Ian Rankin

Rebus is retired (sorta) and, thanks to a diagnosis of COPD, he is moving to a ground floor apartment. Siobhan Clarke is helping him move when she receives a call to investigate the murder of a Saudi student. Then Rebus receives a call from his daughter, Samantha telling him her partner, Keith, has gone missing. Despite their rather strained relationship, Rebus rushes to be with her. His reception by her is less than happy and soon, she makes it clear his presence is not needed. Still, he is show more concerned about her and decides to stay and investigate on his own since he knows that, should the disappearance turn out to be something worse, Samantha will be the prime, perhaps the only, suspect. And the more he looks into it, the more likely it becomes that Keith's disappearance and murder of the Saudi are connected

Ian Rankin is one of my favourite writers and A Song for the Dark Times is a good example why. It is the twenty-third novel in his Inspector Rebus series and it is still one of the best police procedural series out there. It is, as always, well-written, well-plotted, and intelligent,compelling and it kept me guessing right up to the end. The characters are three-dimensional and I like that they age as the series continues. Overall, a satisfying addition to the series and I recommend it highly.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown, & Company for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

A body is found in the trunk/boot of a car in a gully, handcuffs (possibly police-issue) around its ankles. It is clear this is not a recent murder, and it is suspected that the vehicle hasn’t been in the gully for long (relatively speaking). It is soon discovered that the body is of a young private investigator who disappeared over ten years ago.

This set-up allows for a readers’ favorite reunion of all of our Rankin favorites: Siobhan Clarke, Malcolm Fox, Morris Cafferty, and our show more intrepid, aging hero, John Rebus (always willing to stick his nose back into things, of course) The increasingly complicated and twisted case, hinting of past cock-ups (and a second, off-the-books review of an unrelated case) is crowded with an immense cast of characters, and between the cast and complexity readers must pay attention and keep their wits about them. I chose to read the book more or less non stop, rather than run the risk of losing ground. It was work, yes, but delightfully delicious work; it’s an excellent, meaty police procedural, and reading the 22nd (?) Rebus novel is now like being with family (it occurs to me that, although Rebus has a headstart on me, I’ve been aging along with him).

This is certainly not where I would suggest readers begin with this series, but going back to the first (1987) might not be the best idea either (depends on whether you are a completist, I guess). Maybe pick one from the 90s. show less

In this, the Rebus books move into a higher gear in my opinion. Rebus is suffering the consequences of his principled stand in 'Let It Bleed' where he gave up his chance of promotion to a despised self-serving colleague in order to bring corrupt politicians to justice. As punishment he has been sent to a rundown station which is in the throes of closing to move to a new building. His boss there is pretty laid back: just as well, given how Rebus frequently goes off to pursue his own show more agendas.

Firstly, he is trying to solve the suspicious death of a man who worked on an offshore oil rig, and secondly he has become obsessed with the late 1960s (this book was published in the late 1990s) serial killer named Bible John by the media. This is due to the fact that another killer is now operating, as a copycat, and has been dubbed Johnny Bible by the same media. Unlike his bosses, Rebus is convinced (rightly as it turns out) that Bible John is still alive and may be active again, drawn out by his 'offspring'.

In this book Rebus goes through more physical punishment than I can recall in others and also undergoes an emotional breakdown in which he faces how severe his drink problem has become. Also, for the first time as far as I'm aware, sections of the book switch to the point of view of another character. I won't say who it is to avoid spoilers, but it added another layer as the reader is aware of how close Rebus is coming to his quarry - and how he may be putting himself in danger by doing so. Meanwhile, his investigation into the oilman's death also puts him in hazardous situations, not least because of his obviously shown suspicion that certain police are in the pocket of a Glaswegian crime boss.

Rebus roams widely across Scotland in this book, spending a lot of time away from Edinburgh and it's an interesting perspective on other areas and other police forces. All in all, I enjoyed the book so much and thought the complexity paid off this time and didn't bog down, as it did in the preceding book, so I am awarding it 5 stars. show less

I approached this book with some trepidation: Ian Rankin had effectively killed off the career of Rebus, and now he was back. Part of me whooped with joy, but I was concerned that such a great literary creation might be deminutised. I need not have worried.

The thing that I have always enjoyed in Rankin's oeuvre is that actions have consequences and, they do not disappear from book to book. If one had never read a Rebus story, one could pick up this book and thoroughly enjoy it but, if one show more has followed the career of this maverick policeman, then the myriad of references to earlier events adds to the pleasure.

The story is of a serial killer and Rebus, now pensioned off and operating from an unsolved crime unit, has to hunt the killer without the authority of rank. To confirm Rankin's ability to create and people an entire world, his other detective character, Malcolm Fox of the Complaints Department, has a role too. In a nice case of role reversal, Siobhan Clarke, Rebus' erstwhile sidekick, becomes the D. I. but, it is still the wily old Rebus who makes things happen....

The story is tense right up until the final pages: not only in the, 'will the detective catch the baddie?' way but also, Rebus is getting older, has never looked after his body and the ailments are catching up; will Rebus live to complete his task and, are we in for a tear jerker ending? I'm not going to tell you: if you ever read crime fiction, then you owe it to yourself to read this super book. show less