This is the most boring Rankin book I've ever read. It all takes place in
Edinburgh, starts with the discovery of two bodies in the half-constructed
parliament building, and then is basically a day in the life of the Scottish
police force with major murder inquiry underway.
It turns out that one of the bodies is of a prospective MSP, who comes from a
family with fingers in all walks of life. The other body, twenty years old, was
put there at the time of the first (failed) referendum on Scottish devolution.
As the case unfolds, it turns out that the murders are linked in that the
perpetrators are illicit businessmen with interests in the land around the new
parliament building, and political aspirations in the parliament to boot.
When the crimes are solved, it turns out the perpetrators are dead, dying, or
killed in a way that the detective cannot do anything about. In other words, no
justice ever gets served.
Ian continues to exercise his ability to create characters and wind an
interesting plot around their complicated interactions. But that's it; like an
average mid-season episode of The Bill. |
