Revisiting Rankin
'Saints of the Shadow Bible' proves why Scottish writer sets the gold standard

Scotsman Ian Rankin is on his game with Little, Brown and Co.’s 2014 release of his “Saints of the Shadow Bible.” There are few crime fiction writers minting this kind of currency, and Rankin has been doing spectacular work in 27 of his tartan noir novels, dating back to 1987 with “Knots & Crosses,” and has since sold more than 35 million copies. In 2022, Rankin received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth for his literary achievements and charity donations.

We’re going back 12 years to capture Rankin’s archetypal police procedural – emulated in flimsier cloth by dozens of aspirants – in preparation for his newest work, “The Heights,” which will be published this coming November by Grand Central Publishing. And we’re seeing an archetype because crime fiction has, in the past number of years, been adopted by literary gentry and aspirants alike for what’s seen as simple step-and-repeat formatting. But these offerings having fallen far below the standards of literary fiction and “Murder Ink” merit.  

In “Saints of the Shadow Bible,” Rankin’s Scottish detective John Rebus, now in forced retirement after an indecorous career as Edinburgh’s legendary homicide detective, has insinuated himself back on the force at a lower rank. Nevertheless, he is yet again defying authority and influencing investigations with his patented insight, which is at loggerheads with modern “best practices.” 

Rebus has matured into an even more engaging character in retirement, first with 2013’s “Standing in Another Man’s Grave” and then with “Saints of the Shadow Bible.” I don’t know where Rankin found this guy, but Rebus is hands down the most fascinating protagonist in the genre. He’s at once brilliant, modest, seductive and bewitching – the personification of “street cred.” You can’t help but love him.  

Rankin is a consummate teller of tall tales, in league with the likes of Henning Mankell, Håkan Nesser, Peter Lovesey, P.D. James, Adrian McKinty, Carolyn Hart and Stieg Larsson – the masters of language and suspense – and Rebus himself is worthy of a biography. It comes without wonder that Rankin has won an Edgar Award, a Gold Dagger, a Chandler-Fulbright Award and the rarified Diamond Dagger for Career Excellence. 

In “Saints,” Rebus finds himself as a fulcrum in a newly reopened homicide case of 30 years ago, botched by an impudent band of Edinburgh policemen calling themselves “The Saints of the Shadow Bible.” Rebus was at the time an initiate in this cabal of veteran detectives, and Malcolm Fox of Internal Affairs is now out to prove that these imperious cops falsified evidence so they could keep the killer of a local thug on the streets and informing.

The murder was committed in the 1980s, before DNA testing, with scant forensics and a police force self-enabled to keep the peace and effect justice as they saw fit. The Saints were ordained with each of five detectives spitting on the book of criminal justice statutes and swearing allegiance to each other no matter the thimblerigging. Their mantra was “My town, my rules.” Most of their humbuggery was in the public good, all of it was effective, and a good deal was from the Shadow Bible and unspeakable. 

With Rebus’ sinecure keeping him around the department, Fox gnaws away at him for leads into the nefarious doings of the Saints. Rebus is a good cop, and while he characteristically refuses to cooperate with authority, especially the parasitic Internal Affairs, he’s wily enough to cozy up to Fox and assist in bringing the two sides together. Coloring outside the lines is OK with Rebus; murder isn’t. And since he can’t prove to Fox that it wasn’t he who set the scam, he uses his cunning to manipulate the Saints to extremes.

“Saints of the Shadow Bible” was released Jan. 14, 2014. Since then, Rankin must have never set foot outside his house or slept more than catnaps. Writing anything, especially fiction, is all-consuming, and Rankin has written 38 novels, five volumes of short stories, a number of stage plays, graphic novels, an opera, essays, numerous articles of literary criticism – an inhuman production. I guess he does leave his desk; he sings in a six-piece band called “Best Picture,” and is quoted saying “I am, of course, a frustrated rock star – I’d much rather be a rock star than a writer. Or own a record shop.”

Find “Saints of the Shadow Bible” at the public library, or ask Maria’s Bookshop to order it if they don’t stock it, and see if they’ll generously give you their customary 15% “Murder Ink” discount with a special order. And tune up on Rankin in anticipation of his November release of “The Heights.”

No one doesn’t not like an Ian Rankin book.