In a house of lies / Ian Rankin.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A cold case involving a missing private investigator threatens to unearth skeletons from Rebus's past in this "must-read" mystery (Tana French).

Former Detective John Rebus' retirement is disrupted once again when skeletal remains are identified as a private investigator who went missing over a decade earlier. The remains, found in a rusted car in the East Lothian woods, not far from Edinburgh, quickly turn into a cold case murder investigation. Rebus' old friend, Siobhan Clarke is assigned to the case, but neither of them could have predicted what buried secrets the investigation will uncover.

Rebus remembers the original case -- a shady land deal -- all too well. After the investigation stalled, the family of the missing man complained that there was a police cover-up. As Clarke and her team investigate the cold case murder, she soon learns a different side of her mentor, a side he would prefer to keep in the past.

A gripping story of corruption and consequences, this new novel demonstrates that Rankin and Rebus are still at the top of their game.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

The discovery of the body of Stuart Bloom, who went missing in 2008, in his car trunk in an isolated wooded area drives Edgar finalist Rankin's intricate 24th Rebus novel (after 2017's Rather Be the Devil). Bloom's ankles being secured with police handcuffs raises questions about the original, possibly corrupt police investigation into the man's disappearance. Semiretired copper John Rebus isn't afraid to step on official toes as he assists Det. Insp. Siobhan Clarke, Det. Insp. Malcolm Fox, and the other members of Police Scotland's Major Crime Division in their efforts to find Bloom's killer. Their attention focuses on low-budget film producer Jackie Ness, who shot a movie called Zombies v Bravehearts in 2008 on the land where the car was found and in which Bloom served as an extra. Meanwhile, Rebus reopens the case of 17-year-old Ellis Meilke, who was sent to prison for the stabbing murder of his girlfriend. In both cases, the path to justice involves making some hard ethical choices. Rankin remains a master of the contemporary police procedural. Author tour. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Why has the body of a private investigator, Stuart Bloom, missing for years, finally turned up in the trunk of a car in an area that had already been searched by police? And why is Bloom handcuffed with what appear to be police-issue cuffs? None of this bodes well for the Edinburgh police, or for John Rebus, now retired from the force but who was actively involved in the original investigation of the PI's disappearance. Rankin once again finds a clever and believable way of getting Rebus back in the game. Here the still-crotchety but ever-so-slightly mellowed copper launches what amounts to his own investigation, in concert with former colleague Siobhan Clarke, into finding Bloom's murderer and seeing which of his fellow cops, including himself, may be implicated in a cover-up. 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.--Bill Ott Copyright 2018 Booklist