A Question of Blood

A Question of Blood (2003) Ian Rankin

Once again, Rebus is in trouble. A thug who was bothering Siobhan has turned up dead, and Rebus has made himself a prime suspect. Because Rebus is partially out of commission with badly scalded hands, Siobhan ends up driving him around when he’s called in as an expert of sorts when an ex-military man kills two high school students and then himself, and they try to discover why the man did it.

Wow. Lots and lots happened here.

Because he’s advising on the case because of his military past, Siobhan keeps pushing Rebus to tell her about his past in the military and why he never talks about it. It also pushes Rebus to consider whether he–like the shooter–could be capable of such unexpected violence.

Never mind the fact that the man who was threatening Siobhan ends up burned alive–while Rebus ends up in the hospital at the same time with scalded hands.

And then there are events at the end of the story. Damn.

Although you could read this book without having read the rest of the series, you’ll be missing the background which makes so many of the events here so important and even surprising.
Rating: 8/10

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