Rather Be the Devil
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Rebus investigates a cold case that just turned red hot.
As he settles into an uneasy retirement, Rebus has given up his favorite vices. There's just one habit he can't shake: he can't let go of an unsolved case. It's the only pastime he has left and up until now, it's the only one that wasn't threatening to kill him. But when Rebus starts reexamining the facts behind the long-ago murder of a glamorous woman at a luxurious hotel - on the same night a famous rock star and his entourage where also staying there - the past comes roaring back to life with a vengeance.
And as soon as Rebus starts asking questions about the long forgotten crime, a fresh body materializes. His inquiries reunite him with his old pals-Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox-as they attempt to uncover the financial chicanery behind the savage beating of an upstart gangster, a crime that suggests the notorious old school crime boss Big Ger Cafferty has taken to retirement as poorly as Rebus himself.
As he connects the mysteries of the past to the those of the present, Rebus learns - the hard way - that he's not the only one with an insatiable curiosity about what happened in that hotel room forty years ago, and that someone will stop at nothing to ensure that the crime remains ancient history.
A twisted tale of power, corruption, and bitter rivalries in the dark heart of Edinburgh, Rather Be the Devil showcases Rankin and Rebus at their unstoppable best.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A 1978 cold case brings John Rebus out of semiretirement in Edgar-finalist Rankin's complex 23rd novel featuring the Edinburgh copper (after 2015's Even Dogs in the Wild). Crabby from giving up cigarettes and more afraid than he would like to admit about impending medical results, Rebus reexamines the unsolved murder of Maria Turquand, the wife of a wealthy banker with a penchant for sleeping around, at Edinburgh's classy Caledonian hotel. Meanwhile, Det. Insp. Siobahn Clarke has her hands full with the beating of gangster Darryl Christie, who swears his injuries came at the behest of one of the city's biggest crime bosses, Big Ger Cafferty, who just happens to be Rebus's nemesis cum confidante. Det. Insp. Malcolm Fox, on loan from Police Scotland, looks into possible money laundering schemes involving not only Christie but also the heir to the banking fortune that made the Turquands millionaires back in the '70s. With its trademark blend of sharp wit and even sharper police work, this entry is yet another example of why Rankin remains in the top echelon of Scottish crime writers.
Customer Reviews
Intricate plot,satisfying villains only had the one true hero.
I
Rebus always Satisfying
Twisty plot. Rebus, Clark & Fox together, too good!
The good detective lives on
I was so afraid that the book would not be good, but to my relief Ian Rankin did the latest book the same justice as all the other previous ones. John Rebus is as persistent and smart as ever.