John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Although it's not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last.

What drove a good man to cross the line? Or have times changed, and the rules with them?

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh's most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city's police force.

But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus - and Clarke's twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit.

A reckoning is coming - and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders...

'THE KING OF CRIME FICTION' SUNDAY EXPRESS
Someone buried the truth. Now it's time to dig up the lies...

IN A HOUSE OF LIES

From the iconic Number One bestseller Ian Rankin, comes one of the must-read books of the year: A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

Discover how it all began in the very first Rebus novel from 'Britain's No.1 crime writer' Daily Mirror

'And in Edinburgh of all places. I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you...?'

'That sort of thing' is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of many policemen hunting the killer.

And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve.

The thirteenth Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

'No one in Britain writes better crime novels' Evening Standard

'This is Rankin at his best, and, boy, that's saying something' TIME OUT

Rebus is off the case - literally. A few days into the murder inquiry of an Edinburgh art dealer, Rebus blows up at a colleague. He is sent to the Scottish Police College for 'retraining' - in other words, he's in the Last Chance Saloon.

Rebus is assigned to an old, unsolved case, but there are those in his team who have their own secrets - and they'll stop at nothing to protect them.

Rebus is also asked to act as a go-between for gangster 'Big Ger' Cafferty. And as newly promoted DS Siobhan Clarke works the case of the murdered art dealer, she is brought closer to Cafferty than she could ever have anticipated...

The ninth Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.

'Masterly' SUNDAY TIMES

'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee Child

DI Rebus is buried under a pile of paperwork but an escalating dispute between the upstart Tommy Telford and Big Ger Cafferty's gang gives Rebus an escape clause.

Telford is known to have close links with a Chechen gangster bringing refugees into Britain as prostitutes. When Rebus takes under his wing a distraught Bosnian call girl, it gives him a personal reason to make sure Telford goes back to Paisley and pronto.

Then Rebus's daughter is the victim of an all too professional hit-and-run and Rebus knows that there is now nothing he won't do to bring down prime suspect Tommy Telford - even if it means cutting a deal with the devil.

The twelfth Inspector Rebus bestseller - a powerfully gripping novel where past and present collide...
From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

'This is, quite simply, crime writing of the highest order' DAILY EXPRESS

'The unopposed champion of the British police procedural' GUARDIAN

A student has gone missing in Edinburgh. She's not just any student, though, but the daughter of well-to-do and influential bankers. There's almost nothing to go on until DI John Rebus gets an unmistakable gut feeling that there's more to this than just another runaway spaced out on unaccustomed freedom.

Two leads emerge: a carved wooden doll in a toy coffin, found in the student's home village, and an internet role-playing game. The ancient and the modern, brought together by uncomfortable circumstance...

The fourteenth Inspector Rebus novel - and No.1 bestseller.

Two seventeen-year-olds are killed by an ex-Army loner who has gone off the rails. The mystery takes Rebus into the heart of a shattered community. Ex-Army himself, Rebus becomes fascinated by the killer, and finds he is not alone. Army investigators are on the scene, and won't be shaken off. The killer had friends and enemies to spare and left behind a legacy of secrets and lies.

Rebus has more than his share of personal problems, too. He's fresh out of hospital, but won't say how it happened. Could there be a connection with a house-fire and the unfortunate death of a petty criminal who had been harassing Rebus's colleague Siobhan Clarke?

Gregor Jack, MP, well-liked, young, married to the fiery Elizabeth - to the outside world a very public success story. But Jack's carefully nurtured career plans take a tumble after a 'mistake' during a police raid on a notorious Edinburgh brothel. Then Elizabeth disappears, a couple of bodies float into view where they shouldn't, and a lunatic speaks from his asylum...

Initially Rebus is sympathetic to the MP's dilemma - who hasn't occasionally succumbed to temptation? - but with the disappearance of Jack's wife the glamour surrounding the popular young man begins to tarnish. Someone wants to strip Jack naked and Rebus wants to know why...

The eleventh Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee Child

'Britain's best crime novelist' DAILY EXPRESS.

Edinburgh is about to become the home of the first Scottish parliament in 300 years. As political passions run high, DI John Rebus is charged with liaison, thanks to the new parliament being resident in Queensbury House, bang in the middle of his patch. But Queensbury House has its own, dark past.

Legend has it that a young man was roasted there on a spit by a madman. When the fireplace where the youth died is uncovered another more recent murder victim is found. Days later, in the gardens outside, there is another body and Rebus is under pressure to find instant answers.

As the case proceeds, the Inspector finds himself face to face with one of Edinburgh's most notorious criminals...

The seventh Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.
'Rankin continues to be unsurpassed among living British crime writers' THE TIMES

Struggling through another Edinburgh winter Rebus finds himself sucked into a web of intrigue that throws up more questions than answers.

Was the Lord Provost's daughter kidnapped or just another runaway? Why is a city councillor shredding documents that should have been waste paper years ago? And why on earth is Rebus invited to a clay pigeon shoot at the home of the Scottish Office's Permanent Secretary?

Sucked into the machine that is modern Scotland, Rebus confronts the fact that some of his enemies may be beyond justice...

Sometimes murder is the easy way out...
A brilliant Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.

'Britain's No.1 crime writer' Daily Mirror

'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee Child

A mugging gone wrong ... or murder?

A dissident Russian poet is found dead - at the same time a delegation of Russian businessmen arrives in town. For some, it is crucial that the case is closed quickly, clinically and with the minimum of attention.

But DI Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke believe this is something more than a random attack - especially after a particularly nasty second killing. Then, a brutal and premeditated assault on a local gangster puts Rebus in the frame - and he may not survive long enough to solve anything...