by Ian Rankin
Part of Inspector Rebus, book 8
First published 2005
Detective Inspector John Rebus works four separate cases simultaneously, each demanding his attention as he pursues a single murderer. The trail points toward Bible John, Scotland's most notorious unsolved killer. Rebus operates under intense pressure from multiple directions. An internal affairs investigation targets him directly, led by an officer Rebus recently exposed for accepting bribes from a powerful Glasgow crime boss. Television crews follow his every move, documenting what they believe represents a wrongful conviction case. Their cameras paint Rebus as corrupt in front of millions of viewers. The detective knows that even one misstep could result in his violent death at the hands of criminals seeking revenge. Worse than death, however, would be losing his position on the force. Rebus must navigate between solving murders, avoiding assassination, and protecting his career while the media portrays him as everything wrong with Scottish policing.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, investigative-journalism, wrongful-conviction
Setting: Glasgow, Scotland
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
498 pages · Paperback · Orion
Content warnings: violence