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

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This is Rankin at his best, Rebus at his best, storytelling that meets the moment and transcends all genres and expectations’ MICHAEL CONNELLY The story is actually divided between his daughter's new adopted home of Naver, a remote village in the far north of Scotland, and Edinburgh where Clarke, Fox and the folks in CID are investigating the murder of. Saudi student that may, or may not, be racially, or perhaps politically, motivated. It takes the Detectives into a murky world of property development, wealthy investors, battles over land ownership and development and within the sights of a certain Big Ger Cafferty. Rebus may be out of town but that won't stop Big Ger toying with the police, especially when it is to his financial benefit. The way in which Big Ger is brought into the story is very carefully and cleverly done, the potential from what happens certainly makes for an intriguing opening for the next book in the series.

As a practical matter, there's no way for Rebus to horn in on the investigation, but he is, after all, the protagonist of the series and the author has to invent something for him to do. The problem is resolved when Rebus's estranged daughter, Samantha, calls him in a panic in the middle of the night to tell him that her partner, Keith, the father of her daughter, has gone missing. Samantha lives in a remote area of northern Scotland and Rebus piles into his aging Saab and heads off to help her. In a Prologue, Rebus moves down two flights of stairs to the ground-floor flat in the same Arden Street tenement, with a lot of help from Siobhan Clarke. His first morning in the new flat, he gets a call from his daughter Samantha saying her partner, Keith, is missing. He wasn’t the best father – the job always came first – but now his daughter needs him more than ever. But is he going as a father or a detective?Soon, it is learned periphery threads to each case may exist leading investigators to wonder if the two are linked together. 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.

I can’t believe this is the first book I have read by prolific writer, Ian Rankin. It won’t be the last! In A Song for the Dark Times, Rankin not only introduces many supporting characters where one may need a scorecard to keep them straight, he also continues to utilize previously introduced characters, including reliable villain Big Ger Cafferty, who shows no signs of slowing down and remains as crafty and dangerous as usual. A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons.Any fan of police procedurals should enjoy this book. The storylines are tight, and enough bread crumbs are dropped that a careful reader will have a good shortlist of suspects for the crimes. The relationships among the characters fill out the story. It gave me a little thrill that Siobhan and Malcolm are working together. It’s a good way to expand Siobhan’s role, with Rebus edging off the stage. Rebus immediately makes the long drive to the (fictional) village of Naver near Tongue in the extreme north of Scotland. He finds Keith’s body. In trying to discover why he was murdered, he gets to know his granddaughter’s father for the first time; Keith had been obsessed with the history of a nearby World War II prison camp, some of whose survivors settled locally and are still alive. The local police see Samantha as the obvious suspect in Keith’s murder. While Rebus can’t help considering this possibility, he frantically researches other options. Samantha is devastated and blames it all on him. Overall, this is an engrossing and compelling read which is impossible to put down. Ian Rankin, in my opinion, is the master of this genre, the quality remains high throughout this long series and I can’t wait to read what happens next! Long live Rebus!

In two complex plots, with quite a few red herrings, Rankin moves easily between the storylines. It is an engaging, fast read. 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.”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. 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. There are perhaps one or two coincidences too many and it may not be absolute classic Rankin, but I enjoyed it so much that I’ve rounded 4.5-stars up to 5. Warmly recommended. 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. Mark Sanderson, “The best crime fiction for October 2020 — Ian Rankin’s thriller is perfect for our dark times,” The Times 29 September 2020