The Falls (A Rebus Novel) - Tapa dura

It may be the 12th time out for Rankin's maverick detective, but The Falls still feels as fresh as ever . . . If you haven't read the other 11 Rebus novels, it's about time you did (THE MIRROR)

The Falls, the 12th full-length Inspector Rebus story, finds his creator, Ian Rankin, at his brilliant, mordant best, with the dark heart of the city featuring almost as strongly as Rebus himself (Antonia Fraser SUNDAY TELEGRAPH)

A complex mystery novel, as you would expect from Rankin, one of a handful of truly outstanding British mystery writers . . . Terrific (OBSERVER)

An extraordinarily rich addition to crime literature (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY)

Rankin continues to be unsurpassed among living British crime writers . . . He makes the reader feel part of the scene, and enhances the experience with his virtuosity with dialogue . . . But all these virtues would count for little if Rankin didn't also possess the most important asset of them all - the ability to tell a damned good story (Marcel Berlins THE TIMES)

A very skilful entertainment . . . its clues are as learned and cross-word-puzzling as any in John Buchan (TLS)

The Falls is an inventive and absorbing book . . . Once again the city, cast in shadows and light, is centre stage, as complex and brooding as Rebus himself . . . Ian Rankin, a crime writer with style, has produced another highly enjoyable and exciting book (THE SCOTSMAN)

It is a fact universally acknowledged that Ian Rankin leads the field in the category of British humanistic crime writing . . . his ability to wrap together diverse ingredients into a plot-sandwich bulging with flavour is ingenious (SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY)

Rankin has an intuitive grasp of the dark magic of narrative: at its simplest, you read the books because you want to know what will happen. He writes beautifully, too . . . Few would disagree that Ian Rankin is making a contribution to crime fiction that will last. His novels are playing a significant part in redefining Scotland's image of itself in literature. He is one of a handful of British crime writes whose books are not only commercially successful but also build a strong case for why crime fiction, at its best, can and should be considered as literature (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY)

Whatever it is that makes a good crime writer, Ian Rankin has it in spades (IRISH TIMES)