The Naming of the Dead

WHEN AN INTERNATIONAL conference delegate falls to his death during a dinner at Edinburgh Castle, John Rebus is given what looks like a simple suicide to write up. But even as he keeps it out of the headlines, Rebus probes where no probing is wanted—and doesn't appreciate the side steps and power plays his questions engender. Edinburgh is a dangerous place to be this week: Rebus is also investigating the death of a recently paroled rapist, murdered in a particularly grisly fashion.

A state-of-the-world novel peopled by real characters, The Naming of the Dead is Rebus's most challenging case yet and Edgar Award winner Ian Rankin at his very best.