MIDNIGHT AND BLUE By IAN RANKIN

Ian Rankin’s John Rebus series ranks alongside Michael Connelly’s Bosch books, as the most significant crime series of the past thirty years or more. Each of the books are masterpieces of crime writing that not only showcase the requisite tricks of the trade, but also offer an impressive depth of characterisation, and astute reflections on modern life.

Rankin’s latest book, Midnight And Blue (Orion, 8 October 2024), opens with his troubled detective in jail alongside many of the crooks he helped to put there. His life has become a drudge, only enlivened by the constant threats to his well being. For the moment his safety is partially ensured by prison heavyweight Darryl Christie, who is still controlling his criminal empire from inside. Things change, however, when a murder occurs at midnight in a locked cell just down from Rebus. Suddenly he has a purpose, but it is hard to find a killer in a place that is full of them.

While Rebus makes a nuisance of himself asking questions, his former colleagues, Siobhan Clarke Christine Esson, are busy looking into the murder of the prisoner and the disappearance of a young teenage girl. Both cases lead to more mayhem and mystery, while in the background Malcolm Fox, now working in Organised Crime, is trying to further his career by trying to undermine Christie’s criminal power.

As usual, this is a well-crafted and always interesting novel by Rankin, which seizes attention from the opening pages and holds it until the unexpected conclusions. The multi-strand plot works really well, and allows Rankin to keep the interest at a high level as he moves back and forth between the storylines. It also stops the plot from becoming bogged down and limited, by just focusing on Rebus’ jail investigation. The book moves along at a good pace with plenty of dips and turns and couple of decent surprises. One of the twists becomes easy to pick, but another two are well hidden and quite surprising.

There are all the usual, high quality, Rankin hallmarks here: clever plotting, sharp social commentary, vivid pictures of Edinburgh, gritty characters, a wry sense of humour and the occasional musical reference:

“‘Stuck in the middle, John,’ he muttered to himself, ‘just like Gerry Rafferty always said …'”

Significantly, it also a musical reference that leads to one of the book’s mysteries being unraveled.

Underlying the wit, however, is a strong sense of melancholy that permeates the whole novel. In part, this is due to the corruption and endless cycle of family crime and imprisonment which features so heavily in the book, but it is also heightened by Rebus’ age (he is nearly seventy in the book) and his declining capability. Rebus is getting old and he feels his age knowing that he can no longer physically cope with the threats against him. There is also a sense of lost opportunities and losing relevance.

Rebus features heavily in the book, but Rankin also continues to nicely develop the supporting cast of Siobhan Clarke and Christine Esson in an engaging manner. Both are interesting characters, not perfect by any means, and Siobhan is really growing into a character of real substance, who seems more than capable of carrying a book on her own. Rankin also continues to develop the unappealing Malcolm Fox in an intriguing manner.

At the core of Midnight And Blue is a clever plot that engages and holds our attention. The various strands come together in an interesting way that does not strain credibility, and Rankin delivers some good surprises. Not all of the loose ends are tied up neatly, but we can always look forward to a new novel by Rankin to wrap them up. One of the year’s best books!

Midnight And Blue is released in Australia on 8 October 2024 and in the United Kingdom on 10 October and the United States on 15 October 2024.