Scottish Inspector Rebus is called in to investigate a murder suicide at a school. An ex-soldier has killed two 17-year-old schoolboys.  Rebus is “ex-forces” himself, and he also found the psychological pressures hard to deal with. He may understand the solder well, but his own competence may come into question. A third boy survived the attack, but he is the son of a local politician.  Rebus takes a strong dislike to the boy’s father, when the man starts trying to intervene in the investigation. There are many characters in the plot, but the main other one Is his aid in the investigation Siobhan Clarke. The two of them have a good working relationship and come to understand each other well. Rebus uncovers human weakness and cunning, and has to deal with all sorts of setbacks. Rebus and Clarke both have their personal struggles and are immersed in their job, making it impossible for them to relate to people outside of the police. Yet Rebus also pushes limits so that he places himself at risk for getting kicked out. But Rebus is smart enough to be able to solve mysteries and that keeps him in a job. A Question of Blood is standard in its mystery but pleasant in its variety of colorful characters.  What makes this work stand out from other detective novels is the subtle and thoughtful depiction of character, both of Rebus and Siobhan, but also of their colleagues and the villains. The performance of the unabridged audiobook by James Macpherson is authentically Scottish and interesting, although he is not so great at English accents.

© 2015 Christian Perring

Christian Perring, Professor of Philosophy, Dowling College, New York