Black and Blue

Ian Rankin's eighth Inspector Rebus novel, Black and Blue, features some of his most memorable settings — the remote oil rigs of northeast Scotland and the tough Craigmillar neighborhood of Edinburgh — as Rebus investigates a series of murders that appear tied to an unsolved 1960s serial killer case. The plotting is quite good and it is only the implausible actions of one of the culprits (who conveniently for Rebus cares more about his pride than getting caught) that hold the novel back. Beginning with his first Inspector Rebus novel in 1987 (Knots and Crosses), Ian Rankin has produced reliably solid thrillers almost every year, but with Black and Blue everything from the strong dialogue to the layered plot structure is a half-step above his other books.