Our very own Ian Rankin (http://www.ianrankin.net/) has at least 25 novels to his name and has a huge following for his Edinburgh policeman Detective Inspector John Rebus. If you’ve not taken the plunge so far into this most appealing of tartan noir (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan_Noir) crime fiction, why not start with the 9th of the Rebus books – The Hanging Garden. First published in 1998, the plot is as follows. Rebus is buried under a pile of paperwork generated by his investigations into a possible war criminal resident in Edinburgh. His immediate superiors are more than happy to have him tucked away in a quiet backwater for several months looking into ancient history. But the Crime Squad are forced to bring him back to the present day when a young upstart gangster, Tommy Telford, muscles in on Big Ger Cafferty’s turf and Rebus’s local knowledge becomes essential to the efforts to shut down Telford’s business as a drug dealer, pimp and extortionist. Before he can act the waters are muddied further when the war criminal is found hanging in Warriston Cemetery. A taste for Rankin can develop very quickly and you might find yourself addicted. You have been warned!
448 pages in Orion paperback edition
ISBN 978-0752877266
Ian Rankin