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Jan 16, 2015gvenkatesh rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Engaging reading with witty, lively dialogues and a mystery that is more or less preserved till the end. Like the crossover episodes in TV serials, author brings two of his characters - Rebus and Fox from separate series into this book. But it is clear that Fox has the cameo role here and it is a Rebus mystery. I also suspect that Rebus will be retired soon and this is the transition to introduce Fox for Rebus audiences as Fox moves to being a detective from the Complaints department. Like all his novels, the book feels like written by an ex cop and like an insider book for the police force with all its idiosyncrasies and warts. This is reinforced by the one glaring flaw of the author in his novels - no one outside the police department has any interesting or significant character role. They are all just props and mostly flawed or villainous for the police to play with. The inability of the police characters to interact with people outside other than in an official capacity may have some truth to it but it makes his novels seem like written by a cop for cops.