When respected MP Gregor Jack is caught in a police raid on an Edinburgh brothel and his flamboyant wife Elizabeth suddenly disappears,John Rebus smells a set-up.And when Elizabeth's badly beaten body is found,Rebus is suddenly up against a killer who holds all the cards.

For all the right reasons,Edinburgh Detective Inspector John Rebus calls for comparison with Colin Dexter's Oxford copper Inspector Morse.Both spend a lot of time in pubs and bemoan the onset of middle age;each is a shrewd detective with a literary bent who operates in an academic town where clashes of culture beget victims.When much-loved politician Gregor Jack is discovered in a midnight raid on a discreet brothel,a surprising number of journalists are on hand--a situation that endangers Jack's political future.Jack's wealthy wife Elizabeth,a noted partygoer whose friends are equally well-heeled and hedonistic,can't be found.Her body is soon pulled from a nearby river,a fatality mirroring the recent murder of another,unidentified,woman.A drunk who brags of the first killing gives a false address and vanishes north of the city.Meanwhile Rebus,trying to trace a cache of valuable stolen books,finds himself talking again to the late Elizabeth's coterie of party friends.Rankin creates a living,breathing world in which his weary protagonist tackles his cases while involved in the intricacies of the day-to-day: pints and hangovers,stumbling romance,wet weather,damp clothes,tricky superiors and wide-eyed subordinates.All are brought to bear,yet all are ultimately jettisoned as Rebus closes in on the satisfying solution.

1 The Milking Shed

2 Scratching the Surface

3 Treacherous Steps

4 Tips

5 Up the River

6 Highland Games

7 Duthfl

8 Spite and Malice

9 Within Range

10 Brothel Creepers

11 Old School Ties

12 EscOrt Service

13 Hot-Head