Reading Set In Darkness Ian Rankin: What You Actually Need to Know
Set In Darkness is the eighth book in Ian Rankin's Rebus series, published in 1999. It follows Detective Inspector John Rebus as he investigates the brutal murder of a young woman in Edinburgh, a case that pulls him into a conspiracy involving a far-right political movement and his own complicated past. The title comes from Thomas Hardy's The Dynasts — one of Rankin's recurring literary references throughout the series. You can find this book fairly easily across most platforms. Physical copies run through Amazon, Waterstones, and local independent bookshops in the UK and US. If you want the ebook version, it's available on Kindle, Kobo, and Apple Books. The audiobook narration by David Thorne is widely considered the definitive version — Thorne has narrated most of the Rebus novels and captures Rebus's voice better than anyone else. For those looking for a free route, there are some third-party sites that host PDFs and EPUBs, but I wouldn't recommend them. The quality of the files is inconsistent and the authors deserve to be paid for their work. That said, if budget is tight, your local library will almost certainly have a copy, either in physical or digital format through Libby or similar services.
What Actually Makes This Book Worth Your Time
Set In Darkness sits in the middle of the Rebus series chronologically, and it's where Rankin really starts to deepen the personal stakes for Rebus. The murder plot is solid — a classic police procedural framework — but the real weight comes from the backstory Rebus carries. His partner Eddie Brown is dead. His son is estranged. He's been suspended and then reinstated. This book asks whether Rebus can still do the job or if he's too damaged to be effective anymore. The political angle is what makes it stand out from the earlier Rebus novels. The far-right group The New Britain isn't just set dressing. Rankin was writing at a time when the BNP was gaining real traction in UK politics, and he uses the investigation to explore how easily extremism takes root in economically depressed areas. It's not preachy. It's grounded in the specific geography of Edinburgh — the vacant lots, the housing projects, the community halls where people feel forgotten. One thing readers often miss is how much this book recontextualizes the earlier novels. If you've only read Set In Darkness in isolation, some of Rebus's behaviors and attitudes will seem unexplained. I'd recommend reading at least Red Tape before this one, and ideally the whole sequence through to Fleshmarket Close. The character arc matters more than people usually give it credit for.
Practical Observations From Actually Reading It
Here's something I ran into that the back cover doesn't mention: the book has a genuinely difficult opening chapter. Rankin spends a lot of time in procedural detail — paperwork, internal politics, the mechanics of a murder investigation that isn't getting the resources it needs. Some readers bounce off this part. I used to tell people to push through, but honestly, if you're not into the procedural texture, it might just not be the entry point for you. Start with Knots and Crosses or even Let It Bleed if you want a smoother introduction to Rebus. Another detail that comes up a lot: the setting is very much late-1990s Edinburgh. The references to technology, politics, and social attitudes are period-specific. If you're reading this in 2024 or later, some of the cultural touchstones will feel dated. That's not a flaw in the book, but it is worth noting if you expect the Rebus novels to feel timeless. They don't. They're anchored to their moment, and that's partly why they work. The romance subplot with Siobhan Clarke is handled differently here than in later books. Their relationship is still developing, and Rankin keeps it in the background rather than letting it dominate. Some fans of the later books find this version of Siobhan frustrating because she's less developed, but that's fair criticism of the era of writing, not a problem with Set In Darkness specifically.
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Common Mistakes People Make With This Book
The biggest one is treating it as a standalone. You'll miss half the emotional resonance. Rebus's interaction with his dead partner Eddie Brown, his relationship with his boss Malcolm Fox, the whole structure of his personal life — it all builds across the series. Reading Set In Darkness without that context is like watching the third act of a play and wondering why the characters keep talking about things that happened offstage. A second mistake is expecting the same pace as the earlier Rebus novels. The first three or four books are tighter, more focused on individual mysteries. By Set In Darkness, Rankin is expanding the scope. The plot threads are broader, the character development takes priority over puzzle-solving, and the ending is deliberately ambiguous. If you're looking for a neat resolution where the bad guy gets caught and everything is tied up, this isn't that kind of book.
When It Doesn't Work
This book has limitations. The pacing drags in the middle section, particularly around the political investigation storyline. The far-right element, while important, sometimes feels like Rankin is more interested in making a point than in crafting a tight thriller. The romantic subplot is underdeveloped and doesn't quite land. And if you're not already invested in Rebus as a character, you might find his self-destructive tendencies grating rather than compelling. For readers who want a faster-paced police procedural, I'd suggest starting with Exit Music or Dead Souls instead. Those come later in the series but offer a tighter narrative engine. Set In Darkness is more character study than plot-driven mystery, and it works best when you're already attached to the people involved. If you do pick it up, read it in order. Read the audiobook if you can. And don't expect a clean ending. Rebus's story isn't meant to wrap up neatly, and neither is this book.
