About the Author

Ian Rankin is a regular No.1 bestseller, and has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Diamond Dagger. He lives with his family in Edinburgh, and in 2003 received an OBE for his services to literature.

Reviews

While John Rebus's legion of fans may be disappointed that this is the Edinburgh detective's last case, Edgarr and Gold Daggerr award winner Rankin (www.ianrankin.net) gives the gruff chap a solid send-off in this 17th and final series entry. Days before his retirement, Rebus is presented with the murder of a famous Russian poet, which leads him into unexpected avenues involving gangsters and business executives. Scottish actor James Macpherson aptly captures Rebus's prickly personality, though his Scots burr lurks in the background of his Russian accents. One of the best titles in the series; highly recommended for popular collections. [Audio clip available through www.hachettebookgroup.com; unabridged library-edition CD available from Recorded Books; the Little, Brown hc received a starred review, LJ 8/08.-Ed.]-Michael -Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr. Lib. Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

"* 'Rankin has an unparalleled ability to draw in the reader and make us feel every knock and setback in Inspector Rebus's red-raw life. Rarely has that talent been better displayed than in EXIT MUSIC which sees the flawed but redeemingly honest central character staggering towards the finishing line of an inglorious career that has utterly defined his life' Scotland on Sunday. * 'Brace yourself for a stoater of a cliffhanger ending' Sunday Telegraph. * 'Britain's No.1 crime writer' Daily Mirror."

James MacPherson's home-grown Scottish burr is put to excellent use narrating Rankin's 17th and possibly best crime novel featuring Det. Insp. John Rebus of the Edinburgh police. At 60, it's retirement time for Rebus and, as expected, Rankin's rebellious series hero isn't going quietly. Not with the murder of a dissident Russian poet to solve and a career-long battle with local crime lord Big Ger Cafferty to close down. MacPherson easily conveys Rebus's gruff impatience, Cafferty's deeper, nastier menace and Det. Siobhan Clarke's brittle coolness. He even manages to lose the burr long enough to get past several Russian-thick accents. Though Rebus's mention of perusing his unsolved cases in retirement offers some hope of future sleuthing, this reads like a farewell novel. Along with its expected well-crafted procedural elements, Rankin has included several moments of wistfulness and regret, and MacPherson makes the most of every one of them. A Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, July 7). (Sept.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.