Exit Music
by Ian Rankin
Orion, HK$128
There are probably microbes living on Betelgeuse that know Exit Music is the final novel to star Detective Inspector John Rebus. Shortly after his debut in 1987, Rebus was condemned to live and work in 'real time', unlike, say, P.D. James' Adam Dalgliesh, who has been solving crimes for almost 50 years but is still waiting for his voice to break. Creating a character with planned obsolescence was a brave move, although the hype generated by Rebus' 17th and final curtain has paid off. But is it any good? The short answer is yes. So is the long one, even if the writing doesn't match that of the superb The Naming of the Dead. The plot spans the week and a half before Rebus receives his golden handshake. A Russian poet is found dead in his car, seemingly the victim of a mugging. Rebus, true to form, isn't so sure, not least because there is a group of shady Russian businessmen in town. The solution of the crime feels oddly subsidiary to the resolution of Rebus' career, which is handled movingly but with typical restraint. Yet I suspect we haven't heard the last of John Rebus, who will doubtless reappear to assist or hinder the wondrous Siobhan Clarke. The king is dead, long live Siobhan.
