8 /10 1 Votes
Country Scotland Publication date 2000 ISBN 0-7528-2129-6 Followed by The Falls | 4/5 Goodreads Language English Pages 415 pp Originally published 2000 Preceded by Dead Souls Publisher Orion Publishing Group | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Genres Novel, Mystery, Suspense, Detective fiction, Crime Fiction Similar Ian Rankin books, Inspector Rebus books, Novels | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Set in Darkness is a 2000 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the eleventh of the Inspector Rebus novels. It won the 2005 Grand Prix du Roman Policier (France) under the title Du fond des ténèbres. The title comes from the poem "The Old Astronomer" by Sarah Williams. In an interview, Rankin linked the quote to the rise of a restored Scottish Parliament and the redemption of the Inspector in the novel.
Plot summary
The Scottish Parliament is about to reopen in Edinburgh (in 1999) after 300 years. Detective Inspector John Rebus is in charge of liaison, as the new parliament is in his patch. While on a tour of Queensberry House, which is to be incorporated into the new Parliament, a fireplace where legend has it a youth was burned to death is opened up and another, more recent murder victim is found. Then, a prospective MSP called Roddy Grieve is found murdered, and Rebus is expected to find instant answers.