Rebus takes on the case of a man who shoots himself during a meeting with the head of his local bank, but a photograph in his wallet leads him to a chemical plant preparing a pesticide for the third world, and a disgruntled ex-employee with a grudge over a false sexual assault claim. The first series is very different in both format and style. Hannah's portrayal of Rankin's world-weary detective was questioned by many who knew the books, as he did not physically match their image of Rebus. Hannah himself has said he felt forced into the role, having been executive producer, when his own choice for the role, Peter Mullan, was rejected by STV. [2] This is my first Ian Rankin mystery, and I have ended up enjoying it. I've been a fan of British crime fiction for a while, but admittedly women writers like Jacqueline Winspeare, Dorothy L Sayers and Louise Penny (OK, Canadian). I just happened to end up with a second hand copy of Dead Souls first, following a friend expert in the genre recommended Rankin - afterwards discovering that a few readers think this one doesn't meet his usual standards. I will have to try other earlier ones to compare for myself on that. Dead Souls is a 1999 crime novel by Ian Rankin that features Inspector Rebus. The title refers both to Joy Division's song "Dead Souls" and to the 1842 Nikolai Gogol novel Dead Souls; quotes from the latter appear at the beginnings of the two divisions of the book. The novel won the French Grand Prix de Littérature Policière upon its publication there in 2004.

Detective Constable George "Hi-Ho" Silvers is a police officer who was based at St Leonards. He is described as "coasting towards his pension." In Even Dogs in the Wild there is a small dog, a wire-haired terrier, astray in Cafferty's neighborhood. After several visits there, Rebus takes the dog home and, finding that no-one else wants a dog, adopts it. During its time boarding with a vet it acquired the name Brillo. In this there were significant plot differences from the novel. These concern the fate of the missing person, the nature of the relationship between Rebus and his ex-girlfriend, and the character of her husband. As a high school teacher, there were many times a student's behavior would become crystal clear after meeting his parents. I'd run into problems with work ethic or attitude or whatever, and I'd think, "What's the deal with this kid?" Then I'd meet Mom and/or Dad in a parent conference and immediately realize, "Oh, of course that's why he [fill in the blank]." It would be some sort of weird mirror image, where son's classroom surliness was reflected in Dad's obvious displeasure at coming to school for a meeting. Darren Rouse, the pedophile, claims that he is taking a photography class and the zoo is his assignment. This claim is verified by his social worker. Rebus discovers that he is living in an apartment that overlooks a playground. He tells a reporter he knows about him who refuses to write the story, telling him that there is something inside him that has died.

In Set in Darkness (2000) Rebus recalls how strongly Rhona supported Scottish independence in the 1979 Scottish devolution referendum, and he maps the failure of their relationship against the transition from arguing actively about it to silent provocation and finally his own failure to vote at all. In a world of divisive politics and national discord, does the law still have meaning, or is everyone reverting to an older set of rules? And if so, why shouldn’t Rebus do so too?” [3] Cast [ edit ] It's an entertaining enough little story - we get a few glimpses into Rebus' childhood, meet some people from his past, get the eureka moment as he (alongside Farmer Jim) solve the crime. It's just that there wasn't a huge amount of mystery or high stakes surrounding the crime in the first place, I doubt we'll see the people from his past again, and his childhood story doesn't really change anything. I was surprised and touched to read in the intro that the title is a reference to a Joy Division song - I had assumed that it referred in some way to Gogol. And yet another case looms on the immediate horizon. Two-time murderer, Cary Oakes is on his way to Edinburgh after being released from prison in the States. The same day Rebus receives this news he is scheduled to testify in court on an abuse trial regarding a children's home.

The First Stone" is the first and only story to be featured throughout the series which is not based upon a full Rebus novel, rather a novella from a collection of short stories. "Knots and Crosses" is the only story which despite bearing the name of a Rankin book, does not share the plot.Rebus is an upcoming Scottish crime drama streaming television series, adapted from the Inspector Rebus novels by Sir Ian Rankin, and starring Richard Rankin in the titular role. It is the debut UK production from Swedish streaming service Viaplay. [1] [2] Synopsis [ edit ] Rebus investigates when the wife of a millionaire philanthropist, who is due to lead a conference on poverty in Africa, is found dead in the river, the morning after he was discovered having sex with a prostitute in a local brothel during a raid by divisional CID. Rebus is a hard bitten, drink sozzled, chain smoking detective with a history and a rebellious streak. Sounds familiar already - is that you Harry Hole?

Detective Inspector "Shug" Davidson is a police officer based at Torphichen Place (West End) police station in Edinburgh. He appears in Let it Bleed (1996), Dead Souls (1999), Fleshmarket Close (2004), and Exit Music (2007). He and Rebus respect each other and he is often helpful to Rebus.

Summary

In later novels, Cafferty is a near-permanent figure, claiming to have gone straight while retaining criminal control of Edinburgh from behind the scenes. He is often linked to cases that Rebus and Clarke are investigating, but there is never enough evidence to bring charges against him. Basically, this is one of the subplots of Dead Souls -- Rebus' looking for the missing son of a people he knew in school -- in its original form. It'd be modified, expanded, and given a different ending in the novel. There's a subplot, mildly related, involving organized crime and gambling -- in much the same way that other crimes were associated with the missing person's case in Dead Souls.

Detective Constable Grant Hood is a police officer who was based at St Leonards. He is a big fan of new technology and gadgets. During The Falls he is attracted to Siobhan Clarke, and attempts to kiss her. During the same novel he takes on a media liaison role, a position he takes up in a number of subsequent investigations.In Rather Be the Devil (2016), however, Cafferty seizes control of a string of Edinburgh bars and betting-shops, and he continues to thrive in In a House of Lies (2018). He also a leading character in A Song for the Dark Times (2020) and (in a wheelchair) in A Heart Full of Headstones (2022). For the first time in ten books starring Detective Inspector John Rebus, Ian Rankin explores this issue in Dead Souls. As with most of the books in this series, there are two cases that first seem unrelated but which eventually intertwine in ways that are compelling and inevitable, and in this case both of them touch on the question of how much a criminal's past is to blame for his present. The more obvious example is Darren Rough, a convicted pedophile (who himself was a victim of sexual abuse as a child living in an orphanage) who served his jail sentence and has now been set free. When Rebus discovers that Rough has been assigned an apartment with a view of a children's playground, he "outs" Rough to the other tenants with disastrous consequences.