Brilliant ... Rankin controls the release of vital information with great skill. In a House of Lies is a highly complex procedural that grips from the first sentence. The large cast includes gangster Big Ger Cafferty and — hurrah! — Brillo, his devoted rescue dog. No one in Britain writes better crime novels today.
Very early on Ian Rankin made the wise decision to have his character Detective Inspector John Rebus age with the series, fictional time and real-life time marching in step. This has contributed to making him the credible figure he has become. It has also helped to make the series social novels as well as crime novels ... As ever, Rankin contrives to marry intricate plotting to a narrative that never slackens its pace. He has become a consummate craftsman, his novels put together like pieces of fine furniture. They make for easy reading, but easy reading in this kind of novel is almost always made possible by hard writing. All fiction demands a willingness on the part of the reader to accept conventions and suspend disbelief. Reading a Rankin novel makes this surrender easy.
[Rankin} has gone on to become one of the most accomplished crime writers of his time. Each book more anticipated than the last, readers have long been enthralled with Rankin’s unique writing style and superb storytelling abilities ... A gripping story of corruption and consequences, this new novel demonstrates that Rankin and Rebus are still at the top of their game.
This latest entry shows how wise Rankin was to bring his curmudgeonly copper back from retirement after the mixed response to his books featuring Malcolm Fox of the Police Standards Bureau, excellent though they were ... How has Rankin kept the series fresh for 22 novels? Deft characterisation. Readers must keep up with a lengthy dramatis personae, but there’s nothing wrong with making us work a little.
In a House of Lies is Ian Rankin’s 22nd Rebus novel. It’s a high-quality police procedural that covers off all the classic elements of the sub-genre: a team of investigators, more than one case to be followed, and careful attention to detail ... [Cold cases are] a situation that seems to bring out the best in Rankin as a writer ... While Ian Rankin has often been described as Britain’s finest detective novelists, In a House of Lies clearly demonstrates that he remains among the very best crime fiction authors in the world.
The device of keeping Rebus around as a kind of consulting Banquo’s Ghost is an obvious sop to the sentimentality of Rankin’s long-time readers ... Rebus’ involvement in each new case is just a bit more gratingly unlikely than the last, and as wonderful as it is to see this old character under any circumstances, Rankin’s skill at every other element, the characters, the pacing, the plot twists, is so honed that hauling wheezing old Rebus on-stage every single time feels increasingly unnecessary. Heresy of heresies, but it might be time for a bloody exit, and we’ll trust Rankin to leave no rubs nor botches in the work.
Rankin once again finds a clever and believable way of getting Rebus back in the game ... Rankin expertly juggles multiple story lines while gradually giving more screen time to Clarke, who has emerged as a worthy series lead. Still, it’s the presence of Rebus, in fine fighting form, that gives this tale its pop, especially in a concluding scene in which he uses some of his old tricks to extract a confession. Sometimes the old ways are still the best.
The platonic relationship between Rebus and Clarke has long provided a solid foundation for this series ... Rankin’s decision to make Rebus accept mandatory retirement ended the character’s police career but has provided new avenues of rich storytelling.
