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Book Summary and Reviews of A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin

A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin

A Heart Full of Headstones

Inspector Rebus Novels #24

by Ian Rankin

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Oct 2022, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. It's not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, though it might be the last.

But what drove a good man to cross the line?

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke may well find out. Clarke is tasked with the city's most explosive case in years, an infamous cop, at the center of decades of misconduct, has gone missing. Finding him will expose not only her superiors, but her mentor John Rebus. And Rebus himself may not have her own interests at heart, as the repayment of a past debt places him in the crosshairs of both crime lords and his police brethren.

One way or another, a reckoning is coming – and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders…

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Edgar winner Rankin's outstanding 24th John Rebus novel opens dramatically with the Edinburgh detective, officially retired but still working, in the dock charged with a crime that's not revealed until the very end...The well-constructed plot is matched by brooding, atmospheric prose...This is one of Rankin's best Rebus novels in years." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Two years after his checkered hero's last outing, Rankin makes you feel the wait was worth every day, whatever comes next." - Kirkus Reviews

"Rankin captures both the heroism and the pathos of that ultimately doomed quest in this cleverly constructed and deeply moving novel." - Booklist

"Rankin doesn't disappoint with book 24 in his Edinburgh-set Rebus series...For the many fans of Rebus and those who enjoy gritty Scottish noir." - Library Journal

This information about A Heart Full of Headstones was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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SAM

Scarily good
The murder inquiry team are busy. Old cases are referenced. It is the usual fast-moving multi-character whirl of a Rebus book. And the retired Rebus is quietly doing his own thing and sticking his nose in where he shouldn't. All the ingredients we expect and admire from the series. Then at the end...oh so quietly and quickly...comes the shock...so quietly that it is hard to process at first. This book will be re-read many times and a different rewarding layer be uncovered each time.

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Author Information

Ian Rankin Author Biography

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature.

After university and before his success with his Rebus novels, Ian had a number of jobs including working as a grape-picker, a swineherd, a journalist for a hi-fi magazine, and a taxman. Following his marriage in 1986, he lived briefly in London where he worked at the National Folktale Centre, followed by a short time living in France, before returning to Edinburgh.

Ian's first novel Summer Rites remains in his bottom drawer, but his second novel, The Flood, was published in 1986, while his first Rebus novel, Knots & Crosses, was published in 1987. The Rebus series is now ...

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