A Heart Full of Headstones: Pre-Order The Brand New Must-Read John Rebus Thriller Now

Product Information

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive' Not in the book but words penned by Scottish historian Sir Walter Scott in 1808. It is the mark of a great writer, and another Scot, Ian Rankin, two centuries later, weaving the pandemic into the story and its characters.

In secondary school, a teacher mentioned that the deduction techniques detailed in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work had been so well crafted that they influenced the policing of the day. That fiction could change the world was a powerful idea, and one I wanted to be part of.I was delighted to hear Cassie speak for herself as the narrator of The Likeness, which takes place after the dramatic events of In the Woods. In this suspenseful thriller, she goes undercover to pose as a murder victim who looked exactly like her. This is the 24th Rebus novel by Ian Rankin and, like previous books in the series, it is well-written, well-plotted and smart with plenty of twists and turns. And, of course, like his previous books, there’s plenty of references to music including the title. The Rebus series has been one of my favourites over the years and A Heart Full of Headstones definitely doesn’t disappoint.

A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons. I love the way Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot combines brilliant intellectual deduction and a deep understanding of the dark side of human nature with a strong desire to make life as jolly as possible. He appreciates the finer things: his sirops, his wonderful moustaches, well-tailored clothes, beautiful things and places. I can also strongly relate to his obsessively tidy streak and his desire to matchmake in the romantic arena. He is excellent at persuading people that the person they’re madly in love with is a moral vacuum, and to consider the much nicer and more reliable alternative romantic prospect instead. Last but not least, I love his showmanship: gathering all the suspects together and delivering an amazing performance as he shares the solution to the mystery. I won’t be presumptuous and refer to the esteemed author as Sir Ian, but because he is British, and part of the more decent, civilized northern sector of that isle I will congratulate him on his noble hood. The retired detective will make his next appearance on October 13 under the deal, allegedly worth seven figures, with publisher Orion.

In the 24th installment of Ian Rankin's John Rebus series, Rankin again delivers a reliably good novel in the series. There is subtly in the title and in some scenes where Rebus is listening to music. The reader might find it interesting to research the singer Jamie Leven the Scottish singer and his relationship with Rankin and Rankin’s use of Leven’s lyrics. William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw books changed the face of crime fiction. When he died in 2015, he left half a handwritten manuscript of Laidlaw’s first case. Ian Rankin has finished what McIlvanney started. Here, in The Dark Remains, these two iconic authors bring to life the criminal world of 1970s Glasgow, and Laidlaw’s relentless quest for truth.

The title and plot of the next Rebus thriller however are being kept top secret for now, with people urged to "keep an eye out" over the next coming months. Conflicted, driven and an alcoholic … Matt Scudder played by Liam Neeson in A Walk Among the Tombstones. Photograph: Momentum Pictures/Sportsphoto/Allstar Ian Rankin I’m a bit long in the tooth to play Humphey Bogart.’ Rebus got to his feet and retraced his steps to the window. He heard the whirr of the wheelchair’s motor as Cafferty followed him.”

As a self-taught detective, Freddy makes some ludicrous missteps, but it’s part of his charm that he can laugh at himself. In the book’s climactic scene, a trial in the barn with the rooster as judge, Freddy gets the cat off a murder rap with some impressive deductions, and crucial evidence that the mice help gather. Through the novel, Rankin brings in previously introduced characters and continues to prove he is not afraid to "age" his characters.

A couple of my recent fiction reads have included the effect of COVID at the time. Rebus has a lanyard that excuses him from wearing a mask. I wonder how long it will be before a writer centres a crime around the conditions that COVID created? Rankin has used a common literary device where he starts the story near what is probably the end of the story. In the opening paragraphs John Rebus is in court on trial for an unknown offence. It whets the appetite of the reader to continue to read to discover why this antihero has finally being prosecuted. We know he bends the rules but, this time has he broken the rules? I am not sure if this hook is necessary in a Rebus’ novel. Walter R Brooks, who created Mister Ed, the talking horse, wrote 26 books about Freddy and the other animals on the Bean family farm. Humans own the farm, but the animals help with both farmwork and housework. Imagine fluffy bunnies as dustcloths. William McIlvanney is widely credited as the founder of the Tartan Noir movement that includes authors such as Denise Mina, Ian Banks, and Val McDermid, all of whom cite him as an influence and inspiration. McIlvanney’s Laidlaw trilogy “changed the face of Scottish fiction” ( The Times of London), his Docherty won the Whitbread Award for Fiction, and his Laidlaw and The Papers of Tony Veitch both gained Silver Daggers from the Crime Writers’ Association. Strange Loyalties won the Glasgow Herald’s People’s Prize. William passed away in December 2015.This was one that I couldn’t stop reading. As soon as my eyes were rested, I’d start another chapter. Yet it wasn’t a fast thriller. With its large cast of characters, I probably would have been lost except that I had been reading the Rebus novels for more than two decades, so many of the recurring players and their past interactions were well fixed in my memory.