Mortal Causes
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''Mortal Causes'' is a 1994
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
by
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...
. It is the sixth of the
Inspector Rebus The ''Inspector Rebus'' books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin, Sir Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on Inspector#United Kingdom, Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh. They ...
novels. It was the fourth episode in the ''
Rebus A rebus ( ) is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...
'' television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2004. It also exists as an audiobook, narrated by James MacPherson.


Plot summary

Set during the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...
, this novel starts with a brutally executed corpse being discovered in
Mary King's Close Mary King's Close is a historic close located under the Edinburgh City Chambers building on the Royal Mile, in the historic Old Town area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It took its name from one Mary King, a merchant burgess who resided on the Close ...
, an ancient subterranean street. The body has a tattoo of "SaS", later found to refer to 'Sword and Shield', a long-thought-defunct
Scottish Nationalist Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into ...
group with links to
sectarianism Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or Religious violence, religious conflicts between groups. Others conceiv ...
in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. The victim turns out to be the son of notorious gangster
'Big Ger' Cafferty This is a list of characters from the ''Inspector Rebus'' series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Ian Rankin. They are all fictional characters that have appeared in more than one novel in the series. A number of the characters appea ...
, and the plot moves towards the unthinkable prospect of a terrorist atrocity in a tourist-filled
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. Much of the action takes place on the fictional Garibaldi or 'Gar-B' estate in the also-fictional suburb of Pilmuir. The first murder is realised immediately to have been carried out by a "high velocity" "9mm revolver", despite
9mm This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviate ...
being a rare calibre in
revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...
s, and "high velocity" not being an appropriate or immediately-recognisable description. The forensic ballistic report identifies the weapon as a rare Smith & Wesson 547. Although Rebus is repeatedly described as being ex-Army and having passed SAS selection, he does not comment on any of the unusual aspects.


Connections to other Rankin books

* Scottish Sword and Shield was first mentioned in passing in ''The Black Book''. * Recurring character ' The Weasel' makes his debut.


TV adaptation

The TV adaptation placed this as the fourth episode, after '' The Hanging Garden''. This changed the power dynamic between Rebus and Cafferty, as Rebus was now in debt to Cafferty for an earlier favour.


Writing ''Mortal Causes''

Rankin explains the origin of the title in an Author’s Note at the outset, saying that in Scottish slang, “mortal” can mean “drunk.” Rankin has stated that one of the minor characters is based on the Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary Billy Wright.


Political background

The political background of the plot depicts an alliance between Scottish nationalist fringe groups and loyalist paramilitaries who believe they're being 'sold out' in the peace deal with the IRA. While there is significant support for loyalist paramilitarism in Scotland, radical Scottish nationalist fringe groups are far more likely to support the Irish Republican cause and to see the Republic of Ireland as a partial role model for an independent Scotland. However, the background also makes a point of showing how the Northern Irish paramilitaries have turned to regular organised crime and are willing to cut deals with each other with money, and much of the scheming is based around criminal deals - the attempted terrorist in the book has no political aims.


The joke

Throughout the book, Rebus keeps overhearing parts of a joke about a squid with a moustache that goes into a restaurant. According to Ian Rankin, the
punch line A punch line (also punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people Laughter, laugh. It is the third and final part of the Joke#Telling jokes, typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and th ...
is as follows: "For Hans that does dishes can be as soft as Gervase with mild, green, hairy-lipped squid." The punch line is a reference to the long-running advertising slogan of
Fairy Liquid Fairy is a brand of dishwasher detergent, owned by the American multinational consumer products company Procter & Gamble. The brand originated in the United Kingdom in 1898 and is now used on a number of P&G products in various markets. It is cl ...
. ("Now hands that do dishes can feel soft as your face, with mild green Fairy Liquid.")


Reception

The novel was well-received, with critics commenting positively on Rankin's portrayal of "the two faces of Edinburgh": ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' called it "powerful and absorbing".


References

{{Authority control 1994 British novels Inspector Rebus novels Novels set in Edinburgh Edinburgh Festival Orion Books books