
SPIDER LIGHT
by Sarah Rayne
406 pages
ISBN 0743257324
SIMON & SCHUSTER
December 1 2006
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
June 30 2006
There is no doubt that readers who fell in love with the work of Sarah Rayne on discovering ROOTS OF EVIL, A DARK DIVIDING or TOWER OF SILENCE will be overjoyed to learn that SPIDER LIGHT will soon be available in this country. Once again the author explores haunts of horror, madness and murder as she narrates a tale of events separated by a century but somehow linked in substance and effect as well as being linked by the baleful influence of an old watermill in which terrible things have occurred.
Antonia Weston, disgraced psychiatrist, is meeting her former boss Jonathan Saxon following her release from prison. She was convicted of manslaughter and unexpectedly gaoled for five years. Now that Antonia is free, Jonathan wants to make sure she has somewhere secluded in which to consider and plan for her future. He has heard about Charity Cottage in Amberwood, Cheshire and persuades her it would be a good place in which to rusticate.
As Antonia drives to Amberwood, she becomes convinced she is being followed. That is only the first of the unsettling events which beset her over subsequent weeks.
As she arrives in the village, she notices an old watermill that she later finds out is named Twygrist. There is a shudderful feeling of giants grinding the bones of men to bake their bread resonating through the name.
Quire House is overseen by Godfrey Toy and Oliver Remus, employees of the Quire Trust who add to and oversee the collection of old books, jewellery and other antique artefacts displayed in the House. Toy invites Antonia to the House and there she notes the charcoal drawing of a former owner, Thomasina Forrester. Somehow, the woman had a faintly unpleasant air about her.
The reader is given a glimpse into the past and the world of Thomasina Forrester the lady of the manor, who is a very unpleasant person indeed, one who sets her eyes on Maud Lincoln , a naive and innocent young girl, determining Maud will be her prey. Thomasina has the revolting habit of exercising her droit de seigneur (droit de dame?) over young maidens within her realm.
Maud's father George operates Twygrist but even in those early days, the mill has secrets, secrets concerning the nearby lunatic asylum Latchkill and the Forrester family. Somehow, metaphorical tentacles of terror and death entrap the women of two centuries, inflicting grief, horror and insanity on some.
In the present day, Antonia is stalked by a perfectly villainous baddie set on wreaking vengeance for nonexistent transgressions in a complex, nicely judged plot.
Rayne is not shy about illuminating the darkest crannies of her characters' motivations and appetites. Her villains are possessed of the most heartless wickedness while her innocents seem all the more vulnerable in contrast. The author has the ability to conjure danger and suspense that will make any reader unwilling to put down the book while at the same time wishing she had not begun to read in the time of spider light, the twilight in which unspeakable horrors dwell.
Again in this work, as in the previous three, the author displays a
great deal of polish and her obvious love of the language, which she uses
to careful advantage.
THE DEATH CHAMBER
by Sarah Rayne
ISBN 9780743285841
546 pages
SIMON & SCHUSTER
April 1 2008
$29.95
reviewed by Denise Pickles
January 17 2008
Sarah Rayne has, time and again, proven herself to be an accomplished story weaver, able to write a thriller and incorporate a soupcon of supernatural horror yet still keep a firm grip on her audience. I don't know about other readers, but I invariably have to keep reading until well after my customary bedtime, just so I can see how she resolves her plot. THE DEATH CHAMBER proved no exception to the rule.
Again the author sets the narrative in a spooky old building. Calvary Gaol is no longer in use as a house of correction but the building still exerts a sense of menace in all who behold her. The execution chamber itself holds a particularly gruesome and frightening aura.
In the present day (the story is set in several time frames) Georgina Grey is approached by Vincent Meade of the Caradoc Society to request her help in disposing of the assets of the society. After all debts are paid, any remaining money is to be passed on to her, as the descendant of Dr. Walter Kane, her great grandfather. George is currently short of money, having been swindled by her business partner who, at the same time as pinching George's cash, also swiped her boyfriend. She is, therefore, quite happy to seek evidence that she is, indeed, Dr Kane's descendant.
In the meantime, a small team of people is preparing to make a television programme about the old Cumbrian prison. Calvary contains an execution chamber in which prisoners had, until the abolition of capital punishment, been killed since 1790. Because director Chad Ingram feels the place would be imbued with a certain sense of Weltschmerz, he determines to incarcerate a blind friend of his, someone who wouldn't know where he was and so would be unaware of what he might sense, for three hours during the night, then film Jude Stratton 's reactions.
The perspective switches around throughout the narrative. Walter Kane is seen as he is interviewed by the prison governor, Sir Lewis Caradoc, for the position of doctor to the institute, in 1938. In that portion of the narrative, there is a reference to Neville Fremlin, a man convicted and hanged for murder. These characters comprise a large part of the peripatetic story, as do Bartlam and Violette Partridge, a fine pair of rogues who prey upon the gullible bereaved who wish to contact dead loved ones.
As always, this author manages to ramp up the atmosphere of uneasy tension. For a change, no characters are obviously deemed insane by their contemporaries, but the reader is, of course, in a privileged position and the two chief baddies are very nasty indeed, with quite base motivation.
Come to think of it, there are a number of baddies peppered throughout the text. Rayne does baddies very well, be they sane or otherwise. Sometimes I have the feeling she is far happier creating the less than pleasant than she is when dream