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

Product Information

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.” What follows is alternating chapters between the organized and fully resourced investigation in Edinburgh and the rather country-bumpkin style one in the Highlands. The contrasting styles of city vs. country cop are on display, with Rebus straddling both. 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.'”

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. 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. A Song For The Dark Times by Ian Rankin is number twenty-three in the now-retired Inspector John Rebus series. PDF / EPUB File Name: A_Song_for_the_Dark_Times_-_Inspector_Rebu_-_Ian_Rankin.pdf, A_Song_for_the_Dark_Times_-_Inspector_Rebu_-_Ian_Rankin.epubWhen his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days.

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. 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. 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.In two complex plots, with quite a few red herrings, Rankin moves easily between the storylines. It is an engaging, fast read. 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. 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. 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.

A Song for the Dark Times was an excellent read. Rebus is really showing his age and poor health now but he is as determined to stir things up as he ever was. This time his interest is doubled because the missing man is his daughter's husband and, although she is as rude to him as she ever was, he is desperate to help her. 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. 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.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. Rebus’ daughter Sam begins to understand the reality of her Dad’s working life from her dealings with the police relating to her partner’s disappearance. It’s as if both father and daughter are starting to realise the missed opportunities to get to know each other as she grew up. How hard it would be to make amends. Rankin compiled a playlist for this imaginary CD on Spotify: Songs for Dark Times—chosen by Siobhan Clarke. I have been reading this series so long now that each new book gets an automatic five stars. I like all the characters, cannot fault the writing style, and always enjoy the humour and the police work. When I sit down with Inspector Rebus and Siobhan Clarke I know I am in for a good time.

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. It may have been a while since John Rebus retired, but the aging ex-detective still finds trouble follows him whereever he goes. Rebus' half of the story is intriguing. I loved the way in which Ian Rankin has explored the internal conflict of Rebus the father verses Rebus the Detective. The man who is driven largely by his gut knows that sometimes the simplest explanation is actually the truth, but seeing his struggles when it comes to suspecting his daughter really felt authentic, and knowing the way in which duty always came before his commitment to his family, the whole investigation really played to this part of his character. And yet ... he was never ready to give up on Samantha, even if he couldn't always voice his feelings in the way she needed. In that way the book stayed very true to the Rebus we know and love. Well, that and his innate ability to rub up the investigating Detective, the local police and some of the townsfolk the wrong way without breaking a sweat. He's lost none of his charm with age.Mark Sanderson, “The best crime fiction for October 2020 — Ian Rankin’s thriller is perfect for our dark times,” The Times 29 September 2020 As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast – and a small town with big secrets – he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn’t want to find… Ian Rankin's novels featuring Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus have long been one of the best crime series going. Sadly, at least to my mind, Rankin decided early on to let the character age in real time, which means that, after over thirty years, Rebus is now retired and not aging well. After a long lifetime of drinking and smoking, Rebus has COPD and can no longer climb the stairs to the second-floor home where he has lived for years. As the book opens, Rebus is in the process of moving to a new home on the first floor of the same building, assisted by his longtime friend and associate Siobhan Clarke.