Westwind

by Ian Rankin

The classic lost thriller [Paperback] Rankin, Ian

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Suspense

330 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

AKA Jack Harvey.

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987; the Rebus books are now translated into 22 languages and are bestsellers on several continents.

Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh.

A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianrankin

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ian Rankin wrote this in the early part of his writing career, at the beginning of the 1990s, a what would then have been a futuristic thriller. It never made much of a splash at the time, Rankin has lightly rewritten aspects of it for Orion to republish it now. It is not a bad thriller, but this is Rankin developing his writing skills that culminate in the Inspector Rebus series, set in Edinburgh, that made his name. His reputation is now such that anything with his name on it will fly off the shelves like hot cakes. For me, this still feels like an uneven read amidst which a great story resides, one with a world where the cutting edge technology here has been far surpassed by our contemporary realities today.

Martin Hepton monitors surveillance pictures from Britain's Zephyr satellite at Binbrook ground station in Lincolnshire. The pictures stop transmitting for a short while, causing concern but return fairly quickly. A co-worker, Paul Vincent, sees something odd, wanting to talk to Martin, but before this happens, Paul disappears and is reported to have fallen sick, and receiving medical attention. Soon after, the American shuttle, Argos, malfunctions with every crew member dead, apart from the British astronaut, Major Michael Dreyfuss, the only survivor. These are turbulent times in the US, Britain and Europe, with Europe having asked the US military presence to be removed, sparking unrest and protests. In a narrative involving the British and American security services and the military, many murders, with a kill crazy assassin and a ex-military officer at large, Martin finds himself in extreme danger, where the only person he can trust is his ex=girlfriend, Jilly Watson, a London journalist.

This is a tense and exciting read, with all the requisite elements that comprise a thriller, the suspense, fast paced, with twists, as the unlikely hero is forced to become an action man, with the help of MI5, MI6, the Foreign Office and others as he uncovers a deadly political conspiracy. This is an entertaining and compulsive read which I very much enjoyed. However, in my view, it does not come up to the standard of the John Rebus series, but a below par Rankin is still worth reading when compared to some other writers. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Westwind by Ian Rankin was originally published in 1990, and after a bit of tweaking by the author, was re-released in 2020. Westwind is a standalone thriller, not part of Rankin's 'Inspector Rebus' detective series.

*****

As the book opens, the United States, which is becoming more isolationist, is withdrawing all troops from Europe. The military drawdown is being monitored by a British satellite called Zephyr, whose pictures are observed in real time by a ground crew at Binbrook Station in Lincolnshire.





Zephyr unexpectedly goes dark, which alarms the Binbrook observers, who can't figure out what happened. However, Zephyr comes back online after 3 minutes and 40 seconds, and the ground crew relaxes - except for one expert analyst called Paul Vincent. Vincent thinks he saw a computer glitch, but before he can discuss it with his friend and colleague Martin Hepton, Paul is sent away to a treatment center for a 'medical leave.'



Meanwhile, an American space shuttle called Argos - on a routine mission to release a communications satellite - crashes to Earth.



Argos has only one survivor, a British astronaut called Major Michael Dreyfuss, who was a 'guest' on the shuttle. Dreyfuss isn't badly injured, but claims to have partial amnesia, so he can't remember what happened.



This is very suspicious to American authorities, who repeatedly try to question him.

Binbrook Station's Martin Hepton thinks the Zephyr and Argos mishaps might be connected, and decides to look into the matter.



Hepton is warned off by a threatening woman called Harry, but he ignores the warning and visits his friend Vincent at the medical clinic. Vincent behaves squirrely and comes to a bad end, but not before he whispers the word 'Argos.'

Hepton is now CONVINCED the Zephyr and Argos incidents are connected, and sets out to investigate. Hepton is assisted in this endeavor by his former girlfriend, journalist Jill Watson.



Hepton and Watson manage to contact Dreyfuss in the United States, and the astronaut returns to England to help them. Hepton, Watson, and Dreyfuss find themselves in the sights of hired killers, who repeatedly try to murder them.



As the three amateur sleuths go forward, they have interactions - both good and bad - with diplomats, agents of MI5 and MI6, and military brass from various countries. It's clear that something REALLY HUGE is afoot, and the investigators have to figure out what it is.....and try to stop it.

The story is entertaining but it's clearly an early effort by the talented Rankin. On the upside, satellites, shuttles, soldiers, and spies make for a good story. On the downside, the 'conspiracy' at the heart of the book is too complicated and not believable (in my opinion).

Still, there's plenty of action and intrigue and I enjoyed the book.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ian Rankin is one of my favourite authors and I’ve read most of his books but somehow missed this one when it was first published. However, as the author explains in the introduction it was overlooked in 1990, so no surprise then! This is a republication with a bit of ‘tweaking’, of the late 80’s work. This period of time is very different to ours in that mobile phones aren’t in wide use but there are car phones, people use philofax for their contacts/appointments etc instead of iPhones, information from your computer is stored on floppy discs and music is largely on tape rather than download. So yes, it’s different but it’s also not. National security was/is a major issue, there were/are economic difficulties, there was/is political upheaval (I’m British so say no more), there was/is mistrust and there was/is surveillance although that it almost certainly greater than 1990. Surveillance is a big theme in this novel which makes this book just as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. In fact, I’m struck by how far seeing Rankin was as some of the things that occurs in the book have some similarities to a recent BBC drama ‘Capture’.

This conspiracy novel starts when contact is lost with British satellite Zephyr for 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Martin Hepton who works at a monitoring base in Lincolnshire and is puzzled by this loss especially when shortly after this the US space shuttle Argos malfunctions on its return to earth with British astronaut Major Michael Dreyfuss the only survivor. Combine these two events with protests surrounding US troop withdrawal from Europe with the army on standby and you have a tense thriller on your hands!

This is a fast paced action novel full of excitement, there is murder by an assassin who would give Nikita a run for her money as Hepton, Dreyfuss and members of MI5, MI6 and the CIA pursue the truth. What transpires is a massive conspiracy on a trans global scale and some enemies who are so well hidden as to be almost invisible. The end is packed full of everything yo like to see in an action movie (think Mission Impossible, Jason Bourne etc) and you find yourself having to think about taking a breath! The vast plot is quietly hushed up which is no great surprise but sometimes hiding truth is for the greater good.

Overall, a darn good read as you would expect from the master that is Ian Rankin. Did I mention he is one of my favourite authors 😂

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of Rankin’s early efforts and an espionage thriller. Hepton the hero uncovers a conspiracy of mad generals using a satellite to hide their nefarious activities. There is Harry the assassin baddie. Who fails to kill Hepton. He then goes on to investigate Zephyr the UK satellite which he believes has been compromised with Jilly his ex girlfriend and a journalist.

The story was very readable and entertaining set in the 1980s with the cold war still going. There is lots of action but to me felt a bit cliché at times.

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by Ian Rankin, an author I've enjoyed for many years now. However this is a book I'd not come across. It was first published in 1990 in the early part of his career. It is a standalone thriller. Martin Hepton works at a satellite communications facility. Something strange happens one day. After that one of the people he works with goes missing and Martin does not believe the official line. He keeps asking questions but that might cause him trouble.

This republication of a "lost" thriller has been given a bit of a makeover by the author and comes with a good forward by him too. The story involves rockets, satellites and the security service. Given the publication date it was written when the Cold War and the Berlin Wall were still facets of life. My first thoughts as I followed Martin on his quest for the truth was that this was a little dated. What surprised me as I continued to read it was just how little that was and how it didn't bother me.

Sure - some aspects such as mobiles phones and the like gave it a dated feel. Equally it did feel a little naïve at times. However the pace and tension was very good indeed. There were some interesting characters roaming the pages too. There were times when I thought it was a bit simplistic but in the end I enjoyed reading this book. I have some doubts it will be in the best sellers list however there will be plenty of people interested in reading this book by Ian Rankin and certainly fans who missed it should enjoy it.

Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
https://viewson.org.uk/thriller/westw...

[Sharyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy Rankin and have read every Rebus. I did read an earlier book I found on a cruise ship, and when I saw this on the new book shelf at the library I was surprised he had a new book. However, it turned out to be a new version of one of his old stand alones that had not been successful. He apparently tightened it up and now it is republished. I found it an exciting thriller, with an ordinary guy becoming a hero. American, British and Russian spies abound as our ordinary guy saves the day. Spy satellites, space shuttles, assasins and computer hackers all have a part to play in this exciting thriller.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eyes in the sky...

When communications with the Zephyr satellite are suddenly cut, the monitoring staff at the Binbrook listening station work frantically to restore it. If it’s down for more than a few minutes, chances are it will be lost for good. Fortunately, it kicks back in after a couple of minutes, as mysteriously as the original breakdown. One of the technicians, Martin Hepton, is puzzled – even more so when a colleague tells him that he has spotted something odd, and then before Hepton gets the chance to ask him what, disappears from the base. At the same time, there is an accident aboard a space shuttle and all the crew are killed except one – a British astronaut, Major Dreyfuss. All this is happening at a time when tensions are high already, due to the imminent pullout of American troops from their bases across Europe. Soon Hepton will find himself in danger, and to save himself will have to work out what’s going on...

This is one Ian Rankin wrote many years ago when he was just starting out. It was first published in 1990 and sank without making much impression. Now there’s a little trend happening of publishers reissuing early books of authors who have gone on to become big names. I’ve recently read a couple of early Peter Mays – one I abandoned and didn’t review, and the other I loved. So there are gems out there – we’ve all read debuts we’ve thought were great and been disappointed when they didn’t break through. Sadly, while this one isn’t terrible, it’s not very good either.

It took me a while to figure out why it wasn’t working. It’s well written as you’d expect from Rankin, and although the characters are clichéd and the technology is seriously outdated, neither of these is unusual in action thrillers. I realised it’s the timing that’s off. In thrillers, there’s always a need to keep the reader in the dark alongside the characters as they battle against the odds to discover what’s going on. But there has to be something to hold the attention while the plot gets a chance to develop – usually the reader getting to know and care about the main character – and that’s where this one is weak. For several chapters, we keep meeting new people, most of whom are so underdeveloped that I found in the later stages I had no recollection of who they were or in what context we’d met them before, and each encounter is equally mysterious, constantly adding to the confusion. It bounces around so much that it was quite a while before I was even sure that Hepton was going to be the hero of the story. By that point my interest level had already flagged.

Hepton of course becomes the target of the baddies who are determined to kill him. This baffled me a bit, since he didn’t know anything and probably wouldn’t even have started looking into it if they hadn’t started chasing him around. A rather incompetent move, I felt, to actually inspire him to become suspicious! That wasn’t their only incompetence, though – I really felt that if their assassins were this bad at killing people, then the world probably wasn’t in too much danger from them.

And I’m afraid that when we finally find out who the baddies are and what they’re up to, I found it not only lacking in credibility but unfortunately all a bit silly. It left me feeling that Rankin was more interested in the action parts of the book than in ensuring there was a solid plot beneath them.

I’ve swithered over how to rate it. I suspect if it hadn’t been Rankin, my expectations would have been lower and therefore I’d have been less disappointed in it. But then if it had been written by someone else, I also think I’d be unlikely to seek out more of the author’s work based on this outing. I’m not convinced that this is a good trend – two disappointments out of three from two of my favourite authors of all time suggests that maybe their forgotten early books should be left to rest in peace. 2½ stars in the end, but I suspect that one of them may simply be because of my affection for Rankin’s later work...

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Orion.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[Albert Steeg · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very disappointing book. To me it felt like Ian Rankin was trying to write a book in the style of Alistair McLean, an exciting thriller. In "Introduction by the author" is being told that the first edition only got one review, a bad one from the Guardian. I can see the reason why.
The story is being told by an all knowing narrator. So you don't have to wonder why the characters do things. These characters are very flat, even the main ones; there are a lot of stereotypes. The action is very predictable. You can see things going to happen one or two pages before you get there. There are the standard things in it, pursuing cars, a damsel in distress. The heroes are almost identical and they can survive ordeals like they do in McLean's books. The plot is quite ridiculous. I don't think the writer is serious, in some sentences I could notice the irony. It must have been quite a lot of fun to give the characters their names. Names stretching from historical figures to philosophers, writers, characters in famous books.
All in all I don't see a reason why this book had to be republished other than making some extra money for all considered. I fell for the trap, I should have checked a bit of info before buying it.
It reads like a pastiche of the work of people like the mentioned McLean or other adventure writers. The ones that write books that have on their cover that they are written by born story tellers. Maybe it was no more than an exercise, just to show that Rankin could write things like this too.
But of course Ian Rankin knows how to write a book. We know that. So two stars.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the forward to this novel as it was spoken by Ian Rankin and explains how he came to write the book which was his earliest published work. It is very different from the Rebus novels for which the author has become justly famous. Rather than crime drama, this is a thriller based on people who work for the British agency which tracks satellites. At one point there is an anomaly noticed by the technicians who conduct the surveillance, but it seems to be covered up by the officials, and the techie who first notices it is mysteriously removed from his job and later is found to be dead. His friend and co-worker is determined to find out what happened to him, and finds his own life threatened by a murderous female agent. The story becomes more complicated when an American space shuttle crashes on landing and the crew are killed except for the lone English crewman. I did notice a couple of things which you would not find in a novel published today eg. reference to 'Lady Drivers' which made me shudder.

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely disappointing.
Ian Rankin is one of my favourite authors. His Rebus novels are excellent and I was really looking forward to reading this book. In fact I asked for it as a Christmas gift.
My copy had an introduction by the author. He state that after reading through the original copy of Westwind, he only made a few alterations.
My thought is that a rewrite and updating would have been more appropriate. I also wonder why his agent and publisher allowed this book to be re released. Being cynical, was this a money making exercise.
Anyway, the book is hardly a thriller, very dated and full of predictable, bland characters.
The storyline could have been much improved by "injecting" some more realistic and unpredictable action and better characterization.
I don't think this effort has done Ian's reputation any good and I hope he sticks to crime writing in which he excels.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book but I prefer the Rebus novels.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in 1990, WESTWIND provides readers and longtime fans of Ian Rankin with a look at his writing style prior to his now-legendary series featuring Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus. In fact, Rankin states that the original copies of the book probably could be found only on the dusty shelves of used bookshops or well-stocked libraries. At the time, he thought it would be a big flop and was actually surprised how insightful and entertaining it was upon revisiting it.

Rankin made a few updates to the text of WESTWIND, which has been re-released for all of us to enjoy as we take a step back in time with the author who Lee Child has dubbed “a genius.” It opens with a scene very different from anything we have seen from Rankin. An astronaut peers out of his spaceship at the British satellite Zephyr, which is the reason for the space trip we are witnessing. It is Martin Hepton with whom we are sitting alongside as he watches from British ground control headquarters. All eyes are focused on this high-profile mission, especially after the recent crash of an American space shuttle, in which the only survivor was British astronaut Mike Dreyfuss.

When Hepton loses connection with the satellite, he begins to think that something sinister is going on. Those suspicions are warranted, especially after one of his colleagues who had been quite vocal about the recent space mission disasters, Paul Vincent, dies under mysterious circumstances. The ruling is that he was a suicide victim having hung himself --- but Hepton is not convinced, and his thoughts lie elsewhere.

Hepton discovers that Vincent may have been eliminated by an infamous global hit man named Harry. Harry is actually short for Harriet, and she is not someone to be trifled with. What transpires from here is a story that fits more cleanly into Rankin's wheelhouse. WESTWIND is a well-done tale of espionage that harks back to the days of Agent 007 and MI6. In this situation, we are introduced to agents from both Europe and the U.S., making for a true global conflict.

The key to everything might be Zephyr, especially when Hepton indicates that it is an all-purpose satellite as versatile as they want it to be. The mystery revolves around its true purpose and who might want it shut down at any cost. Hepton is no James Bond, but the new allegiances he makes with the small handful of colleagues he can trust force him to step up to the plate in a big way. Of course, this will lead to an inevitable showdown with Harry, which will be worth the wait.

WESTWIND is well worth the 30-year timespan it has taken for most readers to discover it. Thankfully, it has not lost any tarnish in translation and can stand up to nearly any spy game or espionage thriller currently on the market. While reading anything from Rankin will always remind me of the stunningly complex John Rebus, it was a welcome diversion to spend some time with a few of his early creations in a work that ended up being an enjoyable, solid read.

Reviewed by Ray Palen

[James Tucker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book because I have read all Ian Rankin's Detective Rebus novels and a few others and so it seemed only natural to try Westwind. My copy has an introduction from IR which puts the story into context chronologically with his other works. I noted with reassurance that IR had already published Knots & Crosses and was working on Hide & Seek, his first two Rebus stories and so expected much from this "techno-thriller". Unfortunately I was disappointed, and so much so that I even considered dropping the book half-read. I really hate not finishing a book that I have chosen to begin, always hopeful that the story or telling will get better. The trouble that I have with this book is that I can't even feel the Ian Rankin that I know and admire. This seems to be written by someone else entirely and that is predominately due to his characterisations and poor plot. I do not believe for a minute that any of the portrayals are real people which is the complete opposite from the Rebus book characters. These seem to be annoyingly inconsistent especially the principals Martin Hepton who is an operative at a British Satellite installation and Major Michael Dreyfuss who has been chosen for a US led space mission. Neither convince that they are who they are supposed to be nor are they particularly reliable being hard as nails with grit one moment and emotional the next. I read to the bitter end and it became no better. Although IR mentions this as his "techno-thriller" there is precious little actual technology mentioned and that is even factoring in the age of the book. This is not to say that the book isn't well enough written but merely that the plot is laughable and not believable even for 1990. IR's crime stories are expertly woven plots, have true to life characters and mix dark plotlines spotted with humour throughout. Westwind is hardly thrilling, has no jeopardy and the humour doesn't work. It is a shame that the publishers have republished it. Steer clear of this book, it is not a classic and should have remained lost.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first ever Ian Rankin novel so I'll not be comparing it to his Rebus novels for which he's most famous for. And I was aware as I went into it that the book was from early in his career. This is something worth noting before picking the book up. It's set back in the 90's, technology was VERY different back then and it's most certainly not a stereotypical crime novel. Go in with this in mind or leave it alone if you think it'll bother you.

As for the book itself. I really enjoyed it. It was a very good thriller / spy/ espionage story where every character was suspicious, I had no idea who I could trust and every new encounter was met with scepticism. The main character actually felt qualified to be investigating what was going on (as apposed to a random teacher, etc, that is often used and suspense of disbelief is pushed to the limit) and he was a likeable guy to be following.

My only gripe was the ending. The machinations were explained but it took so long to get to that point that it felt like the book needed another 30 to 50 pages to give a satisfactory conclusion.

As it is the ending felt a little rushed. Rankin said in the introduction that he'd tweaked some of the language but I kinda wish he'd edited the ending somewhat.

I wouldn't have wanted large changes that brought it more in line with today's tech etc because I found the charm of the book relied on it being set in a time where people weren't as aware of the way the world works as they are today, but fleshing out the ending and conclusion would have made this the 5 star read it promised to be all the way throughout. As it is this was still an excellent book and one I'll always treasure as my introduction to Rankin's writing, but it wasn't perfect

Definitely not going to be my last Ian Rankin novel. Inspector Rebus is already calling out to me

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Westwind (1990) IAN RANKIN.
REISSUE DUE 14 NOVEMBER 2019. PRE ORDERED IBOOK. Could never find this book! Have read all by this writer. Out of print for 30 years! Very nice preface written by the writer.

A quiet start to this read but it’s quite a thriller! Storyline set in the late 80s easily could be happening for real in our current world politics, which makes it a chilling and thought provoking read!

Martin Hepton suspects things happening at the facility he works at are not quite right and his missing colleague who was certain he had noticed something on the surveillance satellite footage, taking mysterious sick leave is a lie. He goes on holiday in pretense of hunting down the truth. He is being followed, someone tries to murder him after he finds his colleague dead. The mysterious Harry, a female assassin! More lies, bigger ones! The crew of Argos died! One British survivor of Argos is hidden in America! Zephyr crew is being changed. He contacts his old girlfriend in London but then they are both in the web of the secret service or who exactly..the web of lies and some rather good characters is well woven..... Jilly Watson then disappears just as Parfit brings Dreyfuss home to the UK. Martin is trying to stay alive and get to the bottom of what is going on and calls in favors from friends and colleagues he feels he can still trust. The computer systems and hacking is all quite interesting as are satellites monitoring from space. Cold War spies come to mind but this is modern Britain, America and Europe with the Soviet.....

A very good read......and goodness this would be a good film!!

[Andrea InCoorparoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been stuck indoors, feeling a bit lousy, sore throat and waiting for COVID test results. Luckily I had this book and finished it in a day. It's an exciting, page-turning thriller and I love that one main character is an astronaut.

[Anne Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I liked it, great to see developing talent of the author, most of his Rebus series came later. It’s thriller style, involving technology, spyware, deception and murder. Main character Martin Helton is quite good although he lacks the realism of later work. If you like secret service skulduggery, car chases, scenes where you don’t trust anyone, this will entertain you. Not very much gruesome stuff, current similar novels work at drawing out and shocking readers, this is pretty mild in comparison.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book via a Goodreads Givaway that requested I review it in exchange. I've never read any Ian Rankin before, and looking through a few reviews by his followers, starting here really wasn't the best move. That said, I didn't find the writing bad, just not very engaging. It was a quick read, and the story wasn't hard to follow or anything, but I tend to like my novels with more interesting characterizations. These people were all pretty flat, and particularly the female characters were either just straight-up "villain" or "arm-candy." So, two stars, not bad but entirely forgettable.

[Bettie]

Ian Rankin is set to relaunch espionage thriller Westwind on Thursday, which has been out of print since its first edition of just 1,000 copies in 1990. the scotsman

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Setting: UK & USA; 1990. This is a re-release of a book originally published in 1990 but whose sales were distinctly average at the time. Set in an 'alternative' Europe, American troops have been told to withdraw from their UK bases. Martin Hepton works at a satellite tracking station in the UK where their top satellite, Zephyr, suddenly goes offline for several minutes - an unexpectedly long time for such an event. Although all seems fine when Zephyr's functions return, one of Martin's junior colleagues tells him that he saw some unusual coding come up on his screen - but when Martin goes to speak to him later about it, he finds that his colleague has been 'rushed to hospital'. In the USA, a returning space shuttle crashes on landing and five of the six crew die, the only survivor being the English member of the crew, Major Dreyfuss. Dreyfuss suspects their mission was not what he thought it was and links soon appear with the Zephyr's shutdown. As Dreyfuss and Hepton team up to investigate, security forces in both the UK and USA get involved and they are unsure who to trust as the body count starts to rise. A good thriller, perhaps a little bit dated but still a good read - 8/10.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Rankin novel got off to a slow start for me. Not because I found the scenario implausible, but because I missed the comfortable mileau of my friends Rebus and Clarke. In fact, nothing about Westwind seemed unlikely.

Rebus and Clarke have been clicking along for some 28 novels. It seemed like Rankin was just getting his bearings with these new characters and situations for the first half of the book. And, I struggled with him. The pace was slow and the characters were only slightly compelling. What kept me reading was the fact that nothing surprised me.

Definitely worth the time.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I prefer Rankin the crime author. That said this was a fast paced techno thriller. It kept me interested, but you can see he was in his early career and how his writing has developed to be much tighter now.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early Rankin novel (written after only one Rebus novel had been published) and reissued 30 years later. Not a bad book at all - a fast-paced conspiracy thriller.

[Gregory Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I flew through this book as Rankin‘s style lends to it. This was his first published book and it was clear where his style that you read now has developed from. I believe he continues to write crime novels because it sells and his writing of the Rebus character mixes music that readers relate to and some good black Scottish humour.

This book, it was clear, had some issues to make it big as I believe there were too many of this genre at the time by people who are extremely well-known (thinking of John Le Carre) so it feels like a typical airplane book. Slightly thrilling but at time the topic seemed to get lost in the flow and I don’t feel was relatable to many viewers. While writing this I’m thinking of Girl with Dragon Tattoo series and how those books held my attention and kept it to the last page!!

[Mary Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

An espionage story involving the Americans and MI5/6. A satellite loses contact and a space ship crashes leaving only one survivor. I enjoyed the quirky reminders of being able to smoke on planes and no central locking on cars. Harry was intriguing and slightly reminiscent of Diana Rigg in the Avengers series.

[Poojan Bhatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

books plot of political thriller makes you go till the end of the book to uncover the suspense but the antagonist are nor portrayed that strongly. Also, the ending seems rushed but enjoy the fast paced narrative.

[Jill Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Pacey and exciting. But lacks the humanity, emotion and skill depicted in his Rebus writings.

[Weebly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been in a real kill with reading but this book kept my interest enough that I found the time to read a little each day. An entertaining thriller.

[Lisa Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This novel had me racing to turn every page. A fast-paced thriller with a shuttle, satellites, spies and suspense. What a creation. It really was a wonderfully engaging read.

I've not read Ian Rankin before, but I plan to read more in future having enjoyed this one so thoroughly. Believable and engaging characters, intriguing plot and continuous activity all combined to make a thoroughly captivating tale.

Stupendous.

[Andy Umpleby · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read, that I found enjoyable!
I would recommend reading it.