Booklist Reviews
Why has the body of a private investigator, Stuart Bloom, missing for years, finally turned up in the trunk of a car in an area that had already been searched by police? And why is Bloom handcuffed with what appear to be police-issue cuffs? None of this bodes well for the Edinburgh police, or for John Rebus, now retired from the force but who was actively involved in the original investigation of the PI's disappearance. Rankin once again finds a clever and believable way of getting Rebus back in the game. Here the still-crotchety but ever-so-slightly mellowed copper launches what amounts to his own investigation, in concert with former colleague Siobhan Clarke, into finding Bloom's murderer and seeing which of his fellow cops, including himself, may be implicated in a cover-up. Rankin expertly juggles multiple story lines while gradually giving more screen time to Clarke, who has emerged as a worthy series lead. Still, it's the presence of Rebus, in fine fighting form, that gives this tale its pop, especially in a concluding scene in which he uses some of his old tricks to extract a confession. Sometimes the old ways are still the best. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.
Library Journal Reviews
For more than a decade, the family of PI Stuart Bloom has decried the inept and ineffectual investigation of his disappearance by the local police. Now his body has been discovered in the trunk of his rusted-out car with clues that lead too close to the detectives assigned to the case. DI Siobhan Clarke, still reeling from a tussle with an Internal Affairs investigation, is assigned the case and quickly discovers that one of the original detectives is her mentor, retired DI John Rebus. Clarke tiptoes around her supervisors and connects with Rebus, giving him access to the cold case but also enlisting his assistance with a number of threats she's received. Lies abound, each character seems to have something to hide, and someone is leaking information.
Publishers Weekly Reviews
The discovery of the body of Stuart Bloom, who went missing in 2008, in his car trunk in an isolated wooded area drives Edgar finalist Rankin's intricate 24th Rebus novel (after 2017's