| Inspector John Rebus has been stuck on the liaison committee between the police and the new Scottish Parliament which is taking forever to build. Rebus is annoyed until the renovations of the Parliament building reveal a twenty-year-old corpse.
The intrigue and annoyance deepen for the dark and complex Rebus as a politician from a prominent Edinburgh family is found dead at the Parliament building and a homeless man kills himself for no apparent reason. The subsequent investigation into the deaths leads Rebus and his colleagues into a maze of politics, schemes and machinations of the political system. At the same time, the strained relations among the various officers threaten to hamper their investigations. Rebus hates politics; all he wants is to get the job done well and quickly. But because the one victim was a politician, the police are under public scrutiny, and Rebus' bluntness does not sit well with his superiors. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - Dry-cynical How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - an organization Motive of antagonist - power The antagonists are: - evil politicians Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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