A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES is the 23rd police procedural in Ian Rankin’s acclaimed series featuring Inspector John Rebus. The novel opens with Rebus being awakened at 5am by a frantic call from his daughter, Samantha. Her husband, Keith, has been missing for two days, and she is more than a little worried. Rebus knows that he must leave immediately to be with his daughter and granddaughter in the windswept (fictional) town of Naver.

Rebus has just relocated from a tenement apartment to a ground floor flat because of his COPD. His longtime partner, Siobhan Clarke, has been roped in to help him move. His long-owned car starts to break down, leaving readers to wonder if this might be a piece of foreshadowing. Also, he has left the care of his dog, Brillo, in Siobhan’s very capable hands.

"As the narrative unfolds and the tension mounts, readers may begin to speculate as to where the clues and red herrings will lead. The two cases converge in ways that only a writer as talented as Ian Rankin can plot."

Rebus admits that he could have been a better father --- “the job always came first” --- but now that he is retired and has a clearer perspective on life and family, he has to decide if he will answer his daughter’s call for help as a father or slip back into the role of detective. Whichever one emerges, Rebus is very anxious about the sad fact that Samantha will be the prime suspect. He also is attempting to solve a number of cold cases since he has so much time on his hands.

The first bit of information regarding Keith’s disappearance is his obsession with a local commune and “the ruins of a camp built during WWII that held captured German soldiers. An entitled landowner he runs across complicates his quest.” Rebus learns that the couple had a knock-down drag-out fight the evening he vanished, putting Samantha in the headlights of the investigation. To make matters even worse, she had a fling with the guru who runs the commune.

There also is a subplot featuring Siobhan and Malcolm Fox as they investigate the murder of Salman Bin Mahmoud, a young, rich 23-year-old Saudi. But Mahmoud is not the only student attacked in Edinburgh, leaving the duo with a growing list of victims.

As the narrative unfolds and the tension mounts, readers may begin to speculate as to where the clues and red herrings will lead. The two cases converge in ways that only a writer as talented as Ian Rankin can plot. He weaves a tale that is interesting, suspenseful and timely, and contains references to Brexit, land ownership and xenophobia.

A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES is a compelling read that will leave you eagerly anticipating the next book in this winning series.