Over the past several decades, Ian Rankin has become not just a master of the crime/mystery genre but one of the best in the world at what he does. His long-running and immensely popular series featuring Inspector John Rebus is legendary.

When I had the pleasure of meeting Rankin about 10 years ago, he shared with me that he pictured a younger version of actor Brian Cox, now famous for his role on “Succession,” playing Rebus. With his latest novel, MIDNIGHT AND BLUE, we are treated not only to Rebus and his usual band of supporting characters, but also to Detective Malcolm Fox, who is featured in another Rankin series.

For those who have not spent time with Rebus lately, it will be slightly alarming to learn that he is in prison for allegedly murdering a key witness in a case he had been working. While he awaits word from his barrister about an appeal, he must navigate the very stealthy and deadly levels that is life in prison, where it is nearly impossible to trust anyone.

"There is not a dull moment in this hugely enjoyable novel, and the unique nature of how Rebus is used --- as an inmate rather than law enforcement --- adds another layer of complexity to the narrative."

There is a short passage at the start of the book entitled BEFORE, where we witness a burglar breaking into a nail salon and discovering something unexpected. This crime will play a big role in the events to come in the present. Rebus has a luxury cell all to himself and has managed to stay on the good side of both fellow inmates and prison personnel. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the word is out that he is under the protection of incarcerated crime lord Darryl Christie, who may be asking him to return that favor in a big way.

Christie has helped out Rebus by getting him access to burner phones that he uses to make unregistered calls to his former colleagues. This comes in quite handy when there is a brutal murder in the prison of the supposed “locked door” fashion when an inmate, Jackie Simpson, has his throat cut in his lower bunk while his cellmate on the upper bunk, Mark Jamieson, was apparently drugged and unaware of what was happening. Rumors begin to swirl about problems that Simpson had with two of the guards, and the police are called in to handle the matter.

Enter Detective Constable Christine Esson and her new partner, Jason Mulgrew, who took the job that previously had belonged to Rebus’ former colleague, Siobhan Clarke. Not only are Clarke and Esson working another case concerning a missing teen girl and an online sex ring, Esson and her team are being asked to share the prison murder with the Organized Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit and Malcolm Fox, who does not endear himself to anyone. It comes as no surprise that both the warden and those who previously worked with Rebus are leaning on him to investigate discretely on the inside to learn what the police could never discover on their own.

Rebus treads quietly, using all of his guile and interpersonal skills not only to learn what he can from the guards who have come under suspicion, but to keep things above board with the inmates with whom he has worked hard to establish a rapport.

There is not a dull moment in this hugely enjoyable novel, and the unique nature of how Rebus is used --- as an inmate rather than law enforcement --- adds another layer of complexity to the narrative. Rankin has put together a masterful plot that links everything together and leaves readers on a cliffhanger when Rebus’ barrister finally reaches out to him with news about his appeal. MIDNIGHT AND BLUE is yet another classic from this iconic author.