Rankin and me

Another stumble last night, but this time it wasn’t me. Yes, managed to get all my lines out. One show left, a matinee, for which I need to get prepared, so no time to write much.

Instead I will share something I would have shared last month if I’d been writing, but I wasn’t.

One of the things I’ve discovered since I started “stalking” Ian Rankin a couple of years ago is that he does pay attention to mentions on Twitter.

So last month, the morning after I’d finished reading his latest novel, I posted this:

 

@AMHolmes711 One of the things I love about @Beathigh is his timing. Always (almost always) a new book for my November birthday. Just finished A Song For Dark Times and loved it. Oh, my god, so many doors left open! Especially the one to Big Ger’s penthouse.

Sometime later I received this comment.

@Beathigh Glad you enjoyed it! As for Cafferty… 🤫

That’s a shush emoji at the end, in case you can’t make it out.

I responded.

@AMHolmes· Only thing I didn’t love was the multiple plugs for @LeeChildReacher in the year he’s abrogated responsibility. 😡

That’s a furious emoji.

I mean, seriously, it was odd enough to suddenly be told that Rebus enjoys a Reacher novel as a bit of escapism or have Siobhan invited to go to a talk by Lee Child and Karin Slaughter or have her acquire a signed-by-Child copy of a Reacher novel as a present for Rebus. But these multiple mentions in the very year that Lee Child scandalously (yes, I do think it’s a fucking scandal) handed over Reacher to his brother? What the fuck?

I suspect mine wasn’t the first complaint he’d heard on this particular subject, because almost immediately afterwards I had a reply.

@Beathigh· He paid (handsomely) at a charity auction for the privilege!

Okay, still annoying to see Child get a plug this year, but at least there’s a valid reason. What about Slaughter’s mention?

@AMHolmes711 I am SO glad to hear that! Was Karin Slaughter the second highest bidder?

@Beathigh Equal highest!!

I’m still pissed off that Child got multiple name drops in a Rankin novel – especially the year that the first poorly-written-by-his-brother Reacher offering was released – but I guess a deal’s a deal. I hope Child paid very handsomely indeed and that it was for an extremely worthy charity.