I was a complete Rebus fanboy for years， reading the back catalog and each new one as it came out， but either the series flagged or， more likely， I flagged。 But this new Rebus novel is a gem， even though it's obvious to anyone that there can't be too many more novels featuring the dogged detective from Edinburg。He's long retired by now， and ailing， but he still wants to put away bad guys （or help Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke put them away）。 This time， ostensibly doing a favor for his long- I was a complete Rebus fanboy for years， reading the back catalog and each new one as it came out， but either the series flagged or， more likely， I flagged。 But this new Rebus novel is a gem， even though it's obvious to anyone that there can't be too many more novels featuring the dogged detective from Edinburg。He's long retired by now， and ailing， but he still wants to put away bad guys （or help Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke put them away）。 This time， ostensibly doing a favor for his long-term nemesis Morris "Big Ger" Cafferty， Rebus goes looking for a man once in Cafferty's employ， missing and presumed dead。 This bit of unofficial sleuthing collides with a real case that Clarke is investigating: a policeman from the Tynecastle station who is abusing his wife， then disappears。 The plot is good – well-orchestrated， with real momentum – and it provides Rankin with a canvas to explore the old-style of policing （cutting corners， intimidating suspects， and worse）， sexism in the police force， and the tendency of institutions to prevent the skeletons from leaving the proverbial closet。 Like all the Rebus novels， it's also about Edinburgh， "a city perpetually dark，" filled with a sense of foreboding about lawlessness。 （It's almost like Edinburgh is devolving back into the 1970s。）Rankin is always great with a big cast of characters and the snarky， sarcastic banter that strikes me as very Scottish， but he is also coming off as thoughtful and poetic in this noir-ish world。 I don't want Rebus to go; the novel practically begs for a follow-on。 This is a terrific outing for Rankin， and I thoroughly enjoyed it。 。。。more