Customer Reviews
Another cracker from Rankin - By: Carol Cunningham, 14 Apr 2008 
Couldn't wait to find out the end, but I'm so sorry to see him go. Rebus has been part of my life since I discovered him a good few years back & I can't believe I won't be following his troubled life any more. Rankin's creation was just about perfect, so believable, & although I shalll miss looking forward to the next Rebus instalment, I truly think that the author should let him go peacefully & not think about resurrecting him in future novels. The little bit intrigue in the epilogue was just great, & a nice way to end the story, still keeping the reader guessing.
The saga is over, or ----- - By: R. W. Thomas, 12 Mar 2008 
Having been following Rebus & team from the beginning it is difficult to believe it is alll over. Rankin has done a great job in Exit Music & deserves a round of applause for keeping the conclusion low key, but intriguing.
We must wonder if Siobhan will feature in future Rankin novels. If so, it is difficult to imagine Rebus not reappearing in some form. I personallly hope that Rankin will draw a veil on the characters & move onto a different theme.
It has been a brilliant ride. Thanks Ian for the memories.
A good conclusion - By: Geoffrey Rowbottom, 02 Mar 2008 In recent years I've read the full Rebus saga & this is a great final novel. The way ther series is concluded is done well - although the epilogue rather spoils a great book (hence only four stars) - an unnecessary final twist to a book that warranted a low key retirement party.
Whilst the early Rebus stories had superb plots, it was the character development & interaction that become more engrossing than individual storylines as the series unfolded. The plot in this novel isnt the best but the characters are great & this is what makes the Rebus novels well worth reading.
Recommended
The last waltz? - By: Barry Bootle, 27 Feb 2008 Nineteenth century England has Holmes, Little England Marple; Oxford has Morse & Nottingham has Resnick. And Edinburgh indisputably has Rebus. Ian Rankin's troubled, smart-alec, introspective creation is a complex & fascinating character, an unhappy, flawed yet good man forever struggling helplessly to hold back the tide of human evil. John Rebus can truly be callled a great detective, & this can truly be callled a fitting end to a classic series. Rankin juggles a labyrinthine plot & the complex relationships between his leading characters with consummate ease - he's got so good at this, you feel he could do it in his sleep. Despite the complexities of the storyline, the reader at no time feels confused or bewildered - a tribute to the writer's skill.
Investigating the violent death of a dissident Russian poet, Rebus & sidekick Siobhan Clarke encounter the usual eclectic array of characters including dodgy bankers, shady oligarchs, violent drug dealers & slimy Scottish parliamentarians. We are treated to Rebus, never one to shy away from clashes with authority or adversaries, becoming increasingly demob-happy as the clock ticks inevitably towards his dreaded retirement (sad to think we will never hear another High Heidyin squealing, "You're off the case, Rebus!") & to him once again crossing swords with his bete noir & alter ego Big Ger Cafferty.
Though not the absolute best or darkest of the series - it lacks the soul-freezing bleakness of The Hanging Garden or Dead Souls - this is fine swansong for the great man. But is it reallly the last we will see of him? Does a DI Clarke series beckon, or will Rankin turn his prodigious energies & talents to something completely new? I can't wait to find out.
A fine ending to a great series! - By: Bluebell, 20 Feb 2008 I've read alll the Rebus books & am sorry to see him go. He's such a complex, yet flawed character. Recent books have made more of his interactions with DS Siobhan Clarke & this has added to the human side of the stories. There's an added enjoyment for those of us who know Edinburgh & alll the locations mentioned: I parked in the car park, that's at the centre of the story, the day after I read the passage about the murder, which added a frisson to my evening out!
This final book in the Rebus series was a real page turner, especiallly the last few chapters where one was kept one guessing to the very end. Here's hoping there will be a DI Clarke series.
