Review of "Westwind: A Novel" by Ian Rankin

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.

Rating: 3 stars