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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
A beating, a historical fire death, and a murder investigation; procedural rather than graphic
Language
Some
Strong language in Rankin's characteristic register
Sexual Content
Some
Some adult content in the Edinburgh underworld setting
Substance Use
Some
Heavy drinking; the pub culture of Edinburgh is rendered in full
Emotional Intensity
Some
Institutional corruption operating in the open because no one is looking; the personal cost of Rebus's stubbornness when people he knows are hurt
What this book is about
Rebus's colleague Brian Holmes is found beaten and comatose. While trying to find who attacked him and why, Rebus uncovers a connection to a hotel fire from years earlier — a fire that killed several people and that may have been no accident. The investigation takes Rebus through Edinburgh's underworld and into a network of corruption that has been quietly operating since the fire. Ian Rankin's fifth Rebus novel is the most structurally intricate of the early books — the hotel fire mystery rewards patience — and the personal stakes for Rebus are unusually high.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
fifth of the Rebus series; works as a standalone
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