MIDNIGHT AND BLUE is definitely a winner for long-term Rebus fans. I started reading it as soon as I downloaded it and didn’t stop until the end. 5+ stars.

<b>Short Summary</b>

For six months, Rebus has been locked up in HMP Edinburgh as a consequence of his role in the death of Big Ger Cafferty. Because Rebus was ex-police, initially he was kept in the isolated ‘Separation and Reintegration Unit’. Then, he was transferred to the general population in Trinity Hall because Darryl Christie, the prisoner who ‘ran’ that hall, said he’d protect him: <i>He’d wanted to thank Rebus for getting rid of Morris Gerald Cafferty.</i>

Rebus had agreed to the transfer because: <i>If he’d wanted a quiet life he’d have refused the move to the general prison population, but the quiet life wasn’t really his thing, never had been.</i>

So for three months, Rebus has been mingling with the general prison population, getting to know them, and Christie has kept his word to provide him with protection. Then, one of the prisoners, Jackie Simpson, a minor thief, is murdered in his cell. The rumour was that one of the guards either did it, or had unlocked cell doors so another prisoner could carry out the actual killing. The police investigation was going nowhere, so the warden asks Rebus to look into it from the inside.

Siobhan Clarke has been visiting Rebus regularly, but now she has her own case to solve. A 14-year-old schoolgirl has disappeared. During her search for the missing girl, Siobhan comes across another murder, one that appeared to occur about the time the girl went missing. Did the girl run because she killed him, or has she been kidnapped by the killer?

Plus Malcolm Fox, from the Organized Crime Unit, is puttering around the periphery. He has an interest in the Jackie Simpson murder because Simpson was one of his snitches, although he doesn’t share this with the police investigating team. He also is looking into attacks on Christie’s outside team members, and comes across information relevant to Siobhan’s investigation into the missing girl that he doesn’t share with her.

<b>My Perspective</b>

1) I especially liked the scenes in the prison—the hierarchy that naturally formed among prisoners; the illegal drugs that always seemed readily available—‘benzos’ that kept the prisoners high and relatively docile; the relationship between the prisoners and guards:

<i>The place was short-staffed—all prisons were—and it was near-capacity. Other jails were even more crowded, but life here was made easier for all concerned if someone like Christie exerted a level of control.</i>

2) Siobhan has returned to her old station—St. Leonard’s—where she first started working with John Rebus many years ago, but now she is feeling her age. <i>it often struck her that she was nearer to retirement than to the day she’d joined the force. Much nearer, truth be told.</i>

My first Ian Rankin book was “Mortal Causes”; I still remember picking the paperback up at the St. John’s Costco, reading the summary, and as it didn’t cost much, deciding to buy it. In “Mortal Causes”, a young Siobhan acted as a soundboard for Rebus’s musings. Now Rebus is acting as a soundboard for Siobhan’s ruminations.

3) There are lots of things going on at the same time, and the story gets complicated, but the killers, when finally identified, are a surprise. Even I, who can generally narrow down the culprits in a mystery novel, was surprised when each one was exposed. So kudos to Ian Rankin for providing mystery thriller readers with unexpected solutions.

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My reviews for two previous books in the series:
<a href = https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3575124907 > A Song For Dark Times (Rebus #23) <a>
<a href = https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4686175351 > A Heart Full of Headstones (Rebus #24) <a>
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Thanks to Mulholland Books for providing an electronic copy of this book via Netgalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.