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I have always had a warm spot in my heart and a large space on my shelves devoted to mystery writers from the British Isles. There's something unique about the perspective they bring to the settings and characters --- a gray, misty quality that prickles with suspense and sharpens every scene. Unlike many American contemporaries who favor the more gruesome and bizarre to tantalize an audience, these classic mysteries are terse by comparison, yet offer readers a far more literary narrative. Ian Rankin is now the newest addition to my shelf of special authors who deliver magnificent drama via the written page.
SET IN DARKNESS is Rankin's latest novel in his Inspector Rebus series and a remarkable purview of the darker side to humanity. Rebus is a dedicated Scottish policeman, streetwise, methodical and persistent. But like all those he encounters, his has demons of his own to battle: a failed marriage, loneliness, alcoholism. He knows his way around the seedy bars and alleys of Edinburgh's underworld, which is exactly where this investigation leads him in his search for a savage murderer.
The novel opens with the discovery of a body buried in Queensbury House, an old historic building being renovated to accommodate the Scottish parliament. Without any clues to the identity of the deceased, this case takes a low priority until a second murder occurs on the very same site. Roddy Grieve, a wealthy and ambitious Labour Party candidate for the legislature, is found bludgeoned to death, and Rebus is assigned to assist Derek Linford in this higher profile murder. Linford has ambitions of his own within Scottish law enforcement; and, as you might suspect, he and Rebus are opposite ends of the compass. Tactless, pompous and the golden boy of the police department hierarchy, Linford is placed in charge of the investigation, which he is obviously too inexperienced to handle. Rebus, on the other hand, organizes an efficient team of detectives and begins a methodic search for a motive that would bind these murders together. When the apparent suicide of a homeless man with an amazingly large bank account falls in the lap of his former protegee, Siobahn Clarke, she finds herself partnered once again with Rebus, as the interlocking theory widens to include all three deaths.
One of the more melancholic aspects to many of the characters in Rankin's SET IN DARKNESS is their shared loneliness. Rebus misses his daughter and has virtually no social life, choosing to spend his time comforted by the bottle rather than seek companionship beyond the occasional barstool acquaintance. Siobahn is a loner as well, not necessarily by choice; but she has found that police work and personal relationships are often akin to mixing oil and water. Despite their age difference, Rebus and Siobahn have a history together, and Rankin explores the possibilities of their relationship, leaving little doubt that these two will continue to cross paths in the future. Adding another dimension to this complexity of relationships is Derek Linford, the stereotypical jerk --- self-absorbed, with enough social incorrectness to inflame the entire female population --- yet there's an even darker twist to be discovered in his romantic pursuit of Siobahn Clarke.
Grounded in the traditional method of skillful plotting, Rankin leads readers in several directions at once. He offers up any number of suspects from the Grieve's dysfunctional family, including the vampish sister, the long-lost brother, and the charming widow who decides to run for the legislature herself. Simultaneously, Rankin tosses in a series of rape cases involving a nasty duo that coincidentally crosses paths with the investigators as their murder cases progress. That the rapist's identity is not altogether camouflaged is not a disappointment but, rather, an insightful portrayal of how evil can be fostered through mutual association. Anyone who has read Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD will recognize this chilling premise of aberrant behavior feeding aberrant behavior.
As if this novel didn't have enough twists already; Big Ger Cafferty, a villain from a previous Rebus novel, reenters the inspector's life, adding further menace to an already dangerous investigation. Juggling three cases, appeasing his superiors, protecting Siobahn and watching his own back make SET IN DARKNESS electrified with suspense. With Rankin's superb characterizations and historic backdrops, this masterful writer takes his place alongside the best in the genre of crime fiction today.
--- Reviewed by Ann Bruns (BkPageWC@aol.com)
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