Set in Darkness - Hardcover

Rankin, Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752821296 ISBN 13: 9780752821290

Publisher: Orion, 2000

Synopsis

Edinburgh, ‘a mad god’s dream / Fitful and dark’, is about to become the home of the first Scottish parliament in nigh on three hundred years. It’s a momentous time and political passions run high ... Detective Inspector John Rebus is charged with liaison, thanks to the new parliament being resident at Queensberry House bang in the middle of his St. Leonard’s patch. Queensberry House is home not just to the new Scotland’s rulers to be, but to the legend of a young man roasted on a spit by a madman. A fate befitting its new inhabitants, some would say. When the fireplace where the youth died is uncovered, another more recent murder victim is brought out into the daylight. Days later, in the gardens outside, Queensberry House’s third body is found. This time the victim is no mummified mystery man, but Roddy Grieve, a prospective MSP, and the powers that be are on Rebus’s back demanding instant answers. Roddy Grieve’s notoriety brings a whole host of problems, including his seductive sister Lorna, one of Rebus’s youthful fantasies made flesh. What’s worse, as the case progresses, the Inspector finds himself face to face with one of Edinburgh’s most notorious criminals - a man he thought safely out of harm’s way for years to come. Someone’s going to make a lot of money out of Scotland’s independence and where there’s big money at stake, darkness gathers...

About this title

Review

Edinburgh police inspector John Rebus's obsession--rock & roll--seems odd for a man whose dark, depressed side is so central to his character, but Ian Rankin always manages to work it gracefully into his noirish novels featuring Rebus. In Set in Darkness, Rebus has a fling with Lorna Grieve, a faded rock muse who's the sister of Roddy Grieve, an up-and-coming politico who turns up dead on the grounds of the boarded-up hospital that's being torn down to make way for the new Scottish Parliament. Grieve's body is the second in the space of days found at Queensberry House; the first was a skeleton bricked up in the fireplace. That decades-old murder seems to be tied to the suicide of a mysterious homeless man whose hefty bank balance is revealed well before his true identity.

'So what's the story with Mr Supertramp anyway?'

'He had all this money he either couldn't spend or didn't want to. He took on a new identity. My theory is that he was hiding.'

'Maybe.' He was rifling through the scraps on the desk. She folded her arms, gave him a hard look which he failed to notice. He opened the bread bag and shook out the contents: disposable razor, a sliver of soap, toothbrush. 'An organized mind,' he said. 'Makes himself a wash bag. Doesn't like being dirty.'

'It's like he was acting the part,' she said.

There are always plenty of subplots in a Rankin mystery. This time he adds a stalker who happens to be one of Rebus's colleagues, a couple of toughs who hang out in singles clubs and finish their evenings with a rape or two, and the ongoing story of Rebus's tortured past--a bitter divorce, a daughter still recovering from a terrible accident, and a drinking problem. Set in Darkness hit the bestseller list in Great Britain and should enjoy the same success in its U.S. edition. Rankin's ability to keep finding new dimensions in Rebus, handle intricate plot details brilliantly, and evoke the gloom and darkness of his setting keep winning him new admirers, with just cause. --Jane Adams

About the Author

Ian Rankin was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960. In 1997 he was awarded the Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction for Black and Blue. His subsequent Rebus novels have all been international bestsellers. He lives with his wife and two sons in Edinburgh.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orion
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0752821296
• ISBN 13: 9780752821290
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 415