RESURRECTION MEN: AN INSPECTOR REBUS NOVEL (2008)

Dirty cops stink up the joint in Rankin's new mystery, the latest installment in his Inspector Rebus series. For those new to Rebus, he's a gruff Scottish detective, an appealing misanthrope who smokes and drinks and swears too much. Here, he's sent to a reform school for unruly cops in a ruse to uncover a nasty case of internal shenanigans. His new classmates, a rough, nicotine-stained lot, may be responsible for the murder of a powerful art dealer. Rankin knows how to set a gritty mood, but this isn't his best work. Too many of the chapters end with ellipses, a dead giveaway that a writer is forcing suspense rather than feeding it.