Saints of the Shadow Bible (A Rebus Novel)

by Ian Rankin

Paperback, 2013

Status

Available

Call number

823.914

Collection

Publication

Orion (2013)

Description

Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:Rebus and Malcolm Fox go head-to-head when a 30-year-old murder investigation resurfaces, forcing Rebus to confront crimes of the past. Rebus is back on the force, albeit with a demotion and a chip on his shoulder. He is investigating a car accident when news arrives that a case from 30 years ago is being reopened. Rebus's team from those days is suspected of helping a murderer escape justice to further their own ends. Malcolm Fox, in what will be his last case as an internal affairs cop, is tasked with finding out the truth. Past and present are about to collide in shocking and murderous fashion. What does Rebus have to hide? And whose side is he really on? His colleagues back then called themselves "The Saints," and swore a bond on something called the Shadow Bible. But times have changed and the crimes of the past may not stay hidden much longer ā?? and may also play a role in the present, as Scotland gears up for a referendum on independence. Allegiances are being formed, enemies made, and huge questions asked. Who are the saints and who the sinners? And can the one ever become the oth… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
John Rebus finds himself back on the force, but demoted to a lowly DS and relegated to working with his arch-enemy, Malcolm Fox, as they look into shady dealings in the cop shop Rebus worked in back when he was just starting out as a DC. In those days, Rebus joined forces with a group of detectives
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who weren't opposed to cutting corners or knocking heads if that's what it took. It's an uncomfortable place for Rebus to be; he's still not above going around the law when it suits him, but he's made uncomfortable by just how far his compatriots went and is torn between his loyalty to them and his desire to do his job. Of course, things become more complicated than just revisiting an old inquiry. Siobhan Clarke, his former subordinate, is now his boss, and she's doing a good job. Fox is moved back into regular detective work, but he oddly has Rebus at his side as they both end up working together and maybe even developing a respect for each other.

The old series has benefitted from the shake up. Clarke is better as Rebus's boss and it's good for Rebus to be held to account by someone who knows him well. And Fox, who was thinly and unpleasantly drawn in the last book, is reclaiming three-dimensionality. I hope Rankin continues to develop Fox as a real character. I'm also interested in the way he's highlighting Rebus's own willingness to skirt the law whenever it's not working fast enough for him. Rebus is becoming a likable, but unpredictable anti-hero. I'm looking forward to where Rankin takes things next.
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LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
Five stars aren't enough for this book: Ian Rankin is incredible!

When Rankin retired Rebus, I was sad that another series of guaranteed quality crime stories had come to an end, but I thought that he was probably right so to do. When Rebus' return was announced, I wasn't sure. I should have had
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faith in Rankin's writing ability. Rebus has come back stronger than ever.

This book is a tour de force! Rankin takes, what appears to be several disparate cases andnweavesbthem together with a storyteller's skill so that a highly improbable series of events seems to be the most natural thing in the world.

I will not spoil the tale by giving any details, but from the first page to the last, I was gripped: even when one thinks that it is all over, Rankin manages to tuck in another closure. It is books such as this that make me grateful for my poor memory - a couple of years time, and I'll be able to re-read this cracking piece of detective fiction with nothing more than a heightened ability to be level with Rebus (One is never ahead of John Rebus!)
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LibraryThing member jerhogan
It was good to see Rebus back again. Reduced in rank but still as acerbic as ever! He's going to be missed when he finally bows out as Fox is nowhere near as interesting a character. Perhaps Rankin should concentrate more on Siobhan Clarke as she is interesting in her own right as well as in
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sparring with Rebus! This book is satisfying in illuminating some of Rebus's past while concentrating on a modern day case.
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LibraryThing member timk01
I think this is one of the best if Ian Rankins Rebus series. Initially I was worried about Fox and Rebus working together but they seemed to compliment each other.
The story elements where up to scratch, with interesting situations for Rebus to tease out and solve, and Rebus seemed a little more
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real in this book, not too dark but still believable.
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
A change in rules has allowed Rebus back on the force but is now working as Siobhan Clarkeā€™s Detective Sergeant. Malcolm Fox is also on his case, the Complaints are about to be wound up but Fox has one last case to investigate, a group of probably corrupt CID officers who operated out of
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Summerhall Police Station thirty years ago, Rebus's first station as a detective, known as ā€˜the Saints of the Shadow Bibleā€™. Although Rebus isnā€™t directly implicated he may have information useful to the investigation.

There are several threads to the story ā€“ and its nice to see Fox taking more a central role in this book as heā€™s a lovely foil to Rebus and Clarke ā€“ which Rankin pulls together really well. Fabulous storytelling.
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LibraryThing member maneekuhi
First, why the title? It refers to a nickname that a group of detectives went by 30 years ago. Their bible was the cop rule book that they literally and figuratively spat on. Fast forward to the present. Rebus and Siobhan are investigating a car crash that at first glance seems rather
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straight-forward. A young woman, late at night and at significant speed, drives her car off the road and survives. But evidence suggests she wasn't alone and that she may not have been driving.....Hmmmm, suspicious (tell me again why R and S are investigating this?). Concurrently, it appears that Rankin's "friend", Malcolm Fox, the Complaints guy (I doubt many readers care for this guy but Rankin seems to stubbornly keep trying to salvage this guy as a likeable character) is directed for political reasons to investigate the Saints for an unsolved murder in the 80's. There's a couple of bodies that subsequently pop up (pun), a lot of who knew whom back then etc etc. According to Fantastic Fiction (check out that website if unknown to you), this is the 19th Rebus book. I have read them all, and "Saints" is clearly one of the better ones. However, the first half of the story was rather slow, while the second half was more interesting but there I had to press my reading pause button several times and rewind to absorb what I was learning. And Rebus is still one of the most intriguing characters in crime fiction. Rebus is unmatched in discovering motive and plot as he pieces all the bits together. He is better than ever at interviewing suspects, digging up information that none of the other cops can. He's his usual charming, bumbling self in front of a new lady. He still manages to mangle his career and relationships with the big boys when it's totally unnecessary. What's new is that he seemed to be a bit more mellow in his dealings with the team. I sense he and Siobhan may be finally disengaging their relationship and that there is a new assignment sans Siobhan awaiting him in the next one. But I thought he was also too easy in his relationship with Fox. The old Rebus would never have worked with Fox as cooperatively as in this story - so that didn't seem credible to me. And my final comment is that crime fiction, excluding those dull cozies of course, seems to focus too much these days on either serial murder or a cold case of 30 years ago. So a 0.5 deduct, Mr. Rankin, for lack of plot originality. Do I recommend this and will I read the next?? Yes, yes, absolutely !
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LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
Inspector John Rebus has come out of retirement albeit to a lower rank but, although the demotion galls him, itā€™s better than nothing. Unfortunately his return coincides with a change to the double jeopardy law and now the Police Complaints Department is looking at an old case in which Rebusā€™
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former colleagues from the Summerhill CID are involved. Rebus was a newly branded detective when he became one of the Saints of the Shadow Bible as they called themselves, old school detectives back in the ā€˜80s who were not opposed to a little rough justice of their own when they believed the courts had failed. As Rebus explains when asked how dirty Summerhill CID was, - ā€œDirty enough. You ever see that programme Life on Mars? It felt like a documentaryā€. In this case, an old snitch for the group, Billy Saunders had been charged with murder but had gotten off thanks, or so it was rumoured, to the aid of the Saints. Now, Rebus is placed in the position of helping the inquiry and turning on his old friends or protecting the Saints and going down with them. When Billy Saunders disappears and is then found murdered, Rebus begins to have his own doubts about the Saints.

At the same time, he is looking into a car accident in which a young girl was injured. Rebus is convinced she wasnā€™t alone and there is a lot more going on than just an accident. But without the cooperation of the girl or her father, the case seems to be at a dead end. However, despite the lack of evidence or interest of the higher ups in the department, Rebus is determined to suss out what really happened. Then the father of the girlā€™s boyfriend is murdered, a man prominent in the Scottish independence Movement and the opponent of one of the old Saints, and Rebus begins to suspect the two cases are somehow linked.

Ian Rankin is one of those authors you can always trust to write a compelling, complex, and, best of all, intelligent read and Saints of the Shadow Bible doesnā€™t disappoint on any of these. Rankin is also a master of nuance and shades of gray. It is great to have Rebus back on the force where he belongs. Although he recognizes that itā€™s a good thing that the bad old days of the Shadow Bible are over, thankfully the new Rebus still has a touch of the Saint about him.
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LibraryThing member mikegabor
Rebus is back on the force, albeit with a demotion and a chip on his shoulder. He is investigating a car accident when news arrives that a case from 30 years ago is being reopened. Rebus's team from those days is suspected of helping a murderer escape justice to further their own ends.

Malcolm Fox,
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in what will be his last case as an internal affairs cop, is tasked with finding out the truth. Past and present are about to collide in shocking and murderous fashion. What does Rebus have to hide? And whose side is he really on? His colleagues back then called themselves "The Saints," and swore a bond on something called the Shadow Bible. But times have changed and the crimes of the past may not stay hidden much longer -- and may also play a role in the present, as Scotland gears up for a referendum on independence.

Allegiances are being formed, enemies made, and huge questions asked. Who are the saints and who the sinners? And can the one ever become the other?

Another wonderful addition to the Rebus series. It was fun seeing Rebus go up against Fox while still working with him. The story was a good look at Rebus' early career and gave us a good idea of why he is what he is today. It also shows that Rebus can mellow out a bit but as the ending will show you he is still more than capable of reverting to old tricks. I also enjoyed the Malcom Fox character. He still haws his by the book ways about him but just as Rebus showed another side so does Fox. Here's hoping the Rankin continues on with the series.
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LibraryThing member SamSattler
John Rebus isnā€™t what he used to beā€¦or is he? Eating his pride, Rebus has accepted a demotion in rank to be allowed back into the Edinburgh police. And now, he has taken up right where he left off ā€“ exasperating his superior officers and fighting the bad guys in ways that often blur the lines
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between right and wrong. The only people who missed Rebus even less than his old bosses are the lowlifes who now have something new to worry about.

When a young woman almost dies in a single car accident in the Scottish countryside, neither she, nor her boyfriend, really wants to talk about it. But Rebus, suspecting that the girl was not alone when the car crashed, is not playing that game. One loose thread leads to another, but things get complicated when Rebus finds himself and a handful of his old colleagues being investigated for crimes they supposedly committed as young policemen some thirty years earlier.

As a young cop, Rebus had been taken under the wing of four older detectives who took him into a secret society all their own, something they called the Saints of the Shadow Bible. The five men swore to protect each other no matter what - but now that they are being investigated by the Scottish version of Internal Affairs for something they did three decades earlier all bets are off. Suddenly, Rebus is both the investigator and the investigated.

Ian Rankin has done it again. This complicated story comes together beautifully as all the pieces are exposed one by one and the truths about the key characters are revealed. Do pay attention to the relationships and side plots; if you do that, you are going to love Saints of the Shadow Bible.

Itā€™s great to have John Rebus back; now letā€™s hope he can hold on to his job long enough for Ian Rankin to write a few more novels about his exploits.
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LibraryThing member freelancer_frank
This is a book about integrity. All of the characters are faced with decisions between being true to their nature and being true to their vocation and/or friends. The plot is so beautifully done that the joins are invisible while it is easy to follow. The Rebus/Fox relationship is developed well.
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There is a liberal body count, but it is spread through time and space in such a way that it doesn't feel overwhelming. I think it is one of the great Rebus novels - a fine way to spend a weekend or so in Edinburgh.
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LibraryThing member edwardsgt
A new Rebus novel is like discovering a comfortable and familiar item of clothing in the wardrobe which fits perfectly and is as if you've never stopped wearing it. Rebus is back as a DS and reporting to now Inspector Clarke his erstwhile DS when he was an inspector. Also on the scene is Malcolm
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Fox from Complaints, investigating what his probably his last case following a reorganisation of Scottish police prior to the independence referendum. Unfortunately for Rebus Fox has been asked to investigate a case involving a small group of former colleagues from when Rebus was just starting his career, the "Saints of the shadow bible" in the title. As always with a Rebus book, full of real Edinburgh locations and much contemporary colour, such as the independence debate and tram construction. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member librarian1204
Rebus, the old timer, the dinosaur is back. Rebus is forced to face up to an investigation of his policing methods in the 80's that is not the "touchy-feely" methods of today. In this newest book Rebus and Siobhan are teamed with Malcom Fox to investigate the team of officers that Rebus worked with
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years before, the saints of the shadow bible. Add some contemporary political figures, revenge and murder. Well done, as always.
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LibraryThing member pw0327
One of the most attractive things that Ian Rankin does in the Inspector Rebus series is that not only does the characters mature and age, the times change in a real way, it follows the important events of the world of Rebus along faithfully. So it is that we find ourselves with our good friends
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John rebus and Siobhan Clark at a crossroad in their careers. Rebus, having retired and then unretired, may be forced to retire again. A once peripheral character, or one that Rankin used as a diversion for himself as well as for the series, Malcolm Fox has become one of the gang, given a more prominent role.

The referendum on Scottish independence figures prominently in the story, as does the usual lot of characters that populates the Rebus landscape. The Scottish police is being re-organized and Clark, Fox, and Rebus have been forced together as a team.

The mystery this time involves the usual complex and plotting and intricate observations of human behaviour that is a forte of Rankin. The book is dense with observations and revelations, each more interesting, each serving a purpose: to push the plotting along. Being a religious reader of Rankin, I am not truly surprised by Rankin's chops, but I am always an appreciative audience.

We are introduced to former coppers, Rebus' superiors of amny years gone bye. They have all retired and are living life on a pension. As with most pensioners, they have their gripes, and they have their secrets, and the secrets are what draws the reader into the story. As is the usual plotting, there are two story lines intertwined, the reader is left to pick through the clues and revelations could be a potential head fake, thrown in by Rankin just to mess with us.

In the mean time, Rebus and Fox square off, as their backgrounds and approach to police work pits them against each other philosophically., with Clark being squarely placed in the middle, playing referee, greek chorus, and voice of reason.

In the end, the group of three have drawn closer, hopefully for a benevolent purpose, but one never knows with Rankin, he ould very well blow the whole cozy arrangement up.

One welcomed development is the potential romantic development in Rebus life. I was getting sick of seeing Clark having all the fun.

Of course I loved it, I look forward to each new Rebus novel with bated breath.
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LibraryThing member perkybookworm
This was my first time reading anything by Rankin, and I'm quite happy I decided to pick it up as I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was plenty of intrigue and just enough plot twists to keep me guessing. I loved the character development, and how Rebus, Fox and Clarke progressed as individuals AND as
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a team. I also loved Rankin's narrative style. This book was quite a change from the typical American murder mysteries/thrillers that I'm accustomed to. Although there were some shady dealings, this story wasn't about a rogue officer speculating wildly and chasing multiple red herrings. Instead, there was actual detective work involved! I loved that aspect, as well as the change of setting. Somehow, Scotland makes a better backdrop for this type of story than the United States.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
In this book Ian Rankin brings together John Rebus, policeman who follows his own rule book when it comes to solving crimes, and Malcolm Fox, lately of the Complaints Division who investigate cops just like Rebus. You would think they would be at each others' throats within minutes but they develop
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a grudging respect for one another. Could this be the start of a new partnership?

Rebus is back working with Siobhan Clarke but this time Ms. Clarke is the senior officer. They are called out to a car accident involving a young female University student, Jessica Traynor. There are no other vehicles involved, no-one else in the car and seemingly no reason for them to be there. But the young woman's father, a wealthy entrepreneur in London with contacts in the Metropolitan police force, exerted some pull. Rebus suspects someone else was driving the car and abandoned it and Jessica after the accident.

However, Rebus doesn't get much time to investigate this as his presence is requested by Malcolm Fox who has been tasked with investigating a murder from twenty years before. Rebus was a junior officer then with the Summerhall detective squad who were in charge of the investigation. The squad called themselves The Saints of the Shadow Bible. They bungled the investigation allowing the man they charged with the murder to get off with a verdict of Not Proven. Recently the law about double jeopardy was changed so the Solicitor General wants the case to be reopened. Fox is charged with looking into whether the Saints deliberately sabotaged the case and he thinks Rebus can help him.

Both these cases get considerably more complicated before being wrapped up and dead bodies turn up. Rebus observes one autopsy which involves a new pathologist, one Professor Deborah Quant. Rebus is impressed with her skills but even more impressed with her looks. We don't see too much of Professor Quant but I suspect she will turn up again.

It's nice to have Rebus back doing what he does best and I like how he and Fox are developing a relationship.
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LibraryThing member smik
John Rebus is out of retirement, back in C.I.D. no less, but on sufferance. He is meant to be taking care of record keeping and paper work but gets himself assigned to Siobhan Clarke. But now she is a Detective Inspector and he is only a Detective Sergeant, so she rules the roost, or does she?

Three
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cases run concurrently - one that Malcolm Fox has pulled out of old files that appears to be police corruption from the first team that Rebus was assigned to as a constable, the second case a dead mini cab driver fished out of the river with foul play suspected, and the third a female university student who has crashed her car on the verge of the freeway.

Rebus is assigned to Fox's office to assist with the investigation of his old colleagues and though Rebus is inclined to cast Fox in the role of the enemy he comes to see that they share a lot of similar values. Siobhan Clarke carries an olive branch between the two, but as usual Rebus is a bit obstinate.

There is an emphasis on how policing has changed - methods used decades ago to extract confessions are no longer acceptable and the Attorney General is determined that any miscarriage of justice in the past will be rooted out and corruption eliminated. But on the other hand other characters recognise that John Rebus gets results and describe his methods as "good old-fashioned policing."

An excellent read.
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LibraryThing member -Eva-
When some exceptions are introduced to the double jeopardy rule in Scotland, Malcolm Fox is asked to take another look at an old murder case, one that involved a young John Rebus and his then colleagues, a group whose members called themselves the "Saints of the Shadow Bible." Besides the
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interesting plots and brilliant dialogue that come standard with Rankin, what I really enjoy is how each story is firmly placed in its contemporary history and that the characters are allowed to grow older and change. While Scotland is preparing to cast the vote on independence, Rebus is allowed to be his regular blood-houndy self, Clarke gets to throw some well-deserved weight around, and Fox gets a little more rounded so that he's not all holier-than-thou. As soon as Fox was introduced in The Complaints, I was hoping that we would eventually be treated to a proper Rebus/Fox match-up and it's finally here and it's all good - both of them are allowed to be their own selves and also take on some of each other's traits, like they would do in real life. I do hope we get to see this duo get into more mischief in a future installment.
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LibraryThing member ebethe
Good, difficult ending, but a way big step up from the goodbye. Very interesting comparison between policing in the 80's and today.
LibraryThing member BillPilgrim
New Rebus book, with Malcolm Fox moving from internal affairs to CID.
Investigation into a reopened murder case from when Rebus was a new cop, when his coworkers were involved in less than approved methods of policing. Did one of them kill the man accused and tried, but acquitted of that murder, in
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order to stop the truth from coming out now?
Typical high quality genre fiction from Rankin.
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LibraryThing member mikedraper
Rebus comes out of retirement but the only slot available was as a detective sergeant so he accepts that position and works under his old friend Siobhan Clarke, Detective Inspector.

The law of double jeopardy in England is reversed and the Solicitor General wants to re-examine a 30 year old case.
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This was when Rebus was a new detective sergeant.

A man was murdered and the accused was set free due to tainted evidence. The accused was an informant of one of the cops in Rebus's jailhouse.

Malcolm Fox who had been in Internal Affairs and disliked Rebus, now asks his help since he's familiar with the events and the participants. Rebus's old friends ask him to let the past be but he feels that if a crime was committed, justice should be served.

There is a subplot of a young girl whose car went off the road and she was found unconscious in the driver's seat. It looked like the driver moved her there and then fled.

The reader will enjoy this story and the banter between Rebus and Fox and between Rebus and many of the people he interviews. The characters were very realistic and the plot moved along nicely.
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LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
It must be difficult for a writer who creates a popular and successful character to avoid letting them become stale. That fate certainly befell Colin Dexter's Morse who subsided almost into self-parody in the later novels in the canon (though at least the later Morse books avoided the mawkish
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failings of the final instalments of the television version), and even Sherlock Holmes seemed rather tired and despairing by the time Conan Doyle churned out "His Last Bow".

Ian Rankin seems so far to have avoided these pitfalls. In this novel John Rebus makes his nineteenth outing and is, as my mother might say, as "thrawn" as ever. One explanation for Rankin's success where many others has failed is that he has always had his character age in real time. Consequently he had to face retirement a few books ago ("Exit Music" had seemed to be his swan song, with the action taking place in his final week on the Lothian and Borders force). However, possibly mirroring the plethora of "cold case" review dramas currently crowding the television schedules, in "Standing In Another Man's Grave" Rebus returned from retirement to help review an old case in the light of newly uncovered evidence.

In "Saints of the Shadow Bible" he has managed to find his way back onto the mainstream force, though now demoted to Detective Sergeant while his former protegee Siobhan Clarke is now an Inspector and his superior at the Gayfield Square station. As the novel opens the two of them are inspecting the wreckage of a car which had crashed on a seemingly open and deserted stretch of road between Edinburgh and Livingston. As always with Rebus novels, the seemingly innocuous accident is not quite what it seems, though Rebus and Clarke are themselves initially baffled as to why they suspect something more dubious lying behind it.

Meanwhile Inspector Malcolm Fox, the new lead character that Rankin created in the immediate aftermath of Rebus's retirement, is investigating alleged malfeasance at Summerhall Police Station thirty years ago. That was Rebus's first station as a detective, and while there he had been inducted into the self-styled "Saints of the Shadow Bible", a group of CID officers who seldom allowed the regulations and rules of engagement to get in the way of their own mission to keep the streets clean.

As ever with Rankin, the plot (well, plots - there are several sub-stories competing for the reader's attention) is tightly-constructed and the tensions between the characters is very plausible. The book does have the customary Rankinesque dialogue - readers new to Rankin might be better advised to start on one of his earlier cases - but that adds to, rather than detracts from, the effect.
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LibraryThing member DrLed
Synopsis: Rebus is on the carpet, once more, but this time it's for a long ago crime and in association with three other 'old cops'. What happened in his early years on the force may or may not be associated with a new crime. He's also trying to solve the case of a car crash and associated murder.
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Review: Really interesting story with a new character added to the mix. Fox actually supports the interactions of Clark and Rebus making them more interesting.
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LibraryThing member runner56
John Rebus, newly returned to the force and rescued temporarily from an obscure retirement. The main condition of his reinstatement is the demotion of his rank from Detective Inspector to Detective Sergeant. He is working under the auspices of Siobhan Clarke who ironically is now promoted to DI, of
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no real concern to Rebus as he is just pleased to have been returned to his old hunting ground.

Rebus and Clarke arrive at the scene of an accident; a VW Golf travelling at speed suddenly leaves the road and impacts with an oak tree. It would appear there is only one casualty, Jessica Traynor, but Rebus is suspicious that Traynor was not actually the driver and is covering for this unknown person who has fled the scene. As with all Rankin books events as initially portrayed rarely tell the truth and as avid fans will be pleased to know, on closer investigation, our two intrepid heroes discover unscrupulous underhand activity with political undertones. The author is very fond of introducing a secondary plot and usually involves John Rebus at a different time in his career. Malcolm Fox (just returned from the Complaints/Professional Standards dept) is investigating a newly reopened 30 year old case. At that time it could be argued that police enforcement was more akin to an episode of "Life on Mars" (British tv series 2007 where officers were content to physically abuse a suspect in order to attain a confession) and Fox is tasked with investigating the suspicious death of Douglas Merchant, the seemingly unreliable evidence of snitch Billy Saunders, and the shadowy underhand involvement of "Saint of the Shadow Bible" a number of police colleagues who swore a bond on something called the shadow bible.

However, all of the above is I feel incidental to what is really at the heart of Ian Rankin's writing; his Scottishnes and his unbelievable drawing of characters, in particular John Rebus. Rebus is an isolated individual, separated from his wife Rhona and daughter Samantha, living a lonely existence in his Marchmont flat, surrounded by his booze, cigarettes and endless vinyl records of 70's/80's music icons...."He led the way up two flights of stairs to the door to his flat. Unlocked it and scooped up the mail before switching on the hallway light. She followed him into the living room. The ashtray next to his armchair needed emptying. A couple of beer bottles sat alongside, plus an empty whisky glass." Rebus is best described as an old fashioned "dogged" copper, not for him meetings, protocols and endless google searches....and this is what makes us love him!..."She hadn't known John Rebus long, but she knew he was good at this, like a bloodhound given a scent and then left to do what it was best at. Form-filling and protocols and budget meetings were not Rebus's thing-never had been and never would be. His knowledge of the internet was rudimentary and his people skills were woeful....he was a breed of copper that wasn't supposed to exist anymore, a rare and endangered species."

D I Siobhan is the complimentary opposite to Rebus and holds a great respect and platonic love for him. She is highly intelligent and understands how JR operates, curtailing even cautioning him but values his deep understanding of the criminal mind and how it operates. She feels for him and worries about him; his out of control drinking, smoking, loneliness and what, she wonders, will finally become of him when he is no longer able to operate and contribute to the Scottish Constabulary.

I as a reader adore John Rebus, I see him as a real and living individual and for that I hold the greatest admiration for his creator Ian Rankin. I highly recommend this book and in closing this review leave the parting words to Detective Sergeant John Rebus..."I'm from the eighties, Peter- I'm not the newfangled touchy-feely model. Now get out of my f***ing car!"
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LibraryThing member nmele
Not at all formulaic, Rankin brings together John Rebus and Malcolm Fox to solve a thirty year old murder. I loved this one!
LibraryThing member avdelningsok
I like Rebus dubious character

Awards

Edgar Award (Nominee — Novel — 2015)
Theakstons Old Peculier Prize (Longlist — 2015)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2014-09-11

Physical description

400 p.; 7.83 inches

ISBN

1409128849 / 9781409128847

Barcode

91100000180802

DDC/MDS

823.914
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