In this novella, John Rebus is asked by a friend from his school days to look for the friend's missing son. So in the evenings after work, Rebus travels to his hometown in Fife to find out what happened to the young man. During the day he is tasked with finding out about what goes on behind the scenes of a shady casino.
This book has only a little more than 70 pages, but it totally gripped me just like a longer Rebus novel. The solution comes a bit out of the blue, and of course the plot cannot be developed as elaborately in such a format, but the style and characterization are very well done and I enjoyed reading it immensely. ( )

Set in Scotland, this short novella is one of Rankin's Detective Rebus crime stories. It's about gambling and, despite its title, no one dies. Perhaps Rankin's longer works are more satisfying. ( )

This novella may seem familiar to habitués of Ian Rankin’s novels featuring the surly-to-bed, surly-to-rise Detective Inspector John Rebus. Its sub-plot, involving the disappearance of Damon Mee, son of two of Rebus’s former schoolmates, would later feature, in an expanded form, as the sub-plot of his novel [Dead Souls].

While I prefer the longer format, and the opportunity that a full novel affords to bask in the story and revel in the depth of detail, this novella does serve to showcase Rankin’s talent. In just 73 pages he is manages to set a highly plausible scenario, with strong historical context, introduce a strong central story, throw in lots of rich, local colour and develop a compelling sub-plot.

I found it difficult to judge whether it was the similarities or the differences between this story and the final version of [Dead Souls] that were most notable. Even in the shorter version, Rankin gives significant insight into Rebus’s school days, and his intense but ultimately doomed relationship with Damon’s mother, Janice Playfair (later Janice Mee). The main aspect of the plot, however, is wholly absent from the longer novel, and also reflects relationships reaching back to the protagonists’ time at school. Matty has meandered through life, picking up skills as a croupier but moving from casino to casino, city to city, winding up working in Edinburgh where he eventually recognises Stevie Scoular, a former schoolmate who has made good, establishing himself as the star of the Hibernian football team. Having attained fame and fortune, Stevie Scoular aspires to the lifestyle that accompanies them, and becomes a regular player at the casino. Predictably enough, he soon finds himself accruing serious debts there.

In the meantime, Inspector Rebus, and his boos, Detective Superintendent ‘Farmer’ Watson have been watching the casino, eager to explore whatever avenues of criminal activity they might uncover.

The one slight doubt I had with this story was the suddenness with which it was all concluded. Indeed, I did even wonder whether Ian Rankin might have found himself suddenly confronted with an overlooked deadline. After building the story up piece by piece, and rendering a solid foundation, it did all come to a very quick close. The resolution was certainly satisfying enough, and made perfect sense within the context of the plot, but I did almost wonder whether an apprentice editor had been let loose with the scissors without supervision. ( )

At 73 pages this is far too short for a great Rebus. But it does offer some valuable snippets of information from Rebus's past and I enjoyed it more than the short stories in "A Good Hanging". Not a must-read unless you are a completest. ( )

This little novella would be a good introduction for people to Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series. The novella is a direct link to a full-length book in the series (Dead Souls). I had already read Dead Souls, so no surprises here for me, but what a great idea-write a small little book that can be read on its own outside of the series, and get more fans to your series! Ian Rankin is one of the best crime writers out there today in my opinion. His series is wonderful-great character development, wonderful plotting, gritty and hard-hitting. I also love his various sub-plots and plotting threads that get inextricably linked together as you read one of his books. So, try this little novella, and then begin a wonderful series. That is my advice. ( )