2008-09-18 Heading for 5 stars and then......

As a long-standing fan of Ian Rankin and his Rebus series, I was looking forward to Exit Music with mixed feelings. All good things must come to an end - but how would Rankin bring his magnificent sequence of Rebus novels to a satisfying conclusion?

Exit Music is terrific right up to the end - when for me it went all wrong. The pace, plotting and dialogue rattle along nicely - and enough scope is left by Rankin to bring Rebus back investigating cold cases, or to elevate DI Clarke to a more prominent role in future books. And then something happens and the book ends in a most unsatisfatory manner. The plot is brought to a - frankly - disappointing conclusion, the main storyline collapsing in on itself, and the major protaganists Rebus and Cafferty left at an unsatisfactory point in their tortured, complicated relationship.

In a way, I felt somehow cheated - not of fine writing as Rankin has maintained a high standard throughout the books - but Exit Music ends almost awkwardly, as if the author wasn't quite sure himself how to end things. Doors have certainly been left opened, but it's hard to know where they lead. On balance, this was the right time to bring the series to an end, but somehow as readers, I think we deserved more.