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.
Related Core Dump reviews:
Posted Saturday, 01 April, 2006 by Nic Lindh
Another book roundup, including some stellar athletes and soldiers, what might be the most jaded, soul-weary protagonist ever, and some grimdark fantasy.
The Internet is getting creepy, and Nic is breaking out his tinfoil hat after newspaper paywalls push him over the edge.
Nic is tired of tech sites obsessing over Apple’s financials and business strategy. So very tired.
Nic reads a book about the processed food industry and is incensed.
Computers are complicated. This brings out the irrational in people.
Nic proposes the loan word Rechthaberei be incorporated into American English.
The Core Dump is back! Books were read during the hiatus. Includes The Coldest Winter, Oh, Myyy!, Tough Sh*t, The Revolution Was Televised, The Rook, Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore, Gun Machine, Fortress Frontier, Standing in Another Man’s Grave, and The Memory of Light.
This site will return in February.
From a true patriot to a world-weary detective, a dead god, and a civilization about to sublime from the galaxy, this book roundup spans the gamut. Includes Where Men Win Glory, Wild, Inside the Box, The Black Box, Three Parts Dead, Red Country, and The Hydrogen Sonata.
Springsteen gives a concert in Phoenix. It’s fantastic.