Inspector John Rebus of Edinburgh's finest has been knocking readers' socks off for years, in 10 full-length police procedurals by Ian Rankin that star the thoughtful, intelligent Scot. In this neat little novella, he does in 73 pages what many of his peers take three times as long to do--set an interesting scene, solve a crime, develop a character, and allow him to grow and change without sacrificing either pace or plot. Agreeing to track down the missing son of his high school sweetheart and her husband, a friend of his youth, Rebus takes the reader into the gritty back streets and criminal byways of Edinburgh, following Damon Mee from the nightclub where he was last seen through gambling casinos, football matches, and face-to-face encounters with the mobsters who may have been involved in his disappearance. Along the way Rebus confronts his own mortality, the choices he's made, and the obligations he owes his past. The theme of vanishing was spun off from Dead Souls, a full- length novel; according to Rankin, he wrote this brief but fully-realized piece first, then cannibalized part of it as a sub-plot for Dead Souls, "while altering the histories of the characters involved so that both can be read independently." Which is why American fans who haven't yet read Dead Souls will pick it up right after this one. Death Is Not the End is short enough to read on a shuttle flight and still have time for a nap. But like Rankin's other solid Rebus stories, it will stay with you even after you wake up. --Jane Adams


From Publishers Weekly
Using a subplot from his last Inspector Rebus novel (1999's Dead Souls), Gold Dagger Award-winner Rankin demonstrates at novella length why his Edinburgh policeman stands at the forefront of contemporary detectives. When 23-year-old Damon Mee vanishes from Gaitanos, a popular Kirkcaldy nightclub, the young man's parents naturally ask Insp. John Rebus for help. The father went to school with Rebus, while the mother turns out to be the inspector's old flame Janis, "the only girl in his long and trouble-strewn life who'd ever managed to knock him unconscious." Locating a missing person suddenly becomes personal, as Rebus broods over the past, wondering what might have happened had he and Janis stayed together. Might the recently engaged Damon be having his own doubts about love and marriage? A stakeout of Gaitanos leads Rebus to Richard Mandelson, a shady casino manager who drives a gold Rolls-Royce. Meanwhile, Matty Paine, a croupier in Mandelson's employ, is under pressure from his boss to approach his friend Stevie Scoular, the star of the Edinburgh Rangers football team, about throwing their next game. When Rebus also asks Matty (whom he once got off a drunk-driving charge) for a favor, he finds his investigation taking an unexpected twist. Taut exposition, wry dialogue and deft plotting, together with an insider's view of the seedy underside of Edinburgh, combine to make a superior thriller, well deserving its status as part of the Criminal Records series of novellas, edited by Otto Penzler. (June) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
This novella is a new addition to Rankin's stories featuring inspector John Rebus of Edinburgh, Scotland. Initially this appears to be simply a missing persons case. An old school friend calls Rebus for help finding his son, who vanished while buying the next round at a nightclub. But the investigation soon leads Rebus into the labyrinth of Edinburgh's criminal element. Here Joe Dunlop reader truly shines as he seems to relish making each of the wild cast of characters more eccentric and bizarre than the last. In short order you feel you've actually met these people and gotten to know them. The lively Scottish lilt Dunlop uses makes it all seem like some great story heard down at the pub. D.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
This entry in the Criminal Records series of novellas, edited by Otto Penzler, finds Edinburgh copper John Rebus on the trail of a crooked casino owner and, in his free time, helping an old girlfriend track down her vanished son. (As Rankin notes in an afterword, the missing-son story line was adapted as a subplot in the full-length Rebus novel Dead Souls ). Rebus is a private man, not willing to share his inner demons, and the brush with his past brings him closer to his feelings than he usually allows. All the strengths of the Rebus novels--an uncompromising view of inner-city crime, full-bodied characters on both sides of the law--are in evidence in this shorter form. Rebus fans who have read Dead Souls will enjoy comparing the two versions of the missing-son story, but the tale could also function as an introduction to the Rebus novels. An ongoing series of crime novellas would make a welcome addition to the genre. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


From Kirkus Reviews
Like CD singles, which ask a little less money for a lot less music, this initial entry in Otto Penzler’s new Criminal Records series is far from a bargain page-wise. Still, Rankin manages to cram an impressive amount of conflict into about a quarter of his usual space. Inspector John Rebus has two cases. The first is standard investigative stuff—get the goods on Topper Hamilton, an ex-con who’s reputedly become a silent partner in an Edinburgh casino. Rebus’s boss, Chief Superintendent Watson, wants Topper bad—bad enough to lean on Rebus to lean on his pet snitch to bend his code of ethics: snitch on the customers but not on the boss. The second case is more delicate: find the son of his lost love, Janis Playfair, now married to his boyhood friend, Brain Mee, who vanished from the radar screen while standing next to an ethereal blond at the bar of a local club. As casino and club move toward their inevitable crossing, Rankin gives an impressively atmospheric glimpse into a world of stylish young punters and “women scented from heaven and all points south.” What’s sacrificed is any real detection: both cases resolve themselves more or less without Rebus’s help, leaving him to resume his interminable courtship of colleague Siobhan Clarke. Readers may recognize subplots from Dead Souls (1999), published earlier but written later using what Rankin acknowledges as “cannibalized” material. The Criminal Records series offers fans a choice, but caveat lector: don’t buy the same book twice. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
For readers unfamiliar with the blistering plots and language of Ian Rankin's longer works, this special edition novella is the perfect opportunity to get to know Rankin and his unforgettable creation, Inspector John Rebus. For longtime Rebus fans, it is an opportunity to follow him as he explores a subplot from his most recent outing, Dead Souls. When his high-school sweetheart calls him out of the blue, Rebus agrees to track down her missing son, who was last seen at a bar owned by some shady mob-linked gangsters. His pursuit takes him through an Edinburgh beyond the tartan tearooms and cobbled streets of the tourist brochures, a modern city boasting a variety of criminals and their victims. As Rebus contemplates the lurking immortality of his own city, Rankin offers readers page-turning suspense and astonishing literary grace.



About the Author
Ian Rankin was nominated for an Edgar for Black and Blue, for which he won England's prestigious Gold Dagger Award. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When his high-school sweetheart calls him out of the blue, Rebus agrees to track down her missing son, who was last seen at a bar owned by some shady mob-linked gangsters. His pursuit takes him through an Edinburgh beyond the tartan tearooms and cobbled streets of the tourist brochures, a modern city boasting a variety of criminals and their victims. As Rebus contemplates the lurking immortality of his own city, Rankin offers readers page-turning suspense and astonishing literary grace.

FROM THE CRITICS

AudioFile

This novella is a new addition to Rankin's stories featuring inspector John Rebus of Edinburgh, Scotland. Initially this appears to be simply a missing persons case. An old school friend calls Rebus for help finding his son, who vanished while buying the next round at a nightclub. But the investigation soon leads Rebus into the labyrinth of Edinburgh's criminal element. Here Joe Dunlop reader truly shines as he seems to relish making each of the wild cast of characters more eccentric and bizarre than the last. In short order you feel you've actually met these people and gotten to know them. The lively Scottish lilt Dunlop uses makes it all seem like some great story heard down at the pub. D.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Heather O'Donoghue - The Times Literary Supplement

Ian Rankin is widely, and rightly regarded as the leading make crime writer in Britain...Rankin's plotting is clever, dense and subtle.

Kirkus Reviews

Like CD singles, which ask a little less money for a lot less music, this initial entry in Otto Penzler's new Criminal Records series is far from a bargain page-wise. Still, Rankin manages to cram an impressive amount of conflict into about a quarter of his usual space. Inspector John Rebus has two cases. The first is standard investigative stuff—get the goods on Topper Hamilton, an ex-con who's reputedly become a silent partner in an Edinburgh casino. Rebus's boss, Chief Superintendent Watson, wants Topper bad—bad enough to lean on Rebus to lean on his pet snitch to bend his code of ethics: snitch on the customers but not on the boss. The second case is more delicate: find the son of his lost love, Janis Playfair, now married to his boyhood friend, Brain Mee, who vanished from the radar screen while standing next to an ethereal blond at the bar of a local club. As casino and club move toward their inevitable crossing, Rankin gives an impressively atmospheric glimpse into a world of stylish young punters and "women scented from heaven and all points south." What's sacrificed is any real detection: both cases resolve themselves more or less without Rebus's help, leaving him to resume his interminable courtship of colleague Siobhan Clarke. Readers may recognize subplots from Dead Souls (1999), published earlier but written later using what Rankin acknowledges as "cannibalized" material. The Criminal Records series offers fans a choice, but caveat lector: don't buy the same book twice.