Death Is Not the End

Inspector Rebus #10.5

by Ian Rankin

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.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Scotland, Thriller, Detective, Mystery Thriller

73 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

AKA Jack Harvey.

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987; the Rebus books are now translated into 22 languages and are bestsellers on several continents.

Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh.

A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianrankin

Reviews

[Karl]

This Orion hardcover is signed by Ian Rankin.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having enjoyed several Ian Rankin books and Inspector Rebus in particular in the past, I decided to read a few more starting with this novella. I thought it would be a good choice in order to refresh my memory of Rebus and to get me back into the series. Unfortunately it never really worked out that way for me and I was disappointed with the story itself but found little consolation with the writing style which I enjoy.
The story itself is a sub plot from another of Rankin's novels 'Dead Souls' when one of his ex girlfriends from high school contacts him when her son has goes missing from a local nightclub.
Not his best work but fortunately I am well aware he can do a lot better and will read a few more Ian Rankin novels shortly.

[Hobart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
I used Goodreads' ordering of the Rebus series to determine when I read this novella -- other sites might have led me to read this before Dead Souls, as it was published. I might have gotten more out of this book if I'd read it in that order, but it might have hurt the novel. I'm not sure.

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.

It is interesting to see how Rankin wrote something, and then came back a couple of years later and repurposed it. But that's about all I have to say for this. It was interesting -- but the version in the novel is better. The subplot didn't do much for me, either. It was okay, but it really didn't seem necessary.

The completist in me is glad I read it, but I think I'd have been okay with missing it, too.

[Boy Blue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember being dissatisfied with the Damon Mee ending in Dead Souls. In the novel he legitimately gets whacked over the head with a bottle of wine and falls into the river and is never seen again. At least this is a bit better, we know he's ok, we don't find out how he did his Houdini act on the security cameras, or who the mysterious blonde was but it's more satisfying. Interesting to see how this short story thread got woven into the tapestry of a full novel.

Damon's new life in London is another forked path like the ones Rebus himself is musing over. He left his town all those years ago but he can't help but wonder what would have happened if he'd stayed.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

FRom BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Inspector Rebus is asked by his childhood sweetheart to find her missing son. Adaptation of Ian Rankin's novella, read by Douglas Henshall.

[Shirley Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novella in which Rebus is drawn back to Fife to help friends from his teenage years and observes a contact which helps back in Edinburgh

[Prashanth Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead souls ನಲ್ಲಿ‌ ಬರುವ ಸಣ್ಣ ಸಬ್ ಪ್ಲಾಟ್ ಇದು ‌. ಬಾಲ್ಯದ ಗೆಳತಿಯ ಕಾಣೆಯಾದ ಮಗನ ಹುಡುಕುವ ಕಥೆ.ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಹೇಳದೆ ಮನೆಯಿಂದ ಹೋಗುವುದರ ಕುರಿತಾದದ್ದು.ಅಂತಹ ಡಿಟೆಕ್ಟಿವ್‌ ಕಥೆ ಏನಿಲ್ಲ.ರೀಬಸ್ ನೆನಪುಗಳ , ಏಕಾಂತದ ಯೋಚನೆಗಳ ಪ್ರತಿಫಲನ. ಓಹ್, ಅದಕ್ಕೇ ಅಲ್ಲವೆ ಅವ ಇಷ್ಟ!

[David Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read a novella before.

As a pretty slow reader I enjoy the novelty of knocking out a book in a single sitting.

I'm sure that the format of a novella; its brevity and concision, lends itself perfectly to some stories. Hey, it might even do so for the tale of a Scottish detective and a missing person. But I'm not convinced it particularly works for Rebus.

Maybe that's just because, eight books in, I'm used to a certain rhythm to a Rebus story, one which can't really be achieved with this word count. A Rebus book is always playful with how it tells the story - there's always a number of different plot lines - often conflicting, calling out for our protagonist's attention and pushing him into impossible corners. And Rankin teases out these plot lines giving you a little at a time, never giving you the full picture until he has to. These sub plots work in solidarity to enhance the overall story, and their absence was the most striking thing to me about 'Death is Not the End' - leaving it feeling a little simplistic and ultimately unfulfilling.

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.

Happy to have read it, but it's far from the first Rebus book I'd recommend to a new reader.

[kayleighhh · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’m glad i read dead souls before this one. it made the ending that much sweeter

also i bought this copy on ebay for £20 because it was signed by ian rankin. i’m very glad i enjoyed it to justify that spend on a 75 page book

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found in a little free library and as I've read all the novels in the series I wanted to give this a read. It felt very familiar - which made sense once I read the back and found it inspired one of his novels Dead Souls. A quick easy read, but not one of the best.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had missed this in reading the series. It was fun to go back and visit John and Siobhan again. It was a good, quick read. I hope Rankin can keep the team going. One of my favorite series.

[Emma Swan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of Rebus, and Ian Rankin in general but had missed this one up until now. I have read dead souls but long enough ago not to remember the sub plot. A nice little novella that i read in one sitting and left me feeling like I had gone back in time. Familiar characters that I haven’t read about in years at a time in the life of rebus that he has since left behind. This is very much a rebus short story. The usual supporting characters play at the edges but aren’t involved in any meaningful way and I enjoyed the solidarity. This felt like catching up with old friends.

[Shane Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having just finished Hanging Garden, I found this difficult to place in the series. It suggests its derived from Dead Souls, or in between the two. Betwixt and between, it's rather slight. There's no resolution of the story and I felt I was reading a sketch done in preparation for a fully crafted piece. Yes, it's full of mood and introspection, Rankin's such an excellent writer, but I think I could have skipped this. Very fifty/fifty.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know it is only a novella, but it's not very good. In fact, I'd say it's pretty pointless. Not much to it. Parts are convoluted, others too simple. In fact, the "mystery" of the missing man is supposed to be what it's about, but that was the simplest, stupidest part. Also, the description here and jacket blurb aren't even correct. Unless "Barney" Mee was his "high-school sweetheart."

[Will Templeton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps shouldn't have read this straight after Dead Souls, which utilised half of this short book as a subplot in its full length story. Much less detailed and telling the story in a different way (with a different ending!) this felt a bit lightweight in comparison. Still a good read in its own right, just leave it a while if you've just read the other one.

[Kieran · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a good story, but it was very short and all of a sudden the thing is over and all solved. I understand that he re-wrote his and developed it into a full length novel, but I am not sure I can see the point of reading it?

3 stars for effort.

[David]

An interesting example of how any story can go in many directions. Companion piece to Dead Souls with many repeating characters and plot points of the "Damoin Men" story but with a wholly different take on it all.

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 The hard-nosed cop is offered a bribe to halt his investigations into a missing teenager.

Bland fayre.

[Estelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Tony da Napoli · Rating 3 out of 5]

80 page Novella. If you are reading the series, do not spend money on this. If someone lends it to you, it is worth the short read.

[Keerthi Vasishta · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a short and easy read. Rankin provides a sneak-peek into corruption and sport, specifically gambling and gangsters. It was topical in 1997-98 and it's topical now. The theme of the novella is disappearing, of which Rankin does a fine if incomplete job with exploring the ideas that run as undercurrents through the novella. I liked that the story was short and it made the reading experience very comfortable. However, it does feel a bit superficial in that I still am not sure why Damon Lee ran away. The apathy of the police establishment to missing persons and the reasons for that are again quite intriguing but incomplete. Should have had another 75 pages in my opinion to have been more effective.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first review I wrote disappeared. Janice Mee is John Rebus' high school girlfriend who punched him in the face giving him a black eye. She married his friend Brian and now their 23 year old son has disappeared on the night his friends took him to a stag party at a casino they like. Rebus suspects foul play but he can see the casino CCTV film and knows exactly when the young man disappears. He asks the fiancé's friends about him and they seem to indicate the bride and groom are not madly in love. The investigation is actually a subplot for the book, Dead Souls, and the primary plot in that book was Rebus' boss, Chief Superintendent Watson building a case to bring down Topper Hamilton's casino which the police suspect is mob run.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella was written to fit with Dead Souls which I read nearly 20 years ago. I don't remember much about that book now, but as Ian Rankin is one of my favourite authors, I couldn't not read it. The title it seems was taken from the gravestone of the mother of Rebus, and this short story deals with people that were once part of his former life. This book telling us about the real fate of a character.

[Susan Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

BBC Sounds App Podcast. Adaptation of novels/short story by Ian Rankin.

No didn’t like this. The Rebus novels are really fast paced reads (I’m just discovering that!). This was slow, didn’t follow the story at all.

I also didn’t like the reader’s voice. It was read by Douglas Henshall but, and it is an annoying thing with me generally, when people speak they never pronounce the letter “t” at the end of the word! I have found, when you listen to these type of books it all comes down to who is reading it

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audio version, very well read.
My first Rebus, and not to bad. BUT--and it's a huge But--how did the man do a vanish? This is never explained. Nor is anything made of "the woman with the candy-floss hair". Also the title is a bit forced to fit into the text.
But it was an enjoyable listen, if not demanding of the intellect. It does encourage me to read more of Rebus. It also reminded me of the French TV cop series of the 90s that I so enjoyed--and that's a very high compliment, coming from me.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Inspector Rebus story is a novella, so it it loses some points right there---I like more meat on the bones. It's the story of Rebus searching for a missing young man, the son of a woman he dated many years before. I seriously thought that he was going to turn out to be Rebus' own son, but no such luck. Anyway, Rebus takes on the challenge.

[Jack R.]

This is not a mystery, but a brisk, yet weighty, meditation on the theme of "vanishing." Vanished people, vanished friends, vanished pasts, presents, and futures. Sometimes these vanished figments return, yet corroded, while other moments are lost forever -- held in the bodybuilding arms of God, who sustains all things.

[Steve Tripp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as a recommended pre-read to the next full length Rebus book. Really ...it’s nothing special on its own but I will judge fully after I finish my next book.

(Note...subsequently I have found out this should be a pre-read to Rebus 10, not Rebus 11...oh well)

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since discovering that there was a novella sitting in between the full-length Rebus novels The Hanging Garden and Dead Souls I had no option but to get a copy lest my series be considered incomplete. Rankin enviably achieves in 73 pages what others say in a whole book.