Black and Blue is the eighth Inspector Rebus novel from Ian Rankin, and the longest so far. At 494 pages it's almost double the length of the previous ones. I see it as a sign of confidence and an author hitting his stride with a character. In the introduction, he mentions feeling like he has finished his apprenticeship and is ready to own the character. It combines the best of the series in character development, scenery, investigation, and even involves a real life crime.
The main theme recalls the true crimes of Bible John, a killer from 1979 and 1980 who was never caught. There were rumours he was still living quietly in the Edinburgh area, but the questions of who or why were never answered. Black and Blue begins with a few very similar killings, causing everyone to suspect Bible John had come out of retirement.
Bible John himself knows he hasn't and begins to track Rebus and the investigation - indeed, begin his own - into who this upstart nicknamed Johnny Bible could be. An interesting twist.
Another case involves a young man meeting some guys in a bar, getting drunk, and wandering home with them - not knowing he is stumbling into a trap where they will tie him up and torture him. He manages to break away, right out the window. Who was he and who were they?
The main of the novel is about the North Sea oil industry, smuggling drugs, and the crime bosses who control the area. This takes Rebus several times up to Shetland, and the oil platforms planted off the coast. Shetland sounds so barren, and so beautiful, I didn't realize how far north it was.
The man who went out the window worked on the oil platforms, and while investigating the oil industry, Rebus may have accidentally met the upstart killer he and Bible John are looking for - it all ties together.
This review just scratches the surface as there are subplots about the local crime boss and his team, Big Ger Cafferty is back, and Rebus' personal life and the lives of his coworkers are explored.
Told from different points of view, Black and Blue is a great Rankin novel - indeed The Times called it the best crime novel of 1997, it won the Gold Dagger for fiction, and is considered a landmark entry in the Scottish Noir genre.
Tightly plotted, multi-layered and very satisfying.
1997 / Tradeback / 494 pages
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