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Dead Souls

The number one bestselling series that inspired BBC One’s REBUS

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Dead Souls

By: Ian Rankin
Narrated by: James Macpherson
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Summary

 Stalking a poisoner at the local zoo, Inspector John Rebus comes across a paedophile taking pictures of children. When the social workers claim he is there for legitimate educational reasons, Rebus is faced with a dilemma - should he be outed to protect local kids or given a chance to start anew?

As the locals begin a hate campaign Rebus gets a call from the past: the son of a friend has gone missing and no one else will make time to ask the right questions. And then a fragment of Scotland's criminal history is repatriated at the end of a life sentence for murder. Once more Rebus's cup of trouble runneth over and the ghosts of past misdeeds return to haunt Edinburgh's streets.

Read by James Macpherson

(p) 2015 Orion Publishing Group©1999 John Rebus Ltd Crime Crime Fiction Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Traditional Detectives Detective Scotland Haunted Suspense
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Critic reviews

Rankin is a master of his craft, handling each twist and turn of the plot with consummate skill
Ian Rankin is a genius (Lee Child)
There's no one like Ian Rankin for bringing us right into the world of detectives (Tana French)
Britain's No.1 crime writer
An addictive writer ... a remarkable talent
All stars
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I was thinking of giving up on this to begin with. It took a while to get going with information I just wasn't interested in. I'm glad I persisted as in the end I couldn't put it down.

took a few chapters but great in the end

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Absolute rankine at his very best, wish I could give it six stars. Characters brilliant, with a real flavour of Edinburgh before the parliament. Rebus at his finest .

6stars

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Dead Souls - the title refers both to Joy Division's song of the same name and to the 1842 novel by Gogol - is broadly about rehabilitation, and whether it’s possible. It’s also about the past - a recurring theme in Rebus. We get a glimpse of his childhood in Fife after the son of an old flame goes missing. It’s one strand in a multi-layered plot. Others include a paedophile ring and the return to Scotland of Cary Oakes, a convicted killer who’s served his sentence in the States - and is now back on home turf in Edinburgh, looking for vengeance on those who have wronged him (it’s a long list). Oakes, as portrayed here, has some echoes of Hannibal Lecter. The slightly camp transatlantic narration is annoying. That’s a problem as we do hear quite a bit from Oakes, and he’s a dull character, despite his colourful background… There’s also a murdered paedophile - and a cop who’s committed suicide. Rebus is drinking too much - and Patience, his partner, worries that he’s having a fling, or is about to. For the most part, Dead Souls is bleak, gritty fare. The closing sections are the most compelling. It’s neatly constructed, albeit with one or two loose ends. The novel lacks the pace, momentum and drama of the previous title (The Hanging Garden) but it is thought-provoking. It was published in 1999 - the birth of devolution. Rebus is cynical about what lies ahead, and given the nasty events of this novel it’s not surprising that he would be. Dead Souls isn’t the strongest in the series so far - I’m listening from the start. But it’s definitely worth your time. It also introduced me to the Joy Division song (which, unlike this novel, is surprisingly upbeat!)

Soul survivor

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Book ten…and best one of a great series so far…couldn’t listen quick enough

Best one yet!…

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This latest audiobook in the Rebus series is absolutely brilliant. I thought the previous ones were great but this, for me, is the best so far. (I seem to be saying that in a lot of my reviews).

Again there were lots of sub plots and twists and turns. Plus a number of surprises. Especially at the end.

For me the highlight has to be one of the best characters to appear in a Rebus story so far, Carey Oakes.

For me he is the most evil and creepy character that Ian Rankin has introduced us to so far. In addition Oakes is made to even more sinister thanks to the amazing narrative skills of James MacPherson.

Every time James MacPherson voices Oakes it felt like the hairs were standing up on the back of my neck. First class narration throughout, well apart from his Liverpudlian accent, but I can forgive him for that.

The Rebus Series Just Gets Better & Better

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