A Song for the Dark Times

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A Song for the Dark Times
A Song for the Dark Times.jpg
First edition
Author Ian Rankin
CountryScotland
LanguageEnglish
Series Inspector Rebus
Release number
23
Genre Detective fiction
Set inScotland
Publisher Orion Books
Published in English
1 October 2020
Media typePaperback
Pages327
ISBN 9781409176886
Preceded by In a House of Lies  
Followed by A Heart Full of Headstones  
Website Author's webpage

A Song for the Dark Times is the 23rd installment in the Inspector Rebus series written by Ian Rankin. The phrase "dark times" was meant to refer to the era of Brexit, autocratic leaders, and so on, as of 2019, but the book was published in 2020, in a period of COVID-19 lockdowns. [1] The title is from one of the book’s epigraphs, Bertolt Brecht on “singing in/about the dark times”; [2] also, “Songs for the Dark Times” is the title Siobhan Clarke gives to a CD compilation she has burned for John Rebus, which he plays while driving north in his car. [3]

Contents

Plot

In a Prologue, Rebus moves down two flights of stairs to the ground-floor flat in the same Arden Street tenement, with a lot of help from Siobhan Clarke. His first morning in the new flat, he gets a call from his daughter Samantha saying her partner, Keith, is missing.

Rebus immediately makes the long drive to the (fictional) village of Naver near Tongue in the extreme north of Scotland. He finds Keith’s body. In trying to discover why he was murdered, he gets to know his granddaughter’s father for the first time; Keith had been obsessed with the history of a nearby World War II prison camp, some of whose survivors settled locally and are still alive. The local police see Samantha as the obvious suspect in Keith’s murder. While Rebus can’t help considering this possibility, he frantically researches other options. Samantha is devastated and blames it all on him.

In Edinburgh, Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox are part of the Murder Inquiry Team looking into the mysterious killing of a Saudi student. This takes them into the world of wealthy international socialites and their financial projects. The dead man’s closest friend was a young Scottish aristocrat whose family trust owns most of the area around Tongue, so Rebus’s investigations overlap with Siobhan’s.

The gangster ‘Big Ger’ Cafferty is the fourth major point-of-view character. He now runs an exclusive club where he films the guests to obtain blackmail material, and he involves Fox in one of his blackmail projects. Though Fox plays along, Cafferty’s attempt to control him and his Police Scotland boss ultimately fails. At the end of the novel, a young thug with a gun is on his way to see Cafferty, without warning.

Reception

Reviewers expressed strong but sometimes qualified enthusiasm for the book. Stuart Kelly, in The Scotsman , commented: “But piecing [the solutions] together balances readerly patience with the impetus of the plot” and “ There is a general feeling that everything is going to hell in a handcart” without any bright notes except Rebus’s sheer ability to survive. [4] The Guardian noted the publication only in a roundup of thrillers, praising it (like Kelly) primarily for keeping Rebus going. [5] On the other hand, a similarly brief review by Mark Sanderson in The Times ends with the declaration, “Only great novels capture the spirit of the age. This is one of them.” [6] This may express what the other reviewers are getting at—that Rebus's jaundiced view of the world is just what is needed now.

Related Research Articles

Detective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in the Inspector Rebus series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Sir Ian Rankin, ten of which have so far been televised as Rebus. The novels are mostly set in and around Edinburgh. Rebus has been portrayed by John Hannah and Ken Stott for Television, with Ron Donachie playing the character for the BBC Radio dramatisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Rankin</span> Scottish writer

Sir Ian James Rankin is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.

<i>Inspector Rebus</i> Series of detective novels by Ian Rankin

The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Sir Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh.

<i>Rebus</i> (TV series) British television detective drama series

Rebus is a British television detective drama series based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin. The series was produced by STV Studios for the ITV network, and four series were broadcast between 26 April 2000 and 7 December 2007. The first series starred John Hannah as DI John Rebus; and was co-produced by Hannah's own production company, Clerkenwell Films. After Hannah quit the series, the role of Rebus was re-cast, with Ken Stott appearing as Rebus in three subsequent series, which were produced in-house by STV.

<i>The Black Book</i> (Rankin novel)

The Black Book is a 1993 crime novel by Ian Rankin, the fifth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It is the first book to feature Siobhan Clarke and Morris Gerald Cafferty appears as a main character. It is also the first book where Rebus is based at St Leonards police station.

<i>Black & Blue</i> (Rankin novel)

Black & Blue is a 1997 crime novel by Ian Rankin. The eighth of the Inspector Rebus novels, it was the first to be adapted in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2000.

<i>The Hanging Garden</i> (Rankin novel)

The Hanging Garden is a 1998 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the ninth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the second episode in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2001.

<i>Set in Darkness</i>

Set in Darkness is a 2000 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the eleventh of the Inspector Rebus novels. It won the 2005 Grand Prix du Roman Policier (France) under the title Du fond des ténèbres.

<i>Resurrection Men</i>

Resurrection Men is a 2002 novel by Ian Rankin. It is the thirteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2004.

<i>The Falls</i> (Rankin novel)

The Falls is a 2001 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the twelfth of the Inspector Rebus novels.

<i>The Naming of the Dead</i>

The Naming of the Dead is a crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the sixteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It is set in Edinburgh in July 2005, in the week of the G8 summit in Gleneagles.

<i>Exit Music</i> Crime novel by Ian Rankin

Exit Music is the seventeenth crime novel in the internationally bestselling Inspector Rebus series, written by Ian Rankin. It was published on 6 September 2007. The book is named after the Radiohead song "Exit Music ".

<i>The Complaints</i>

The Complaints is a novel by Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin. It was published in the United Kingdom on 3 September 2009.

<i>Standing in Another Mans Grave</i>

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Saints of the Shadow Bible is the nineteenth instalment in the bestselling Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in 2013. Like the preceding Rebus novel, this one draws its title from a Jackie Leven lyric.

<i>Even Dogs in the Wild</i>

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<i>Rather Be the Devil</i>

Rather Be the Devil is the 21st instalment in the Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in November 2016. Rather Be the Devil topped the bestseller charts for hardback fiction. The title was inspired by a John Martyn song from his 1973 album Solid Air.

<i>In a House of Lies</i>

In a House of Lies is the 22nd instalment in the Inspector Rebus series written by Ian Rankin. In a House of Lies entered the hardback chart at No. 1 on the first week of its release.

<i>A Heart Full of Headstones</i>

A Heart Full of Headstones is the 24th installment in the Inspector Rebus series written by Ian Rankin. The title comes from the song "Single Father" by Jackie Leven, four lines of which are quoted on the last page of the novel. The novel is set during the period when COVID-19 is a threat but lockdown has ended, probably in 2022 but before the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September.

References

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