What do You think about Mortal Causes (1997)?
Reading Rebus novels in whatever order I find them is not doing Rankin's work any favour, but at least I've put off reading the final book until I've got to the others. The fact that some Rebus novels are brilliant while others are simply okay is emphasised by my scattershot approach. Mortal Causes is not one of the stronger Rebus mysteries.Sectarian violence as the backdrop makes for an interesting through line but it feels that Rankin did not do as much as he could have to construct the novel. Twist characters are not developed enough beforehand for their twists to have much weight or shock value, and some key characters have such walk-on roles that when they become important later on I had trouble remembering who they were.On the home front, Rebus gets caught up with a psychotic bit on the side that goes nowhere. In fact, Rebus' interpersonal relations with everyone on a private level are undercooked. Patience, his girlfriend, gets short shrift and, this being an early book, Siobhan isn't a character so much as she is a name. The part where she tells Rebus that who she sees a play with is none of his business really jarred.Mortal Causes is ultimately functional Rebus, but written with too light a touch for what Rankin normally aims for: we get an idea of crimes and of society, but not of character - and Rebus without Rebus is not Rebus at all.
—Alex
One of the (many) things I like about these books is that they go way beyond the crime genre and are basically Ian Rankin's running commentary on what's happening in Scotland/the world. This time it's a little excursion to Northern Ireland and sectarianism, as well as the Fringe Festival. I find these books educational and read them with a dictionary next to me - can't remember when I last learned so many new words. (Probably in an interview with JDB from the Manics.) Where's the next Rebus novel?
—Gesine
This story features the damaged character of Inspector John Rebus. The policeman comes to life rapidly for the reader and because he isn’t infallible, handsome, or a flashy character; he feels real. He has a vulnerability which comes across, but it is tempered by his dogged determination. He is at once, tough, but fragile.Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities, and at first sight is not the first place I would expect to set a murder story, or aim to create a chain of events that would hold the reader’s attention. From the first paragraph, I was drawn into this story, and readily believed the characters lived and breathed. It is a well told, and believable tale. ‘Mortal Causes’ was my first time reading Ian Rankin’s work. I saw a documentary which featured the man as he set about writing a book, and the programme related the writer’s journey with his new story. It was actually my wife that commented that there were numerous similarities between my working practises and Mr. Rankin’s. No need to tell you how nice that felt, even as a passing observation.I’m pleased to say it wasn’t a personal empathy with Ian Rankin that kept me reading, but an immediate and prolonged interest in the characters. I don't know how it ranks with other Rebus stories, but if you like crime investigation, you will enjoy this book.
—Tom Benson
