‘John Rebus had been in court plenty of times, but this was his first time in the dock.’
The novel opens with John Rebus seated in the dock of an Edinburgh court. Covid-19 protocols have the jury in an hotel, watching via video link. While the charges are read, Rebus himself, now in poor health, thinks about the events that have led him to court.
The Covid-19 lockdown has led to an increase in cases of domestic violence. One of the alleged offenders is a police officer serving at the Tynecastle Police Station. His defence? He claims to be suffering from PTSD because of the toxic culture at Tynecastle. He will do anything to avoid being charged: including blowing the whistle on his colleagues. Decades of misconduct at Tynecastle involving a group of corrupt police has the police internal investigations unit based at Gartcosh interested. Rebus has never served there, but he knows some who have. And he has an indirect connection through ‘Big Ger’ Cafferty, still a powerful crime figure even though he is confined to a wheelchair after an assassination attempt.
Big Ger calls Rebus: he wants a favour. While Rebus doesn’t believe Big Ger’s motivation, he has his own reasons for looking into the matter raised. In the meantime, DI Siobhan Clarke is first on scene at a murder in an apartment block. The murder becomes part of an investigation by the Major Incident Team. The corrupt police at Tynecastle are pursuing their own interests, and Rebus looks like being caught in the crossfire.
There’s plenty of action in this novel, with a twist at the end. What has Rebus been charged with, and is he guilty? Now I want to know what will happen next.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Tasmanian Bibliophile @Large 