A Song for the Dark Times

An Inspector Rebus Novel

Contributors

By Ian Rankin

Formats and Prices

Price

$27.00

“He’s gone…”
 
When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days.
 
Rebus fears the worst – and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect.
 
He wasn’t the best father – the job always came first – but now his daughter needs him more than ever.  But is he going as a father or a detective?
 
As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast – and a small town with big secrets – he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn’t want to find…

A thrilling new Rebus novel about crime, punishment, and redemption, from the Edgar Award-winning “genius” of the genre (Lee Child, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series)

  • “Remarkably fresh.”
     
     
    Richard Lipez, Washington Post
  • “Rankin has found fresh ways to explore his insightful, cantankerous and independent character in each of Rebus' reappearances...The superb A Song for the Dark Times — a prophetic title if ever there was one and a metaphor for Rebus' life — works as a tale about mortality, lost opportunities, regrets and growing older…A Song for the Dark Times doesn’t miss a note in showcasing Rankin’s strong storytelling.”
     
    Oline Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
  • "Mr. Rankin has been writing Rebus novels since 1987, and in this 23rd series entry, the author’s curmudgeonly hero proves as resolute as ever."
    Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
  • “Like Louise Penny, Rankin consistently finds clever ways of involving his retired detective in new investigations. Rankin hits on all cylinders here: he makes the most of the fascinating internment-camp story; he injects new life into the familiar mystery trope of an outside investigator roiling the surface calm of an insular community; and he continues to develop the rich interplay between Rebus and Clarke…As Tartan Noir grows in popularity, Rankin continues to lead the charge. His high-profile presence on social media will be particularly important in the pandemic era.”
     
     
    Booklist, starred review
  • “Edgar winner Rankin’s excellent 23rd outing for John Rebus…As the two plots converge, the various credible, complex backstories coalesce into a highly satisfying and unified whole. This fresh entry boasts the kind of storytelling that made Rankin famous.”
     
    Publishers Weekly
  • “The investigation has him contemplating the meaning of fatherhood, detection, and the nature of truth, for an emotional continuation of one of the world’s most respected series.”
     
    CrimeReads
  • "Rebus is still the dogged investigator, able to make intuitive leaps about the dark places that inhabit the human soul and lead some to commit murder, whether in the distant past or in more recent times. Rankin will in time, likely retire Rebus for good, so we should appreciate him while we still have him."
    Jonathan Elderfield, Associated Press
  • “A compelling read that will leave you eagerly anticipating the next book in this winning series.”  
    BookReporter
  • "With A Song for the Dark Times, Rankin takes an absorbing look at the damage done by greed for land and the fact that, with or without fairways, its history can never be erased."
     
    Lisa Henricksson, AirMail
  • Praise for IN A HOUSE OF LIES
  • "There's no one like Ian Rankin for bringing us right into the world of detectives. For anyone who's fascinated by the inner workings of that world, and all its tricky, brutal, expert ruthlessness, In A House of Lies is a must-read."
    Tana French
  • "Loved In A House Of Lies. How does Rebus keep on getting better and better? Ian Rankin is a genius."
    Lee Child
  • "Rather Be the Devil will not disappoint - in the last 30 pages or so, Rankin delivers so many shocking but
    satisfying twists I felt I might have whiplash."
    Tampa Bay Times
  • "One of the best things in crime fiction for years, but Rankin kicks it up several notches here."

    Booklist (Starred Review)

On Sale
Oct 13, 2020
Page Count
336 pages
ISBN-13
9780316479257

Ian Rankin

About the Author

Ian Rankin is a #1 international bestselling author. Winner of an Edgar Award and the recipient of a Gold Dagger for fiction and the Chandler-Fulbright Award, he lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their two sons.

Learn more about this author