A Song for the Dark Times: The Brand New Must-Read Rebus Thriller

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Still with his finger on the pulse of Edinburgh’s underbelly, Big Ger isn’t quite ready to hang up his hat yet. But with technology and the changing face of crime, he’s slowly losing his grasp on the criminal fraternity. Finding it harder to guard his patch. It may just be a matter of time to consider taking the “proceeds of” and retiring to the Costa del Crime. But pride will not allow this. As with Rebus, he is dogged and stubborn. Refusing to believe he has aged. Lately whenever I finish a Rebus novel, I always feel I've just said goodbye to a friend I may never see again. Book 23! And Book 24 has just hit the shelves. I will be devastated when this series ends, as end it must. Ian Rankin seems to be setting up his dated Rebus series with succession planning by giving equal billing to the retired curmudgeon’s former partner, Siobhan Clarke, in the solving of a double murder in this his 23rd book in the series.

The window in the main bedroom had been opened to air the place. It looked bigger of course, without the furniture and the restless figure of John Rebus." As this twenty third book in the series opens Rebus is moving house. Well strictly speaking he’s still in the same building but moving down from his upper floor flat to the ground floor. He’s suffering from COPD, a chronic disease that obstructs the flow of air to his lungs. That means no ciggies and no booze. Oh dear, this isn’t going to be quite the same John Rebus regular readers (like me) have grown to know and love. He’s retired now from his role as a senior Edinburgh detective but he stays close to DI Siobhan Clarke – who is actually at this point helping him with the logistics of the move. However, Rebus is distracted by an urgent call from his daughter, her partner Keith has gone missing and she’s fraught with worry. Nothing to do but leave things in Siobhan’s capable hands and skedaddle up to the far north coast of Scotland where she lives. Retired he may be but here’s a ‘case’ he can get teeth into. I can’t believe this is the first book I have read by prolific writer, Ian Rankin. It won’t be the last!John Rebus, sidelined but refusing to succumb, remains standing alone of all the other characters. Hell, even Cafferty is more interesting than Clarke and Fox! Rebus thought again of the books he decided he couldn’t live without, even if he would never read them; the albums he played maybe once or twice a decade but still clung to; the boxes of case files that seemed a veritable part of him, like an extra limb. Why would he part with them when he had a spare bedroom no overnight ever graced?" He then sent a rough sketch to John Convertino in El Paso who loved it and came up with a drum part. It then went to Dean's Southerners buddy, Tom Collison in London, who added keys, and everything else. My wife used to say it was like I was having an affair - staying out too late, not home most weekends. And even when I did go home, the cases would still be in here.’ He tapped his forehead.” 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.

The story is actually divided between his daughter's new adopted home of Naver, a remote village in the far north of Scotland, and Edinburgh where Clarke, Fox and the folks in CID are investigating the murder of. Saudi student that may, or may not, be racially, or perhaps politically, motivated. It takes the Detectives into a murky world of property development, wealthy investors, battles over land ownership and development and within the sights of a certain Big Ger Cafferty. Rebus may be out of town but that won't stop Big Ger toying with the police, especially when it is to his financial benefit. The way in which Big Ger is brought into the story is very carefully and cleverly done, the potential from what happens certainly makes for an intriguing opening for the next book in the series. Each chapter is dedicated to a day in this unfolding story. One week in total. During which not only are old crimes unearthed, and new ones needing to be solved, but Rebus has to dig deep to get to know his daughter again. An absent father while she was growing up, to say their relationship is strained is putting it mildly. He now reflects on who he is as a person, and who he was a father. Soon, it is learned periphery threads to each case may exist leading investigators to wonder if the two are linked together. In a review of a Peter Robinson novel a few weeks ago, I complained about the fact that, deep into the series, Robinson had created such a wide cast of characters that his main protagonist was getting lost in the shuffle. To some extent, the same is true here and in this case the problem is further compounded by the fact that Rebus is retired and cannot actively participate in criminal investigations any longer. Thus Rebus disappears on a regular basis throughout the novel as the story focuses on the investigation into the murder of the Saudi student. And they got my fingerprints. And all the time it was happening, I was thinking: this is what my Dad used to do; this is how he spent his working life. No emotion, no warmth, just a job to be got on with.'”At least Rebus’ faithful companion, his wee dog Brillo, is there, keeping him company. He’s smuggled his way even further into Rebus’ heart, and now sleeps in his bed. A fact which Rebus vigorously denies. It still warms my heart that this mite is playing on Rebus’ “human” side, as while a fulltime copper, he didn’t have time to love another, whether family, lover, or other. It was all about the case load. He lived and breathed his work. Total commitment. It may have been a while since John Rebus retired, but the aging ex-detective still finds trouble follows him whereever he goes. And so begins Rebus’ journey halfway across Scotland to be with his daughter, and granddaughter. Keeping him company on the drive, is a CD of songs put together for him by Siobhan Clarke. His former colleague, for whom he was an erstwhile mentor, who is now proving to be a lifelong friend. The CD is titled A Song for The Dark Times which is fitting. As is usual with Rankin’s novels, what starts off as a “simple” crime morphs into several stories which weave in and out of each other. Rebus has received a late night telephone call from his daughter Samantha telling him her partner and father of their daughter is missing. While their relationship is still strained, Rebus, in the midst of moving down to a ground floor dwelling due to his COPD, then travels to her town to assist in locating the missing man. While doing so, local coppers make it clear to Rebus they require no help, nor want it even though he may have once been a detective of note.

Brexit), είναι όμως τόσο άτσαλο και από το πουθενά. Τα αστυνομικά αρκεί να είναι αστυνομικά ξερωγω (#γνωμημου), και όχι όπως άκουσα πρόσφατα αμπελοφιλοσοφίες σε ένα ελληνικό podcast για το αστυνομικό βιβλίο με δύο καλεσμένους, η δε τύπισσα που έχει γράψει από τα χειρότερα ελληνικά αστυνομικά εκτός του ότι είπε αυτές τις δηθενιές για πολιτικό περιεχόμενο στο αστυνομικό (να έχει και πολιτικό περιεχόμενο μάνα μου, αλλά ξερωγω να ασχολείται και ο αστυνομικός λίγο με την υπόθεση, έτσι για ξεκάρφωμα λέω εγώ), είπε ότι συμβουλεύται και δύο αστυνομικούς για αυτά που γράφει (λογικά κάποιον της Τροχαίας...). Καλά ο άλλος το παίζει true crime α λά ελληνικά... In Edinburgh, Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox are part of the Murder Inquiry Team looking into the mysterious killing of a Saudi student. This takes them into the world of wealthy international socialites and their financial projects. The dead man’s closest friend was a young Scottish aristocrat whose family trust owns most of the area around Tongue, so Rebus’s investigations overlap with Siobhan’s. In a secondary plotline, Siobhan eventually finds herself teaming up with another of Rankin’s lead men DI Malcolm Fox (he of the Major Crimes Division and, maybe, one time stealer of a job Siobhan rather fancied for herself) in a murder investigation. The victim is a young Saudi student from a wealthy family, stabbed one night in a disreputable part of the city. As Clarke, Fox and others interview friends and associates of the deceased it appears that one possible avenue of interest leads north to the very spot Rebus is ensconced at this moment. Suddenly Rebus has half a foot in this investigation too. I miss the more youthful Rebus. Everything has aged including big Ger Cafferty. I suppose that is life. I sense that Siobhan Clarke will ultimately take the Rebus mantle when he passes. But hopefully not for a long time.Rebus fears the worst – and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect. I have been craving a really good read with a great plot and strong characters and certainly got it with this book. Rebus may be retired but he still delivers. Apparently once a policeman always a policeman. Age may be catching up with him but the mind is still sharp. COPD has forced him to move to a ground floor apartment but he takes his cold case files with him for a little light reading. Thanks for "Red Kites". Well, the whole album actually. Saw an Uncut magazine review out here in the southern Utah dust and thought I should give it a listen. Glad I did. Jerry Cooney go to album Police procedurals are full of mundane office politics, idle chit-chat which sometimes give away clues, dull plodding, CCTV footage, after-work drinking, lots of take-out food eaten on the job, and pots and pots of tea. The life of a cop is pretty empty, is what these books always convey. The private lives of cops are non-existent, relationships are cursory, whatever progeny they have is damaged, vacations are boring, and work is their defining activity. And even cops, and the children of cops, cheat on their spouses. Unlike in P.I murder mysteries where the loop of suspicion is circumscribed to a remembered list of suspects, these cop stories have many more characters, with names, even for just throwaway scenes. Therefore, there are more possible villains and outcomes to choose from, making it nigh impossible for the reader to guess whodunit.