Even Dogs In The Wild by Ian Rankin

 

Glasgow crime never stops.  The newest case is a big one.  Lord David Minton is a senior government prosecutor and has been found dead in his home, shot.  Is it a failed robbery?  Or is something else afoot?  A note is found near the body that says: I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID.

DI Siobhan Clarke has been given the case and is feeling the pressure.  Government prosecutors are to be protected not killed.  Two other detectives are feeling pressure also.  Malcolm Fox has left the Complaints Office but his fellow detectives can't get past the fact that he spent his career hunting dirty police.  He is given grunt work watching a local crime family, the Caffertys.  An outside crime family is in town and the police don't want a turf war.  John Rebus has retired and he is bored out of his skull.  When Siobhan asks for his help, he is more than happy to give it.

But things are puzzling.  Rebus gets a call from the local crime gang leader, Ger Cafferty.  Someone has taken a shot at him in his home, firing through the window.  The only policeman he trusts is Rebus although Rebus spent a large part of his career trying to put Cafferty behind bars.  The kicker is that Cafferty has gotten a note also and it has the exact same message on it that Minton's did.  What could a crime boss and a prosecutor have in common?

This is a great Ian Rankin novel.  In it he brings his three main characters, Clarke, Rebus and Fox together to solve two cases.  The interplay between the three is a joy to read and the case is sufficiently intricate to keep the reader's attention and is satisfactorily resolved.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.