In a House of Lies

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 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 show more 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

Rebus, our favourite curmudgeonly detective in Edinburgh has been retired from the force for a number of years, and he is living with a COPD diagnosis, and actually has changed his lifestyle in order to deal with the disease. Gone are the "coffin nails' replaced by gum. Gone are the pints of beer and the endless shots of malt whiskey, replaced by 1 pint a day and endless cups of tea and Irn-Bru. You'd think this would make Rebus a lot less interesting, but not on your life. He's still got it as he tells Siobhan over and over, and he loves nothing better than digging through case notes and reports on old cases, both solved and unsolved. When Siobhan comes to him to ask him to check into one of her old cases that had been solved with the show more perpetrator in prison, Rebus jumps at the chance. So off he goes tilting at his own windmills. At the same time, Siobhan is on a case of a skeleton found in the trunk of a car found in a ditch outside of town. And in true Ian Rankin style, these two very different cases converge and meet somewhere around halfway through the book. No one can carry off numerous separate story threads like Ian Rankin. This book is a page-turner from beginning to end, and here's me hoping that Rankin keeps his wonderful character alive for many more books. It will be a much less exciting world in fiction if we lose Rebus. In this book Rankin shows how close to the wind Rebus flew when working on cases when he was still on the force, and we have Malcolm Fox there to show that those old shenanigans that Rebus carried out continuously are still there to be discovered. As in other books, Malcom becomes the "good angel" on Rebus's shoulder to help keep Rebus in line. This is a truly wonderful series, and the whole entire series of 22 books and counting should be at the top of everyone's reading list if they enjoy crime fiction. show less

Like a fine wine, this book needs to breathe. I wasn't convinced after thirty pages; by fifty, I couldn't put it down!

John Rebus has aged: not only has he left the force (this has been true for a while) but, now his health is taking its revenge for years of misuse of his body. The book is about the differences between policing in Rebus' day and the current time. In fairness, it doesn't take the lazy attitude of saying that all was so much better when policemen knew their villains and got them any way they could, even if it wasn't always strictly legal. It also acknowledges the problems of current politically correct policing. My sympathies do not naturally lean to the poor copper, too entangled in red tape to catch the blaggard whom he show more knows to be guilty; it is good writing that makes the old rogue, Rebus, such a loveable character.

A blooming good story with a twist or two along the way. If you like your whodunits, you MUST read this. show less

When the body of a man missing for years is discovered, it creates a huge problem for the police. At the time of the disappearance, there were accusations of malfeasance among the police investigating, not least because the man was gay and the father of his partner was on the force. Rebus, now retired and not really enjoying it, was part of that original investigation and wants to help. His gesture is dismissed immediately. However, Siobhan Clarke, once his subordinate, has another task for him. She'd been stalked by someone with a relationship to another crime and has reason to believe she is being set up by some crooked cops. She offers the stalker a trade-off - if he'll report the cops behind it, she'll get Rebus to investigate the show more crime. It takes little time for him to follow the evidence but, in the process of doing so, it takes him back to the case of the missing man as well as connecting with his old adversary, Cafferty.

In a House of Lies is the 22nd entry in the Rebus police procedural series by author Ian Rankin and it is a perfect example of why Rankin is one of my favourite writers. Like past books, this is more puzzle than action but, as always, the puzzle is intriguing and really pulls the reader into the story making it nigh impossible to put down. The story is well-written and intelligent with a compelling plot and complex but familiar characters to long-time readers. I also appreciated that the characters have matured and aged along with the series. I have recently read a few series that I had enjoyed in the past but hadn't visited for awhile and one of the things I found that kept me from fully engaging was the fact that the characters had remained pretty much the same age and maturity level although the world around them had moved forward even in the book.

A definite high recommendation from me.

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

WHAT'S IN A HOUSE OF LIES ABOUT?
A decade and change ago, a private investigator went missing. John Rebus was part of the team that spent weeks looking for him—interviewing his client, his family, his boyfriend, the target of his current investigation, and everyone else they could think of. At least that's what the paperwork said. There's some question about that—and the family of Stuart Bloom has forced more than one investigation into the original search.

Now his body is discovered—in an area that had been well-searched originally. There's reason to believe that the body had been somewhere else for years. Now the police—a team featuring DI Siobhan Clarke—have to decide where it was as well as who killed him. This involves show more taking a fresh look at the old case as well as a new investigation. The original detectives (those who are still alive, that is) and some of the uniformed officers are brought in for questioning—which means that Rebus is under the microscope once again. This suits him fine—it's a chance for him to have a part in closing the case once and for all (at least in his mind)

Meanwhile, Malcolm Fox's boss assigns him to take one final look at the original investigation—given the new discovery, can they find police misconduct at the root?

Also, Clarke's being harassed by someone—only crank calls and vandalism, so far. She doesn't want to do anything official about it, so she asks Rebus to look into things—if nothing else, it might keep him out of her hair while she looks for Bloom's killer. Might.

There's a lot to untangle in these pages, thankfully, Rankin's three detectives are on the cases.

WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT IN A HOUSE OF LIES?
This post feels entirely too short. I'm struggling here. What do I say about Rankin or Rebus (or Clarke or Fox) that I haven't already said? I'm willing to believe that I've asked this question when discussing at least 3 previous books. I'm sorely tempted to just post something like: "Ian Rankin wrote a book about John Rebus. You know what to do."

I was particularly impressed at the way Rankin got the band (on both sides of the law) back together here—for the reader, it's expected—probably even inevitable. But it comes across as organic and unforced. Between Rebus' retirement, and the divergent paths that the others' careers have taken, that's no mean feat. Unlike, say, Renée Ballard, Siobhan Clarke isn't soldiering on with those she can't trust. Ballard has to get Bosch involved, Clarke chooses to ask for his help and/or lets him push his way in.

Solid mysteries, expertly plotted and executed, full of characters (new and old) that you believe and get invested in. In a House of Lies feels as fresh and as compelling as Knots and Crosses. show less

A body is found in the trunk of a car that has been stashed in the woods. The body is of a man who disappeared 12 years previously. But the car wasn’t in that area when it was last searched. Where has the body been all this time, and what was going on with the original inquiry? Siobhan Clarke is reviewing that original inquiry, with backup from Malcolm Fox of Professional Standards. They’ll figure out whether there was any wrongdoing in the old days, and whether that wrongdoing involved Rebus. What I like best about this book is that Rebus, Clarke, and Fox are all working together to solve the case. They have a good team dynamic, and their conversations are fun to listen to. I may have read this just a touch too fast, because there show more was a lot to take in, but I enjoyed my visit to the Rebusverse as always. show less

This is the latest John Rebus mystery and apparently I am going to have to wait almost an entire year to get another one. Ian Rankin took a year off writing so he has just started a new book and it won't be out until the fall of 2020. Not sure how I'll survive without my annual Rebus fix.

Rebus has been retired for a while but that doesn't stop him from taking an interest in new and old cases. When he heard that an abandoned car with a dead body in the trunk had been found in a patch of woods outside of Edinburgh he was immediately on the phone to Siobhan Clarke to ask her what the make of the car was. A number of years before he was on the team exploring the disappearance of a private investigator but no body was ever found, nor was his show more car. As Rebus suspected the body was indeed that of the missing PI. Siobhan is on the team investigating the case. Malcolm Fox has also been attached to the investigation to look over the files from the missing person investigation to see if mistakes were made. So it is like the old gang has reunited and yet there are tensions. Siobhan was investigated by the internal investigations unit for allegedly leaking information to a reporter. She was exonerated but some of the present team still are not sure of her priorities. When it turns out that the two men who investigated her were on the original missing person investigation Siobhan is hoping she might be able to get some dirt on them. Of course Cafferty, the crime boss of Edinburgh, gets drawn into the investigation as well because it turns out he knew the PI. Rebus helps pull all the threads together in his own inimitable fashion and the case is finally solved.

Almost as interesting as the police investigation is the possibility that Fox may have found a female companion, another police detective assigned to the case. They actually went to supper once and spent quite a few hours examining the old case files together. And could it also be possible that Siobhan and the detective in charge are feeling some mutual attraction? With Rebus still keeping company with pathologist Deborah Quant it certainly seems like love is in the air in Edinburgh. show less