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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
A lot
A murder with serial killer implications; organized crime involvement; some violence
Language
Some
Some strong language
Sexual Content
Barely any
Mild content
Substance Use
Some
Rebus drinks heavily; the criminal world around him involves significant substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The specific tension of three characters with different institutional positions working the same investigation; Edinburgh's criminal underworld as a world with its own rules about who deserves to die
What this book is about
A prominent Scottish lawyer is shot dead with a note nearby that suggests the killer is sending a message. DI Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox investigate while Rebus — who knows the dead man's connections to Edinburgh's criminal underworld — works alongside them in a way that blurs the line between official and unofficial. Ian Rankin's twentieth Rebus novel brings together three of his major characters (Rebus, Clarke, Fox) for the first time, and the serial killer investigation runs alongside the criminal underworld's own response to the victim's death.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
twentieth Rebus novel; first to unite Rebus, Clarke, and Fox
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