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 Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin
reviewed by Underview
Original appearance: Albedo one issue ??, 1997?
MORTAL CAUSES is yet another novel with a sub-title. In this case the sub-title reads, An Inspector Rebus Novel. But don't worry, the fact that there are other Insp. Rebus novels has no bearing upon the current book except for the fact that the previous ones gave Ian Rankin a chance to practise, to hone his abilities. And hone them he did.
The action takes place in Edinburgh and you very quickly begin to feel that you know the city, at least a little. Rankin has also peopled the novel with characters who are believable and interesting, each of them contributing their own peculiar flavour to end product. You can almost hear the accents, see the attitudes in their body language, feel their desires and frustrations.
Rebus himself is a bit amorphous, but that can be put down to his development over a number of novels. It is impossible for Rankin to re-define him in each episode, what we are presented with is a snapshot of the Inspector at the time of his current case. If there is a slight lack of background detail on him it is more than made up for by the welter of colour and the definition of the remainder of the novel.
A youth is murdered. The crime has the appearance of an IRA punishment shooting, except for the fact that on top of a bullet through his knees, elbows and ankles (called a six-pack apparently) he has also been shot in the back of the head. But why bother with the six-pack which is, after all, meaningless punishment to someone who will shortly become a corpse? Is there a message for someone else?
The youth turns out to be related to a notorious Edinburgh gangster, a man whom Rebus has put in jail. But the gangster's arm is long; prison walls are no barrier to his influence. He wants his son's murderer's found and he wants to ensure that Rebus gives of his best in the hunt for the killers. He is also determined that he himself will hand down the sentence. So Rebus receives a visit, and a good kicking, from the gangster's men.
Prior to reading MORTAL CAUSES I was unaware of the depth of sectarian tension and potential violence that exists in Scotland. Sure, I had heard of Glasgow Rangers (Protestant) and Glasgow Celtic's (Catholic) rivalries, between both fans and football teams. But I had not realised the extent of it throughout Scottish society. Nor had I realised the depth of support there is for both sides of the religious divide in Northern Ireland. If nothing else, Rankin's novel has given me a glimpse behind a door that was previously closed, has given me a tiny insight into the Scottish psyche.
But more importantly, Ian Rankin has entertained me for 278 pages. This is a tightly constructed and superbly plotted murder mystery. The characters are plausible and the tension is maintained right to the end. As each layer of the puzzle that has been set for Rebus is unfolded, it falls into place logically and seamlessly. There is no sign that this mystery has been constructed; nothing appears to have been hung onto the novel merely to further the plot. In future the legend An Inspector Rebus Novel will be accepted by me as a guarantee of excellence. If you like police procedurals, mysteries or thrillers, or just well-written, entertaining books, you should pop down to your local bookshop and speculate a fiver on MORTAL CAUSES. If you don't like it, you can sue me.
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