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A Song for the Dark Times

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A Song for the Dark Times

By: Ian Rankin
Narrated by: James Macpherson
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About this listen

From the iconic Number One bestseller Ian Rankin, comes one of the must-read books of the year: A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

'Genius ... Only great novels capture the spirit of the age. This is one of them.'
THE TIMES

* * * * *

'He's gone...'

When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it's not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days.

Rebus fears the worst - and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect.

He wasn't the best father - the job always came first - but now his daughter needs him more than ever. But is he going as a father or a detective?

As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast - and a small town with big secrets - he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn't want to find...

PRAISE FOR A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES:

'Magnificent ... utterly unputdownable and an immersive pleasure' MARIAN KEYES

'This is Rankin at his best, Rebus at his best, storytelling that meets the moment and transcends all genres and expectations' MICHAEL CONNELLY

'An outstanding addition to one of the finest bodies of work in crime fiction' MICK HERRON

'Rankin remains the king of the castle' THE TIMES

'Typically compelling' DAILY TELEGRAPH

'Masterly storytelling' SUNDAY EXPRESS

'Excellent' LIZ NUGENT

'The best that the crime genre can offer' FT

'Rankin grows better with time . . . Rebus grows ever more compelling' DAILY MAIL

* * * * *

PRAISE FOR THE ICONIC NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER:

'Ian Rankin is a genius'
LEE CHILD

'A master storyteller'
GUARDIAN

'Rebus is one of British crime writing's greatest characters: alongside Holmes, Poirot and Morse'
DAILY MAIL

'Great fiction, full stop'
THE TIMES

'One of Britain's leading novelists in any genre'
NEW STATESMAN

'Rankin is a phenomenon'
SPECTATOR

'Worthy of Agatha Christie at her best'
SCOTSMAN

'The king of crime fiction'
SUNDAY EXPRESS

****

Ian Rankin's SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 5th October 2020©2020 Ian Rankin (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group
Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Private Investigators Thriller Suspense

What listeners say about A Song for the Dark Times

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listenable

Found it an ok story not the best book I have listened to Maybe because the last 2 were above average. Storyline and narration both fine

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Stellar entertainment!!

With sublime narration from James Macpherson this is another excellent instalment. The Rebus retirement years certainly make for an a wonderful ride! Bravo Mr Rankin.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another Rebus Masterpiece

Two intertwined stories bring Rebus, Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox back into our lives, not to mentiom Big Ger and Christine Essen. Rebus is in better health than during his last two or three outings which is wonderful. The plots are engrossing - well, of course they are, and the team of Rankin and Macpherson bring the various characters to life admirably.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Rebus, he always gets his man.

I loved this book. Now of course I'm waiting for the next installment. Thanks in advance Mr. Rankin.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good tale

I loved the reading but thought the two strands were too divergent. I’ve enjoyed other Rebus stories more but this was the first I’ve listened to rather than read.

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The valedictory that Exit Music was not!!

A masterpiece indeed and seems to be the valedictory to Rebus that Exit Music did not turn out to be.
Set on a broad canvas from Edinburgh to the North Sutherland flow country around Tongue and involving all the main characters from the series, Rebus and Siobhan of course, Cafferty, and Malcolm Fox.
Double plot a little reminiscent in fact of Exit Music, with a domestic element (Rebus' daughter) and foreign money again but this time with a very long reach of the past through a WW2 internment camp.
A sense of closure for the characters (is this really the last Rebus?) except perhaps for Siobhan so maybe in her lies the continuity? Sad if this is the last Rebus but I actually think it is probably time.
Regardless, Ian Rankin continues to excel and I look forward to wherever the muse next takes him!

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3 people found this helpful

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Great new listen from my favourite crime writer

Characters have developed well and progressed as people normally would have in life. interesting twist to see Rebus in a difficult role with his work and family life intersecting.

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Great story great narrated

So good the story the characters and James McPhersons narration i enjoy so well done





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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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He will never let it lie

Sammys in strife. Rebus can’t let anything go. Nice to see Big Ger Siobhan and Fox all blended in well.

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  • Overall
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Perfect as ever

Combination of Rankin’s pros and MacPherson’s narration up to the usual standard of creating incredible characters and placing the in well created places and situations
Please don’t let Rebus die for many more books to come

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