Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin
I’m continuing my journey back through the Rebus novels by Ian Rankin. Saints of the Shadow Bible is the 19th Rebus novel and was published in 2013. Having retired from the force two books previously, the retirement age in Scotland has been increased, and Rebus is back working as a detective. But with no detective inspector vacancies, he has been demoted to detective sergeant, while his old policing partner, Siobhan Clarke, is a DI.
When a young woman is found unconscious at the wheel of her crashed car, Rebus suspects this is no ordinary crash. When it turns out her boyfriend is the son of the Scottish justice minister, it starts to look even more suspicious. But neither of them is willing to talk to the police and her father is making sure that Rebus, Clarke and their colleagues stay away.
In the meantime, Rebus is once more under investigation himself for his policing methods in the past. This seems to be a common thread running through the more recent Rebus novels, including Standing in Another Man’s Grave and the newest book, A Heart Full of Headstones.
A new law has been passed, which means old crimes can be re-prosecuted and a case from 30 years ago is being reopened. But do Rebus and his old colleagues know more about the case than they should do? Rebus was a young detective constable at the time, part of a group of detectives who called themselves The Saints of the Shadow Bible. They were known to get results, but not always in the proper way.
Now Inspector Malcolm Fox is investigating the Saints for the Complaints. As the only serving officer left of the Saints, whose side is Rebus on? Rebus is proving useful to Fox, but does he know what his old friends did in the past – and what part did he himself play?
This is another complex and entertaining page turner from Ian Rankin. If you like a detective novel and you’ve never read any Ian Rankin, I would recommend you give them a try! There are 24 Rebus novels, dating right back to 1987, so it’s unlikely you would want to go right back and read from the start. But you could pick up the series at any point and enjoy it.
Personally, I’ve been working my way backwards and forwards through the novels over the last few months and have enjoyed them all.
It sounds like another good book. I would really like to get into the Rebus novels but there are so many of them and so little time!
I know, it is hard to know where to start! I started years ago, then gave up as I felt there were too many. It probably makes sense just to read the last few, then it doesn’t feel as daunting.