In 2017, I read and reviewed Rather Be The Devil, which was number 21 in the John Rebus series. In that one, Rebus was newly retired, trying to wean himself away from detecting…but of course, stuff happens and he steps in to investigate. In A Song For The Dark Times, #23in the Rebus series, he is still retired, suffering a bit from his COPD, still has the cute dob but still not able to fully retire. This time, it is because his daughter Samantha calls him in the dead of night, obviously not with good news. She says her husband (? partner? I was never clear on that?) Keith has been missing for two days.

Rebus knows Samantha will be the prime suspect, especially once the police learn about her infidelity and the fighting that had been going on…/small town, seems EVERYONE knows. It’s clear to both John and Sam that he wasn’t a great father, always putting the job ahead of his family, but now that Samantha has reached out to him, he rushes to her — as a father or a detective?

Lots of secrets and interesting characters in a small town, and he investigates his tail off, totally hoping it WASN’T his daughter who killed Keith. Atmospheric, twisty, fascinating, well done. Four stars. Thanks to Little, Brown and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review. And I REALLY need to read more of Ian Rankin!