[By Nic Lindh on Sunday, 02 April 2006]
A young man is tortured and executed in a brutal manner that leads the police to suspect a connection with the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Mortal Causes, the sixth novel in Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series, sees Rebus forced to confront his own past as a soldier during the height of the Troubles.
Mortal Causes is taut and chilly, its plot unfolding with relentless logic. Rankin’s writing is better than ever, and the shadowy sub-terrain where terrorism intersects with poverty and hopelessness mercilessly explored.
Mortal Causes is a powerhouse.
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