by Ian Rankin
Part of Inspector Rebus, book 5
First published 2000
Detective Inspector John Rebus faces his worst nightmare when a fellow officer lies broken and bloodied after a savage attack. The assault connects to a corpse that defies identification and a murder case that grows more twisted by the hour. Rebus finds himself stalked by threatening figures from his past while struggling to decode the cryptic entries scattered throughout his colleague's private notebook. Each clue he uncovers reveals another piece of a puzzle that powerful people want to keep unsolved. The detective must navigate through layers of conspiracy and violence, knowing that someone will kill to keep certain secrets buried. As the investigation deepens, Rebus discovers that solving this case means confronting truths that could destroy everything he holds dear.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: detective-fiction, police-procedural, secrets
Setting: Scotland
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
352 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: violence