Set In Darkness

The novel I read was Set In Darkness by Ian Rankin. Detective Inspector John Rebus is a dedicated Scottish policeman, streetwise, methodical and persistent. But like all those he encounters, his has problems of his own: a failed marriage, loneliness, alcoholism. Rebus misses his daughter and has virtually no social life, choosing to spend his time drinking rather than seek companionship. He knows Edinburgh very well, 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 victim, 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, is found beaten to death, and Rebus is assigned to assist Derek Linford in this murder case. Linford has ambitions of his own within Scottish law enforcement, and he and Rebus have different views on many things. 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 connect these murders.