Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin

Midnight and Blue is the brand new (25th!) Rebus novel by Ian Rankin. It was published on 10th October, which also happened to be the day I saw him speak at Cheltenham Literature Festival for the second time. I first saw him two years ago, which inspired me to start devouring the Rebus books. I finished my last one – The Naming of the Dead – earlier this year.

In the previous book, A Heart Full of Headstones, John Rebus is in court accused of a serious crime. We don’t know from that book what the outcome of the court case was. But – spoiler alert – he was obviously found guilty as he is in prison in Midnight and Blue.

When a prisoner on Rebus’s hall (that’s what we would probably call a prison wing) is murdered, Rebus looks on as his former colleague, DS Christine Esson, comes in to investigate. The prisoners are all convinced it was one of the officers who did it – and it certainly doesn’t look good for him. But Rebus isn’t going to jump to conclusions. Especially when the prison governor asks for his help.

Meanwhile, on the outside, DI Siobhan Clarke is investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl.

And DI Malcolm Fox has returned to type – in that he is annoying Siobhan and Christine and working for his own gains. Fox was first introduced to the series as the anti-Rebus – the copper who did things properly. As time wore on, he became quite friendly with Rebus and Siobhan. But this time his assistance is very unwelcome…

Midnight and Blue is another brilliant read from Ian Rankin. And I feel extremely lucky that I got to hear him talk about it before I read it. He very cleverly manages to weave in the stories taking place both inside and outside the prison. While Rebus is forced to take more of a back seat, it’s great to see Christine stepping up into a leading role.

Will there be another Rebus novel? Will Rebus still be in prison? Ian Rankin wasn’t giving anything away. I don’t think he’s decided just yet. But I for one would very much like to read more.

If you enjoy detective novels, the Rebus books come highly recommended by me. Midnight and Blue is a brilliant read, but you can really start anywhere in the series, which goes right back to Knots and Crosses, published in 1987.