THE COMPLAINTS

Rankin adds another Edinburgh cop to his repertoire.

Malcolm Fox, five years sober and still missing the vodka, has spent almost that long as an Inspector in the Complaints and Conduct Department of Lothian and Borders Police, where his purview is to investigate cops who might be dirty. Having just wound up his enquiry into the possible malfeasance of Glen Heaton, a longtime pal of Fox’s boss, Chief Inspector McEwan, he’s asked to look into another Heaton associate, DS Jamie Breck, who might be a pedophile. Things get complicated when Breck is charged with looking into the death of Vince Faulkner, the abusive boyfriend of Fox’s sister, Jude. Fox and Breck, mutually mistrustful but each needing a friend once it becomes apparent that both are being set up to take a fall, join forces to learn how and why they’ve become personae non gratae. Their investigation leads them to an old murder in Dundee and back to Edinburgh and the staged disappearance of formerly rich developer Charlie Brogan, who was disrespected by his father-in-law, in hock for millions to a sleazy creditor, and lied about by his posh wife. Hidden agendas abound, not only among career criminals but among various coppers, including the Chief Inspector and the Chief Constable.

Will readers miss Rankin’s long-running protagonist, John Rebus (Exit Music, 2008, etc.)? Don’t see why they should. Bonus: Rankin’s plotting and prose are as compelling as ever.