A Question of Blood

Author	Ian Rankin
Country	Scotland
Language	English
Genre(s)	Detective fiction
Publisher	Orion
Released	2003
Media Type	Print
Pages	440 pages
ISBN	ISBN 0752858963
Preceded by	Resurrection Men
Followed by	Fleshmarket Close

A Question of Blood is a 2003 novel by Ian Rankin. It is the fourteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels and won the Edgar Award for best novel in 2004. Ian Rankin (born April 28, 1960 in Fife, Scotland) is one of the best-selling crime writers of the United Kingdom, and one of the worlds foremost writers in the genre. ... Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centres upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Ian Rankin (born April 28, 1960 in Fife, Scotland) is one of the best-selling crime writers of the United Kingdom, and one of the worlds foremost writers in the genre. ... The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin. ... The Edgar Allan Poe Awards (popularly called the Edgars), named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America. ...

Plot summary

At a private school two teenagers are killed by an ex-Army loner who then turns the gun on himself. As Detective Inspector John Rebus puts it, 'there's no mystery...except the why'. In searching for these answers, Rebus finds himself drawn into a shattered community and a link with his own past. He becomes fascinated with the killer who had friends and enemies aplenty, from politicians to goths, and who left behind a web of secrets and lies. Detective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in a series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Ian Rankin. ... NYC goth band The Naked and the Dead (1985). ...

Meanwhile, Rebus faces his own trials: DS Siobhan Clarke has been stalked by a petty criminal who is found burnt to death in his own home. Rebus is fresh out of hospital, hands heavily bandaged. In mathematics, stalk usually refers to the idea of the stalk of a sheaf. ...