3.5 stars. Rebus with Fox in the background. A good return to action for Rebus. ( )

Solid. Interesting character development. I'm coming in at book 18 and don't feel lost in the story, but am interested in the backstory. Doesn't fall into any of the trappings that annoy me in candy. ( )

The most disappointing thing to me about Standing in Another Man's Grave is that it exists at all. With Exit Music, Ian Rankin made it clear that he felt Rebus' story arc had come to an end and that he had ended the story in the way that felt appropriate to him as the author. Now, a few years later, Rebus is back. One can't help but feel that this is an example of commercial motives over-riding an author's considered artistic judgment.

Now that I have that whinge out of the way the point is, how does this stack up as a Rebus novel? Well Rebus himself as the same as ever, pugnacious, flawed and committed to getting the job done any way he can. He still leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. Rankin has worked Malcolm Fox from his Complaints series into this book, and it looks like that will continue.

A feature of Rankin's work has always been his sense of place; Edinburgh is a powerful presence in nearly all of his work. Now that Rebus is investigating a series of disappearances whose common thread seems to be the A9 highway, Rankin extends this presence to parts North as well. His descriptions of the bleak weather in Inverness and Aberdeen, of the grim loneliness of truck stops along the deserted highway, even the vagaries of the traffic along different parts of the road; all of this brings you right into the novel and makes you feel as if you are looking over Rebus's shoulder as he nurses his ancient Saab around one more bend in his lonely road towards solving the crime.

This is a pretty good effort from Rankin, which means it's a heck of a lot better than a lot of the detective fiction on the shelves these days. I will certainly be reaching for Saints of the Shadow Bible very soon, despite my earlier misgivings. ( )

Questa nuova indagine di John Rebus mi ha molto deluso.
Andamento molto lento, pochissimi colpi di scena. Un finale un po' stiracchiato e improbabile.
Scritto bene ma tutto sommato noioso...solo per i fan di Rebus! ( )

At some serious misses, Rebus is back in form. Well done. ( )