Unlike some crime fiction detectives who don’t ever seem to age, with each successive book Rebus actually grew older. In “Exit Music” he was on the verge of 60-years-old, mandatory retirement age for the Edinburgh Police. Rankin concluded the series. Or so it seemed.
The author started a new series. It features another Edinburgh cop, Malcolm Fox. He works in Professional Standards, or the Complaints. In the US we would call it the Department of Internal Affairs. Fox is a troubled fellow. He’s also rather unpopular because he spends his time investigating his fellow officers.
Fortunately Rankin had the good sense to merely put Rebus out to pasture. He didn’t kill off the character. Then last year something fabulous occurred; Rebus returned in “Standing in Another Man’s Grave.” Rebus had been called out of retirement to work on some cold cases.
The title of that book was inspired by a lyric written by the Scottish singer Jackie Leven. Leven and Rankin had been friends. Following Leven’s untimely death Rankin paid tribute to his friend with that book title.
That wasn’t the end of it. The title of the new Rebus, “Saints of the Shadow Bible” was also derived from a Leven lyric. In a recent interview Rankin explained why: “his (Leven’s) songs and my books deal with similar concerns; men who can’t show their emotions. Men who make mistakes. Men who screw up.”
As “Saints of the Shadow Bible” opens another miracle has taken place; the retirement age had been raised and Rebus has been reinstated to active duty. He’s accepted a demotion; for many years his rank had been Detective Inspector. Now he’s just a lowly Detective Sergeant again.
Roles are reversed. Siobhan Clarke, his long-time assistant, is now his boss. Probably the most incredible circumstance is that this hard-drinking, tobacco puffing, fatty food aficionado has somehow passed the police physical to get back on to the force.
The book opens with a suspicious one car wreck. A young woman has been injured. They found her in the driver’s seat but there are indications that she wasn’t actually driving. So who was the driver? Why did this person flee? What were they hiding?
Malcolm Fox, who was only a peripheral character in the previous book, is now investigating the actions of some cops that worked with Rebus back when he first joined the force. These guys called themselves the “Saints of the Shadow Bible.” Did they commit murders? Was Rebus involved? Rebus and Fox team up to conduct the investigation. Will Rebus break his oath of secrecy to his former colleagues? Is this the best Rebus novel ever? I am thoroughly enthralled.
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