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Ian Rankin

A Song for the Dark Times: From the iconic #1 bestselling author of IN A HOUSE OF LIES (Inspector Rebus series, 23) Paperback – 29 April 2021

by Ian Rankin (Author)

24,153 ratings

Book 23 of 24: Inspector Rebus Novels

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

'Genius ... Only great novels capture the spirit of the age. This is one of them.'
THE TIMES

* * * * *

'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...

PRAISE FOR A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES:

'Magnificent ... utterly unputdownable and an immersive pleasure' MARIAN KEYES

'This is Rankin at his best, Rebus at his best, storytelling that meets the moment and transcends all genres and expectations' MICHAEL CONNELLY

'An outstanding addition to one of the finest bodies of work in crime fiction' MICK HERRON

'Rankin remains the king of the castle' THE TIMES

'Typically compelling' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Masterly storytelling' SUNDAY EXPRESS

'Excellent' LIZ NUGENT

'The best that the crime genre can offer' FT

'Rankin grows better with time . . . Rebus grows ever more compelling' DAILY MAIL

* * * * *

PRAISE FOR THE ICONIC NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER:

'Ian Rankin is a genius'
LEE CHILD

'A master storyteller'
GUARDIAN

'Rebus is one of British crime writing's greatest characters: alongside Holmes, Poirot and Morse'
DAILY MAIL

'Great fiction, full stop'
THE TIMES

'One of Britain's leading novelists in any genre'
NEW STATESMAN

'Rankin is a phenomenon'
SPECTATOR

'Worthy of Agatha Christie at her best'
SCOTSMAN

'The king of crime fiction'
SUNDAY EXPRESS

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Orion
Publication date

29 April 2021
Dimensions

12.8 x 3 x 19.6 cm
ISBN-10

1409176991
ISBN-13

978-1409176992
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From the Publisher

From Ian Rankin, writer of Channel 4's Murder Island and creator of Inspector Rebus

Product description

Review

For more than three decades Ian Rankin has been out in front of the pack, delivering the best books out there, raising the bar each and every time. A Song For The Dark Times proves it. This is Rankin at his best, Rebus at his best, storytelling that meets the moment and transcends all genres and expectations. -- MICHAEL CONNELLY

Magnificent ... utterly unputdownable and an immersive pleasure. I loved it. -- MARIAN KEYES

An outstanding addition to one of the finest bodies of work in crime fiction. -- MICK HERRON

Only great novels capture the spirit of the age. This is one of them. ― THE TIMES

There is a sense of warmth and freedom in this novel, as though Rebus's retirement has liberated his creator as much as himself. ― LITERARY REVIEW

Rankin's affection for his character remains undimmed, even as he writes with candour about [Rebus's] failure as a father. ― THE SUNDAY TIMES

...masterly storytelling ― SUNDAY EXPRESS

Another class act from a storyteller who makes it seem effortless. ― SUNDAY MIRROR

...a gripping, complex mystery ― MAIL ON SUNDAY

[A Song for the Dark Times] is vintage Rankin - which is to say, the best that the crime genre can currently offer. ― FINANCIAL TIMES

No matter how dark the times, the arrival of a Rankin novel remains one of life's pleasures. -- Matt Nixson ― DAILY EXPRESS

Book Description

One of the must-read books of the year - from the iconic Number One bestseller, the one and only Ian Rankin.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orion; 1st edition (29 April 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1409176991
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1409176992
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 3 x 19.6 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 4,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 31 in Drama (Books)
- 41 in Fatherhood (Books)
- 91 in Death & Bereavement

Customer reviews:
24,153 ratings

About the author

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Ian Rankin

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Ian James Rankin, OBE, DL, FRSE (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. Photo byTimDuncan (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

5 star		59%
4 star		28%
3 star		9%
2 star		2%
1 star		2%

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Paris

Great, as I knew it would be.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 October 2020

Verified Purchase

Like other reviewers, I’ve hugely enjoyed being back in Rebus land; he doesn’t let me down. I like Rankin’s commitment to real time and the development this brings to the main character, as well as those around him. A good dual plot-line, allowing Rebus to detect but not stretch credulity too much by having him somehow rejoin the polis. Have a soft spot for Brillo, too; is Rebus going soft in his old age? Somehow I doubt it.
Ian Rankin is always a pleasure to read and this is no different, some going when into the 20+ Rebus; Interestingly, Rebus is apparently a Lee Child fan: Rankin’s Rebus is still far more alive and fresh than Jack Reacher. Give me Scotland over the USA anytime.

63 people found this helpful

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Gary Ashton

The End for Rebus ?.....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 October 2020

Verified Purchase

.....there’s no doubt that Rebus is now a ‘creaking gate’......he’s even had to move to a ground floor flat because he can’t cope with stairs and he reaches even more for the inhaler......but that old detective intuition will never leave him and he still strives as best he can to get the job done......this latest book by the great Ian Rankin is his best Rebus outing for a while, a real page turner......a couple of stories loosely intertwined provide a fantastic read.....it’s great to have Rebus,Siobhan,Fox and Cafferty back......!

46 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top notch thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 October 2020

Verified Purchase

This being my first Rebus but hopefully not my last I wasn't sure what to expect. The blurb pulled me in though and the fantastic cover invited me to read it. I was pleasantly gripped from the first page and found the plot and characterisation complex, emotive, and fantastically layered. I thoroughly enjoyed the past crime interwoven with and linked to the present. I've written a few novels myself that do this and there is a knack to make it work which Ian obviously has. I also liked the way Rebus' investigation into his daughter's missing partner coexisted alongside the murder of Salmon Bin Mahmood. Both detective and ex-detective worked well separately and jointly, even from afar. And this gave a nice originality to a brilliant story. I'm thinking perhaps the commune will feature in future works? There's a cult story there I'm sure. There is a reason Rankin is a top selling author and now I know first-hand why. He is a writing genius.

28 people found this helpful

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Shopper

Rebus adrift

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 October 2020

Verified Purchase

Rebus cut adrift by age, retirement, health and, the setting of the North Coast of Scotland. What remains pressed hard and bold into the page is the essence of who we know him to be; a character that once got the scent will drive forward single mindedly until the crime is solved. We once again travel that road with him. Daughter, Big Ger, Siobhan, Malcom, Christine etc all get a mention as does his dog Brillo and his trusty rusty Saab. Gone, in this book, is his record/music collection; no going back to sit in his chair by the window to ruminate nor as companionship in his car. New characters come in but remain on his periphery - life goes on around him. There is no doubt that my percetpion will have been coloured by reading it during these unprecidented times of Covid 19 However, from the title, the setting, to the story itself, for me, it is a book that fits such times. I really apprectiate a new good book to read when spending so much more time at home (as well as getting joy from rereading the old). Thankyou Ian Rankin

26 people found this helpful

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Domino

Proof that retirement is not the end...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2020

Verified Purchase

Ian Rankin made the decision many years ago that his central character, John Rebus, would age in real time meaning that he was forced to leave the police force several novels ago, yet the subsequent books have been no less thrilling or entertaining. A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES is no exception.

Rebus heads north having received a call from his daughter, Samantha, whose partner, Keith, has gone missing. Back in Edinburgh, Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox investigate the murder of a James Bond-worshipping Saudi playboy student. The narrative alternates between the two plots connected by the relationship between Rebus and Clarke as they stay in touch by phone. And, when Siobhan's investigation turns up someone from near to the village in which Rebus's daughter lives, the cases become more intertwined.

As always though, it is the characters who drive the story. We enjoy spending time with the cantankerous John Rebus, and we worry about the COPD which has caused him to leave his flat, due to the struggle with stairs. He is getting old and Siobhan worries about him, even as she is exasperated by both Rebus and Fox. I really hope there are many more Rebus mysteries to come but, should the day come, and it will be a sad day, there is great potential in Clarke's and Fox's love/hate relationship.

And what happens after that last chapter? I cannot wait to find out

17 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amason customer

Over the sticks

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 October 2020

Verified Purchase

The Rebus saga continues to satisfy the followers. So be it. Aged he and his aging coterie both fictional and living trundle about their well-established business on the course well travelled. Cosy for sure, being safe in the arms of Rankin what could go wrong? Still among the leading group at Canal Turn he's as safe a punt as any front runner of possible winners. Rather more of a comfortable predictable outing than some others of his ilk on this turf and at this distance. However, several riders are approaching. The breeze begins to howl. Might be wise to place your dosh on an each-way runner of established odds but novice pedigree as there are some signs of strain on older legs.

8 people found this helpful

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Mr. Stephen Pickering

Didnt see that coming

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 October 2020

Verified Purchase

Arrived the day of publishing and I started reading straight away. Was great to be back in 'Rebusland' again. Was surprised with some of the twists, especially where one of the characters was concerned. Had a feeling about the motive for the death. However the culprit was not who I thought. Thought I also saw the beginnings of the next book in the final few pages. Would definitely be a lot of suspects for that :-)

8 people found this helpful

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