New Book .. A new episode in the Rebus saga.

 

Released on Oct 18th.  The story takes an interesting turn as a series of interconnected events unfold. Author; Ian Rankin, not at his best on this one: 8/11 ...

Book Review: A SONG for the DARK TIMES; by: Ian Rankin

Bottom Line: A disappointing book ... never thought I'd say this about a Rebus novel! Felt as here was a different hand on the typewriter at times ?

UPDATE: 10-30-20  An audiobook version has been uploaded to YouTube .. No fault with the audiobook. Easy listening, well presented. Good voices and pleasing pace. Same conclusions on story and writing.

Rebus the retired copper is moving apartments in the opening of the story to a ground floor flat, due to ill health, assisted by trusted friend Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke.

With a dog named Brillo to mind and boxes — including stacks of old case files — to unpack. The murder of a wealthy Saudi student in Edinburgh, followed by a mysterious missing person case, one with a close family connection to Rebus, has him heading to the Scotland Highlands to investigate.

Rankin’s plot jumps between the two cases, like a Scottish gale, with Clarke and team investigating the murder — the case touches on recent real-world events such as Brexit, anti-immigrant violence and the murder of Adnan Khashoggi. Rebus, meanwhile, attempts to mend fences with his partially estranged daughter, Samantha, as he searches for her missing partner and probes possible links to a local commune and an abandoned World War Two internment camp.

The Rebus of “A Song for the Dark Times” is a slightly diminished one — he is drinking less, nor do we find him sparring with local Edinburgh gangster Big Ger Cafferty, though he does play a role in the drama. The retired detective is a wee bit less enjoyable to read, but he is a familiar character with whom the reader will feel comfortable.  Rebus is still the dogged investigator, able to make intuitive leaps about the dark places that inhabit the human soul and lead some to commit murder, whether in the distant past or in more recent times.

The "professional pundits" provided high praise reviews ....  see various web sites.

In A House Of Lies .. Update with review

Always a thrill when a new book arrives .... full of anticipation.

My Review:
A 9 out of 11 on the: Spinal Tap, Nigel Tufnel scale.
A mediocre read saved by a fine finish. The story was fairly interesting, some characters were a bit thin and uninteresting (much as in real life :) .. the ending well played and has set up what could be an other 11, just need to inject life into Rebus and Big Ger.

In a house of lies, who can ever know the truth?
Everyone has something to hide
A missing private investigator is found, locked in a car hidden deep in the woods. Worse still – both for his family and the police – is that his body was in an area that had already been searched.
Everyone has secrets
Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke is part of a new inquiry, combing through the mistakes of the original case. There were always suspicions over how the investigation was handled and now – after a decade without answers – it’s time for the truth.
Nobody is innocent
Every officer involved must be questioned, and it seems everyone on the case has something to hide, and everything to lose. But there is one man who knows where the trail may lead – and that it could be the end of him: John Rebus.
Rebus' retirement is disrupted once again when skeletal remains are identified as a private investigator who went missing more than a decade earlier. The remains, found in a rusted car in the East Lothian woods, not far from Edinburgh, quickly turn into a cold-case murder investigation. Rebus' old friend Siobhan Clarke is assigned to the case, but neither of them could have predicted what buried secrets the investigation will uncover.
Rebus remembers the original case - a shady land deal - all too well. After the investigation stalled, the family of the missing man complained that there was a police cover-up. As Clarke and her team investigate the cold-case murder, she soon learns a different side of her mentor, a side he would prefer to keep in the past.

John Rebus, “Big Ger” Cafferty, Siobhan Clarke;……

Story telling at its zenith, an 11 on the: Spinal Tap, Nigel Tufnel scale.  Hammering home the point, Rankin really nailed it.From the Novelist:

“Some cases never leave you.

For John Rebus, forty years may have passed, but the death of beautiful, promiscuous Maria Turquand still preys on his mind. Murdered in her hotel room on the night a famous rock star and his entourage were staying there, Maria’s killer has never been found.

Meanwhile, the dark heart of Edinburgh remains up for grabs. A young pretender, Darryl Christie, may have staked his claim, but a vicious attack leaves him weakened and vulnerable, and an inquiry into a major money laundering scheme threatens his position. Has old-time crime boss Big Ger Cafferty really given up the ghost, or is he biding his time until Edinburgh is once more ripe for the picking?”

In a tale of twisted power, deep-rooted corruption and bitter rivalries, Rather Be the Devil showcases Rankin and Rebus at their unstoppable best.

Alternate dust jacket: An album much covered by many: (not only in song)