A Question of Blood

By: Ian Rankin

Narrated by: James Macpherson

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

A shooting incident at a private school just north of Edinburgh. Two 17-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. 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 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 harassing Rebus's colleague Siobhan Clarke? Rebus's bosses seem to think so...

©2011 Ian Rankin (P)2014 Orion Publishing Group Limited

detective fiction doesn't get much better

- either does light fiction. Rebus is at this point in the series a complicated, fascinating character. Dark, but not depressing, his humanity shines though his gruffness. The supporting cast features many regulars from the series and Siobhan comes into her own in this novel. Rebus peeks into his army days - not glimpsed, I think, since Knots and Crosses.

This listen is best appreciated after at least several of the earlier Rebus novels. The only downside is that there aren't many left to go in the series... I had avoided Rankin because I'd been told that his novels are dark -- but they are not depressing and are rather life affirming overall. Rankin combines the best in modern police procedurals with the best elements of Golden Age detection and elements of a good, traditional Brit/Scot cozy with setting and character detail. Good dialogue too.

Like other later novels in this series, Rankin tackles a social issue along the way. That doesn't get in the way for me, but adds to the listen.

DI John Rebus - Edinburgh's best.

No matter how many Rebus books I read (or hear!) I never fail to love the grouchy, alcoholic, genius detective that is DI John Rebus.
He can at times be distant, cold, objectionable, unfathomable, bad tempered and wilful but he's a man who knows what's right. He doesn't hesitate in doing whatever has to be done to ensure that the innocent are protected. He'll risk his career, he'll trample on (often high ranking) toes, he'll jeopardise his life and health, he'll glower and he'll grumble.
But John Rebus will NOT stop until he's solved his case.
And that's why I love him.
Thank you Mr Rankin for creating him.

A classic Rebus.

Really enjoyed the twists and turns of the storyline which kept me engaged throughout. Rankin's characters are well described, seasoning the plot. long live Rebus (and Ian Rankin).

Learning more about Rebus

In this Rebus novel we really start to learn more about Rebus himself and what makes him tick. His army background, his failure to get into the SAS and the damage it caused him all go a long way to explaining so much about his character. I love the way his relationship with Siobhan develops in this story, and her realisation that Rebus will always try to solve other people's problems even if it means putting his own career in jeopardy. The plot, as always, is full of twists and turns and kept me guessing until the end.
I'm not so keen on this narrator. He has a Rebus down very well but his younger voices, his females and his accents never convince. Still worth listening to but not as good as James McPherson.

A question of excellence!

Great story! Couldn't put it down as usual. Really enjoyed this storyline....as always Rebus kept you wondering about his involvement until the very end! Just excellent!

Another great listen.

I'm on my second run through of this series and loving every minute. The story is great, the characters are rich and credible and brought to life by the expert narration skills of Mr Macphearson. If you like solid crime drama then this series is for you.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

We learn about Rebus and get inside the man's mind, while we watch his self admitted "bull in a china shop" methods of policing.
A great book, good story, with lots of twists and turns that is excellently narrated.

You can feel Rebus living the case

What can you say! The narrator was excellent, the story was edgy and you see Rebus & Sibohan get closer. White-Reed was an excellent character very believable

Classic Rebus

Clunky set up but that was soon passed and rest of story really well paced with great characters. Nice twists and well performed as usual with the caveat that non Scots characters have dodgy accents.

Great story

Another brilliant episode in the complicated life of DI John Rebus. Ian Rankin excels again and James Macpherson's narrations is perfect. Highly recommended!

Strong stuff indeed. NB - Spoiler included!

The only flaw in this book that I can recall thinking as such during its playtime was near the end where Siobhan opens up to the pilot offering her a free flying lesson. She had identified the gun dealer as the "client" at the airfield and rather than behave sensibly and back out easy, she goes through the whole thing with the pilot, getting him to come clean. And thereby putting herself at massive risk if the guy had cut up rough to conceal his doings. Yet that's exactly what she does. I can't imagine any savvy DS being so naive, and for me this is a sagging plot hole.
Otherwise, it's the usual grade of classic/classy RankinCrimeLit, which is to my mind matchless stuff.
That it's set in my capital city has to be a massive mark in its favour, as I know Edinburgh to some extent, while I know nothing of, for example, Morse's Oxford.
But I do have a major beef with Mr Rankin's determination to keep Rebus in a progressing "real time" bubble. Why? Simply because as the years progress we're re faced with a declining Rebus, and one who becomes increasingly a sideliner as Siobhan is developed to DI level and that "empty shirt" Malcolm Fox also serves to dilute the "Rebusness" of the later books. To some extent.
Siobhan is by far best as Rebus' "Tonto" rather than as a standalone detective, albeit one who ropes in our retired and rather played-out old-man Rebus. Rebus is our faulty rough edged hero, not Siobhan. But Rankin from early times determined to force this time-progressing aspect to his novels, to the detriment of his readers who, rather like me, can't get enough of Mr John Rebus.
So I do hope that some future books might come about that are flashbacks or "prequels" as the term seems to be. I'd happily settle for that, with hopefully MJ Cafferty also resurrected as the only truly fixed villain in these stories. The confrontations between those two are highlights of the books they appear in.
The reader is almost uniformly excellent, apart from getting some Fife place names laughably badly pronounced, but that apart, he's terrific.