Status
Checked out
Due 17 Jul 2023
Series
Genres
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML: A cold case involving a missing private investigator threatens to unearth skeletons from Rebus's past in this "must-read" mystery (Tana French). Former Detective John Rebus' retirement is disrupted once again when skeletal remains are identified as a private investigator who went missing over 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. A gripping story of corruption and consequences, this new novel demonstrates that Rankin and Rebus are still at the top of their game… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member KateVane
I've enjoyed Rebus novels over the years but this one just didn't come to life for me. I think it's because after all this time I still don't have a clear picture in my mind of detectives Clarke and Fox, Rebus' supposed successors as protagonists after his retirement. And Rebus constantly turning
*
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
Show More
up and interfering in their work just makes him seem a bit sad. Can't he get a hobby?*
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
John Rebus may finally have retired, but he has not noticeably mellowed at all. Ian Rankin originally made a point of ageing his curmudgeonly protagonist in real time, taking him from being forty years old on his first appearance in Knots and Crosses in 1987 to his initial (and largely enforced)
Of course, retirement does not stop him from taking an interest in the doings of his former colleagues. When an old corpse is recovered from a car that had been dumped in Poretoun Woods , on the fringes of the capital, he is particularly intrigued, and is quick to contact his former protegée Siobhan Clarke, now herself an inspector. The dead person is eventually identified as a private investigator who had disappeared twelve years ago. At that time, he had been retained by a film producer to investigate the affairs of a local property magnate with whom the producer was competing in a bid to buy Poretoun Woods.
At the time of the disappearance the investigator’s family had lodged numerous complaints against the police, ranging from incompetence and apathy through to outright corruption. Because of that, the discovery of the corpse draws additional public interest beyond what might have been expected, and the investigator’s family whips up a media storm to demand an inquiry. We soon learn that Rebus himself had worked on the original investigation, with an assortment of incompetent colleagues who each had their own secret vice to hide. Being under a cloud was, of course, Rebus’s default setting, but back in the present day, Siobhan Clarke has also had her own brush with disciplinary action. If not exactly vindicated, she has at least emerged with the equivalent of a ‘not proven’ verdict, but the two officers who investigated her seem also to loom large over the present case, not least because they too had been involved in the original investigation twelve years ago.
Rankin has always been dextrous at maintaining several storylines, but this novel has his most complex plot yet. Indeed, perhaps the ageing process has not been as gentle with me in recent years as it has with Rebus, because I did wonder at times whether Rankin was simply making it as interlaced as possible simply for the sake of it.
All the customary features are present – Rebus is as ‘thrawn’ as ever although perhaps Siobhan Clarke is a little less patient than in the past. Rebus’s bête noir, Maurice Gerald “Big Ger” Cafferty is present, as beguiling and menacing as ever, and relative new boy, Malcolm Fox (formerly of the Complaints Division) is there too.
The mixture works, although I wonder how many more novels Rankin can wring from these ingredients before the quality starts to fall away. I can think of several writers of long detective novel series that outlived their sell by dates - Peter Robinson and Patricia Cornwell being clear examples to my mind of writers whom I previously admired but whose recent books have lurched from one embarrassment to another, eroding their former reputation a little further with each new outing. I suspect that Rankin is a far better writer than either of them, even at their best, so I hope he has sufficient insight to know when he ought to bring down the curtain.
Show More
retirement from the police force at the age of sixty in 2007, as detailed in Exit Music. Since then, however, Rankin seems to have allowed the ageing process to slow down, and Rebus seems still to be in his mid-sixties as this new novel opens. He has, however, been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD – as one character remarks, trust him to have a condition with ‘COP’ in its name), and has finally (almost unimaginably) given up smoking.Of course, retirement does not stop him from taking an interest in the doings of his former colleagues. When an old corpse is recovered from a car that had been dumped in Poretoun Woods , on the fringes of the capital, he is particularly intrigued, and is quick to contact his former protegée Siobhan Clarke, now herself an inspector. The dead person is eventually identified as a private investigator who had disappeared twelve years ago. At that time, he had been retained by a film producer to investigate the affairs of a local property magnate with whom the producer was competing in a bid to buy Poretoun Woods.
At the time of the disappearance the investigator’s family had lodged numerous complaints against the police, ranging from incompetence and apathy through to outright corruption. Because of that, the discovery of the corpse draws additional public interest beyond what might have been expected, and the investigator’s family whips up a media storm to demand an inquiry. We soon learn that Rebus himself had worked on the original investigation, with an assortment of incompetent colleagues who each had their own secret vice to hide. Being under a cloud was, of course, Rebus’s default setting, but back in the present day, Siobhan Clarke has also had her own brush with disciplinary action. If not exactly vindicated, she has at least emerged with the equivalent of a ‘not proven’ verdict, but the two officers who investigated her seem also to loom large over the present case, not least because they too had been involved in the original investigation twelve years ago.
Rankin has always been dextrous at maintaining several storylines, but this novel has his most complex plot yet. Indeed, perhaps the ageing process has not been as gentle with me in recent years as it has with Rebus, because I did wonder at times whether Rankin was simply making it as interlaced as possible simply for the sake of it.
All the customary features are present – Rebus is as ‘thrawn’ as ever although perhaps Siobhan Clarke is a little less patient than in the past. Rebus’s bête noir, Maurice Gerald “Big Ger” Cafferty is present, as beguiling and menacing as ever, and relative new boy, Malcolm Fox (formerly of the Complaints Division) is there too.
The mixture works, although I wonder how many more novels Rankin can wring from these ingredients before the quality starts to fall away. I can think of several writers of long detective novel series that outlived their sell by dates - Peter Robinson and Patricia Cornwell being clear examples to my mind of writers whom I previously admired but whose recent books have lurched from one embarrassment to another, eroding their former reputation a little further with each new outing. I suspect that Rankin is a far better writer than either of them, even at their best, so I hope he has sufficient insight to know when he ought to bring down the curtain.
Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
Another in the same vein as ever - Rebus, Cafferty, Siobhan, Fox, the whole gang. These books never change and I always enjoy them.
LibraryThing member Robert3167
Rebus may have retired, coping in his own irascible way with health issues, however you can be assured that he is still likely to turn up like the proverbial bad penny.
A missing person case turns to a murder investigation when the body is discovered 12 years after he went missing.
The original
Rebus inserts himself into both investigations as is his want. Would you have it any other way?
A missing person case turns to a murder investigation when the body is discovered 12 years after he went missing.
The original
Show More
investigation was botched and is now part of an internal review while the murder investigation goes on.Rebus inserts himself into both investigations as is his want. Would you have it any other way?
Show Less
LibraryThing member eyes.2c
A crime read treat!
A slow start but really heated up as Rebus orchestrates in the background. A dead body missing for some years is found in a rusty burnt out car, the ACU: Police Scotland’s Anti-Corruption Unit is still on the tail of Siobhan Clarke, dirty cops are in full bloom and then there's
Catching the threads and pulling them together is a challenge and in the end our man Rebus stitches them all up.
A NetGalley ARC
A slow start but really heated up as Rebus orchestrates in the background. A dead body missing for some years is found in a rusty burnt out car, the ACU: Police Scotland’s Anti-Corruption Unit is still on the tail of Siobhan Clarke, dirty cops are in full bloom and then there's
Show More
Rebus lending a hand. A skeleton in situ and skeletons in the closet make for an interesting read. Catching the threads and pulling them together is a challenge and in the end our man Rebus stitches them all up.
A NetGalley ARC
Show Less
LibraryThing member maneekuhi
“In a House of Lies” (HL), is the fifth and the very best of the Rebus post-retirement books, following “Exit Music” (EM), written in 2010. EM concluded (?) a seventeen book series of novels of Scottish Police DI John Rebus; “Knots and Crosses”, published in 1987, was the first. I would
I have enjoyed the first four retired Rebus books but I felt something had been missing, and I didn’t much care for the “yesterday’s news” treatment of our protagonist. I had read some other Rankin stuff after EM – I believe there were two highlighting a new character, Malcolm Fox, whom I never cared for, and another focusing on an art theft as I recall; it put me to sleep, more than once. I am sure the author did not plan for Rebus retired, and that fan pressure contributed to the Rebus books post EM. HL makes the case that the last five are on a par with the first seventeen.
HL deals with a dead body recently found in the boot of car hidden in a small forest; the victim, a young PI, had been missing for the past twelve years. And so begins a rather complex plot, with many characters, old and new, subplots right and left and mostly linked, great dialog, scenes that you will reread just for the sheer pleasure they deliver, scenes that leave you hanging……a book you look forward to picking up again. It starts slow. I suggest that readers carefully note all characters – that will not be easy but it will pay dividends. Thankfully, it does NOT rely on DNA. I don’t recall seeing the term in the book, but it does introduce some relatively new forensic science. And there is a terrific climax; of course, it is not a shoot-‘em-up, but I will tell you it is so Rebus perfect, and you will be teased for the prior twenty pages with hints of what is to come. It is evident even to a casual reader like myself that Rankin really worked and re-worked this one. There are so many nice little touches than a writer of lesser skills just cannot conjure up in such a long-term series – and I think that is what has been missing in some earlier Rebus novels. It is incredible that Rankin has been able to bring all these characters with a freshness and a taste of old times that leave the series faithful praying for more. This is a six, on a one to five scale.
Show More
also rank HL in the top three of all Rebus novels. As I write this ( Feb, 2019) I have no idea what other Amazon readers think of this new release – usually I check the decimal score, 4.2?, and number of reviewers, 192?, but I was anxious to get into this new one, and…..well, maybe later.I have enjoyed the first four retired Rebus books but I felt something had been missing, and I didn’t much care for the “yesterday’s news” treatment of our protagonist. I had read some other Rankin stuff after EM – I believe there were two highlighting a new character, Malcolm Fox, whom I never cared for, and another focusing on an art theft as I recall; it put me to sleep, more than once. I am sure the author did not plan for Rebus retired, and that fan pressure contributed to the Rebus books post EM. HL makes the case that the last five are on a par with the first seventeen.
HL deals with a dead body recently found in the boot of car hidden in a small forest; the victim, a young PI, had been missing for the past twelve years. And so begins a rather complex plot, with many characters, old and new, subplots right and left and mostly linked, great dialog, scenes that you will reread just for the sheer pleasure they deliver, scenes that leave you hanging……a book you look forward to picking up again. It starts slow. I suggest that readers carefully note all characters – that will not be easy but it will pay dividends. Thankfully, it does NOT rely on DNA. I don’t recall seeing the term in the book, but it does introduce some relatively new forensic science. And there is a terrific climax; of course, it is not a shoot-‘em-up, but I will tell you it is so Rebus perfect, and you will be teased for the prior twenty pages with hints of what is to come. It is evident even to a casual reader like myself that Rankin really worked and re-worked this one. There are so many nice little touches than a writer of lesser skills just cannot conjure up in such a long-term series – and I think that is what has been missing in some earlier Rebus novels. It is incredible that Rankin has been able to bring all these characters with a freshness and a taste of old times that leave the series faithful praying for more. This is a six, on a one to five scale.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SamSattler
"In a House of Lies" continues the saga of one John Rebus, perhaps the least retired retiree in crime fiction. This time around, Rebus, former detective with the Scotland police whose COPD is getting progressively worse by the month despite his efforts to live a healthier life, is able to use his
All of the main characters in the series make an appearance - and a Rebus novel is always long enough to give each of them plenty of pages to further develop their story. Fans of the series will love this one, of course, and even newbie-Rebus readers are likely to enjoy it even though they may find it a bit harder to follow than those of us already familiar with so many of the repeat characters.
Bottom Line: Ian Rankin has created one of my favorite fictional crime fighters, and this is a worthy addition to his story.
Show More
old contacts among the cops and the criminals to help solve a crime he failed to solve more than a dozen years earlier.All of the main characters in the series make an appearance - and a Rebus novel is always long enough to give each of them plenty of pages to further develop their story. Fans of the series will love this one, of course, and even newbie-Rebus readers are likely to enjoy it even though they may find it a bit harder to follow than those of us already familiar with so many of the repeat characters.
Bottom Line: Ian Rankin has created one of my favorite fictional crime fighters, and this is a worthy addition to his story.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ebethe
Always a pleasure to read about Rebus, but this one was berate. The last couple of chapters before the epilogue seemed rushed.
LibraryThing member terran
This is #22 in the John Rebus series, and is just as enjoyable as the others, even though Rebus has been retired for many years. Somehow he always learns about and becomes involved in cold cases which are being investigated, often against the wishes of his allies in the police force. This is
Show More
another example where he floats along on the periphery of (or closer to) the investigation of an old missing persons case which has become a murder case with the discovery of a body. Show Less
LibraryThing member smik
John Rebus often wishes he was still in the police and now there seems to be the perfect opportunity. A cold case surfaces. Something he was involved in ten years ago, when alcohol and cigarettes played more of a role in his life than they do now.
Siobhan Clarke has emerged from a battle with the
So all the old protagonists re-surface: Big Ger Cafferty, Malcolm Fox, Rebus and Clarke. And Rebus know all the secrets from ten years ago, all the sloppiness of the police investigation. In the foreground, in tandem, is the case of a boy who has apparently murdered his girlfriend. But his father is targeting Clarke with nuisance phone calls, wanting attention. And hovering over all a nasty pair in the Complaints Unit, corrupt as they come themselves, a finger in every pie, still trying to destroy Clarke.
A compulsive read.
Siobhan Clarke has emerged from a battle with the
Show More
Anti-corruption unit, unconvicted. She persuades her boss that Rebus can be used to go over the old case files, when the private investigator was just a missing person, an unsolved case.So all the old protagonists re-surface: Big Ger Cafferty, Malcolm Fox, Rebus and Clarke. And Rebus know all the secrets from ten years ago, all the sloppiness of the police investigation. In the foreground, in tandem, is the case of a boy who has apparently murdered his girlfriend. But his father is targeting Clarke with nuisance phone calls, wanting attention. And hovering over all a nasty pair in the Complaints Unit, corrupt as they come themselves, a finger in every pie, still trying to destroy Clarke.
A compulsive read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member edwardsgt
Ostensibly a story with DI Siobhan Clarke at the centre, investigating the murder of a long missing gay private investigator. Naturally the retired and COPD- suffering Rebus can't resist sticking his oar in, tricky as he was part of the original failed enquiry. Other favourite characters making a
Show More
regular appearance include DI Malcolm Fox, who has crossed swords with Rebus when in Complaints and "Big Ger" Cafferty, notorious Edinburgh gangster, with whom Rebus has an unusual relationship of mutual respect. As always an intriguing, entertaining plot and line-up of characters, as Rebus digs up dirt to help Siobhan solve the murder and get corrupt ACU officers off her back. Show Less
LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
Like a fine wine, this book needs to breathe. I wasn't convinced after thirty pages; by fifty, I couldn't put it down!
John Rebus has aged: not only has he left the force (this has been true for a while) but, now his health is taking its revenge for years of misuse of his body. The book is about the
A blooming good story with a twist or two along the way. If you like your whodunits, you MUST read this.
John Rebus has aged: not only has he left the force (this has been true for a while) but, now his health is taking its revenge for years of misuse of his body. The book is about the
Show More
differences between policing in Rebus' day and the current time. In fairness, it doesn't take the lazy attitude of saying that all was so much better when policemen knew their villains and got them any way they could, even if it wasn't always strictly legal. It also acknowledges the problems of current politically correct policing. My sympathies do not naturally lean to the poor copper, too entangled in red tape to catch the blaggard whom he knows to be guilty; it is good writing that makes the old rogue, Rebus, such a loveable character.A blooming good story with a twist or two along the way. If you like your whodunits, you MUST read this.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Romonko
Rebus, our favourite curmudgeonly detective in Edinburgh has been retired from the force for a number of years, and he is living with a COPD diagnosis, and actually has changed his lifestyle in order to deal with the disease. Gone are the "coffin nails' replaced by gum. Gone are the pints of beer
Show More
and the endless shots of malt whiskey, replaced by 1 pint a day and endless cups of tea and Irn-Bru. You'd think this would make Rebus a lot less interesting, but not on your life. He's still got it as he tells Siobhan over and over, and he loves nothing better than digging through case notes and reports on old cases, both solved and unsolved. When Siobhan comes to him to ask him to check into one of her old cases that had been solved with the perpetrator in prison, Rebus jumps at the chance. So off he goes tilting at his own windmills. At the same time, Siobhan is on a case of a skeleton found in the trunk of a car found in a ditch outside of town. And in true Ian Rankin style, these two very different cases converge and meet somewhere around halfway through the book. No one can carry off numerous separate story threads like Ian Rankin. This book is a page-turner from beginning to end, and here's me hoping that Rankin keeps his wonderful character alive for many more books. It will be a much less exciting world in fiction if we lose Rebus. In this book Rankin shows how close to the wind Rebus flew when working on cases when he was still on the force, and we have Malcolm Fox there to show that those old shenanigans that Rebus carried out continuously are still there to be discovered. As in other books, Malcom becomes the "good angel" on Rebus's shoulder to help keep Rebus in line. This is a truly wonderful series, and the whole entire series of 22 books and counting should be at the top of everyone's reading list if they enjoy crime fiction. Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
This is the latest John Rebus mystery and apparently I am going to have to wait almost an entire year to get another one. Ian Rankin took a year off writing so he has just started a new book and it won't be out until the fall of 2020. Not sure how I'll survive without my annual Rebus fix.
Rebus has
Almost as interesting as the police investigation is the possibility that Fox may have found a female companion, another police detective assigned to the case. They actually went to supper once and spent quite a few hours examining the old case files together. And could it also be possible that Siobhan and the detective in charge are feeling some mutual attraction? With Rebus still keeping company with pathologist Deborah Quant it certainly seems like love is in the air in Edinburgh.
Rebus has
Show More
been retired for a while but that doesn't stop him from taking an interest in new and old cases. When he heard that an abandoned car with a dead body in the trunk had been found in a patch of woods outside of Edinburgh he was immediately on the phone to Siobhan Clarke to ask her what the make of the car was. A number of years before he was on the team exploring the disappearance of a private investigator but no body was ever found, nor was his car. As Rebus suspected the body was indeed that of the missing PI. Siobhan is on the team investigating the case. Malcolm Fox has also been attached to the investigation to look over the files from the missing person investigation to see if mistakes were made. So it is like the old gang has reunited and yet there are tensions. Siobhan was investigated by the internal investigations unit for allegedly leaking information to a reporter. She was exonerated but some of the present team still are not sure of her priorities. When it turns out that the two men who investigated her were on the original missing person investigation Siobhan is hoping she might be able to get some dirt on them. Of course Cafferty, the crime boss of Edinburgh, gets drawn into the investigation as well because it turns out he knew the PI. Rebus helps pull all the threads together in his own inimitable fashion and the case is finally solved.Almost as interesting as the police investigation is the possibility that Fox may have found a female companion, another police detective assigned to the case. They actually went to supper once and spent quite a few hours examining the old case files together. And could it also be possible that Siobhan and the detective in charge are feeling some mutual attraction? With Rebus still keeping company with pathologist Deborah Quant it certainly seems like love is in the air in Edinburgh.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jmoncton
This was a police procedural that featured John Rebus, a former police detective. This is the 22nd book in the Rebus series, so I'm sure there is a lot of character development between Rebus and the other officers on the force. I think knowing that background would have made this book more
But still a very strong mystery!
Show More
enjoyable, but it was still a tightly woven mystery with a few plot twists and surprises thrown in. In this book, Rebus is astute, clever, and definitely knows his way around the criminal justice system, but he is officially retired from the force and struggles with COPD. Every flight of stairs seems to result in a description of him being out of breath. The main character doesn't have to be a physical specimen like Jack Reacher, but I found Rebus' frailty to be a little sad and depressing. But still a very strong mystery!
Show Less
LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
When the body of a man missing for years is discovered, it creates a huge problem for the police. At the time of the disappearance, there were accusations of malfeasance among the police investigating, not least because the man was gay and the father of his partner was on the force. Rebus, now
In a House of Lies is the 22nd entry in the Rebus police procedural series by author Ian Rankin and it is a perfect example of why Rankin is one of my favourite writers. Like past books, this is more puzzle than action but, as always, the puzzle is intriguing and really pulls the reader into the story making it nigh impossible to put down. The story is well-written and intelligent with a compelling plot and complex but familiar characters to long-time readers. I also appreciated that the characters have matured and aged along with the series. I have recently read a few series that I had enjoyed in the past but hadn't visited for awhile and one of the things I found that kept me from fully engaging was the fact that the characters had remained pretty much the same age and maturity level although the world around them had moved forward even in the book.
A definite high recommendation from me.
Thanks to Netgalley & Little, Brown & Company for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
Show More
retired and not really enjoying it, was part of that original investigation and wants to help. His gesture is dismissed immediately. However, Siobhan Clarke, once his subordinate, has another task for him. She'd been stalked by someone with a relationship to another crime and has reason to believe she is being set up by some crooked cops. She offers the stalker a trade-off - if he'll report the cops behind it, she'll get Rebus to investigate the crime. It takes little time for him to follow the evidence but, in the process of doing so, it takes him back to the case of the missing man as well as connecting with his old adversary, Cafferty.In a House of Lies is the 22nd entry in the Rebus police procedural series by author Ian Rankin and it is a perfect example of why Rankin is one of my favourite writers. Like past books, this is more puzzle than action but, as always, the puzzle is intriguing and really pulls the reader into the story making it nigh impossible to put down. The story is well-written and intelligent with a compelling plot and complex but familiar characters to long-time readers. I also appreciated that the characters have matured and aged along with the series. I have recently read a few series that I had enjoyed in the past but hadn't visited for awhile and one of the things I found that kept me from fully engaging was the fact that the characters had remained pretty much the same age and maturity level although the world around them had moved forward even in the book.
A definite high recommendation from me.
Thanks to Netgalley & Little, Brown & Company for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
Show Less
LibraryThing member malcrf
Well I must be slightly addicted. My third Rankin/Rebus within the month!
LibraryThing member hcnewton
WHAT'S IN A HOUSE OF LIES ABOUT?
A decade and change ago, a private investigator went missing. John Rebus was part of the team that spent weeks looking for him—interviewing his client, his family, his boyfriend, the target of his current investigation, and everyone else they could think of. At
Now his body is discovered—in an area that had been well-searched originally. There's reason to believe that the body had been somewhere else for years. Now the police—a team featuring DI Siobhan Clarke—have to decide where it was as well as who killed him. This involves taking a fresh look at the old case as well as a new investigation. The original detectives (those who are still alive, that is) and some of the uniformed officers are brought in for questioning—which means that Rebus is under the microscope once again. This suits him fine—it's a chance for him to have a part in closing the case once and for all (at least in his mind)
Meanwhile, Malcolm Fox's boss assigns him to take one final look at the original investigation—given the new discovery, can they find police misconduct at the root?
Also, Clarke's being harassed by someone—only crank calls and vandalism, so far. She doesn't want to do anything official about it, so she asks Rebus to look into things—if nothing else, it might keep him out of her hair while she looks for Bloom's killer. Might.
There's a lot to untangle in these pages, thankfully, Rankin's three detectives are on the cases.
WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT IN A HOUSE OF LIES?
This post feels entirely too short. I'm struggling here. What do I say about Rankin or Rebus (or Clarke or Fox) that I haven't already said? I'm willing to believe that I've asked this question when discussing at least 3 previous books. I'm sorely tempted to just post something like: "Ian Rankin wrote a book about John Rebus. You know what to do."
I was particularly impressed at the way Rankin got the band (on both sides of the law) back together here—for the reader, it's expected—probably even inevitable. But it comes across as organic and unforced. Between Rebus' retirement, and the divergent paths that the others' careers have taken, that's no mean feat. Unlike, say, Renée Ballard, Siobhan Clarke isn't soldiering on with those she can't trust. Ballard has to get Bosch involved, Clarke chooses to ask for his help and/or lets him push his way in.
Solid mysteries, expertly plotted and executed, full of characters (new and old) that you believe and get invested in. In a House of Lies feels as fresh and as compelling as Knots and Crosses.
A decade and change ago, a private investigator went missing. John Rebus was part of the team that spent weeks looking for him—interviewing his client, his family, his boyfriend, the target of his current investigation, and everyone else they could think of. At
Show More
least that's what the paperwork said. There's some question about that—and the family of Stuart Bloom has forced more than one investigation into the original search.Now his body is discovered—in an area that had been well-searched originally. There's reason to believe that the body had been somewhere else for years. Now the police—a team featuring DI Siobhan Clarke—have to decide where it was as well as who killed him. This involves taking a fresh look at the old case as well as a new investigation. The original detectives (those who are still alive, that is) and some of the uniformed officers are brought in for questioning—which means that Rebus is under the microscope once again. This suits him fine—it's a chance for him to have a part in closing the case once and for all (at least in his mind)
Meanwhile, Malcolm Fox's boss assigns him to take one final look at the original investigation—given the new discovery, can they find police misconduct at the root?
Also, Clarke's being harassed by someone—only crank calls and vandalism, so far. She doesn't want to do anything official about it, so she asks Rebus to look into things—if nothing else, it might keep him out of her hair while she looks for Bloom's killer. Might.
There's a lot to untangle in these pages, thankfully, Rankin's three detectives are on the cases.
WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT IN A HOUSE OF LIES?
This post feels entirely too short. I'm struggling here. What do I say about Rankin or Rebus (or Clarke or Fox) that I haven't already said? I'm willing to believe that I've asked this question when discussing at least 3 previous books. I'm sorely tempted to just post something like: "Ian Rankin wrote a book about John Rebus. You know what to do."
I was particularly impressed at the way Rankin got the band (on both sides of the law) back together here—for the reader, it's expected—probably even inevitable. But it comes across as organic and unforced. Between Rebus' retirement, and the divergent paths that the others' careers have taken, that's no mean feat. Unlike, say, Renée Ballard, Siobhan Clarke isn't soldiering on with those she can't trust. Ballard has to get Bosch involved, Clarke chooses to ask for his help and/or lets him push his way in.
Solid mysteries, expertly plotted and executed, full of characters (new and old) that you believe and get invested in. In a House of Lies feels as fresh and as compelling as Knots and Crosses.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JBD1
This one didn't hold my attention nearly as well as previous Rebus tales. I couldn't bring myself to care very much about any of it, alas.
Awards
The British Book Industry Awards (Shortlist — 2019)
McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year (Longlist — 2019)
Boston Globe Best Book (2018)