In a House of Lies

By: Ian Rankin

Narrated by: James Macpherson

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

In A House of Lies...

Everyone has something to hide.

A missing private investigator is found locked in a car hidden deep in the woods. Worse still - both for his family and the police - the body was in an area that had already been searched 10 years ago.

Everyone has secrets.

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke is part of a new inquiry, combing through the mistakes of the original case. There were always suspicions over how the investigation was handled, and now - after a decade without answers - it's time for the truth.

Nobody is innocent.

Every officer involved must be questioned, and it seems everyone on the case has something to hide - and everything to lose. 

None more so than Detective John Rebus. 

©2018 Ian Rankin (P)2018 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Rebus is back, down but not out!

John is back, full swing. Although, for the first time, we have a true #FemaleProtagonist in Siobhan Clarke, she's matured into a well developed character, a great cop in her own right; there's plenty evidence that she's picked up good and bad traits from Rebus over the years, but she is a more well-rounded human being, less damaged at least, than former DI Rebus. She plays a prominent part in this story and performs well despite having to both look after Rebus and look out for him (coming) to try and avert the havoc he might create. Rebus is still the #TorturedHero in #SmallTown Edinburgh, but he's getting on and the years haven't come alone, however, he deals well enough with his fast approaching decrepitude, finding enough juice left to slay another one or two dragons.
Ian Rankin has written another fine Rebus story, I love Ian's voice and listening to this book was like getting into a favourite chair and sipping a favourite tipple. I very much hope that despite advancing years and serious illness, DI Rebus, retired, still has it in him to damage the bad guys like Big Ger and bring corrupt officials to justice. Long live Rebus. #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Changing of the Guard?

Rebus has had such an amazing run, at times I have been spellbound by these audiobooks, some were among the very first that I listened to. Obviously that's part down to the stories and part down to the excellent James Macpherson who I swear must have a teflon coating in his throat to manage doing the rasping Cafferty followed immediately by the smoother tones of other characters. I'll always have a soft spot for this series.

But time and tide wait for no man and even Rebus is finding that old age is catching up on him. Struggling with abstinence and the results of his famous addictions he is now becoming a shadow of his former self but with hints of his old fire he isn't going down easily and he's still the same cunning fox he ever was.

He does now take a back seat for large parts of the book and it's getting slightly more awkward with each passing book for Rankin to shoehorn him into the decisive moments of the story. As a result this one doesn't quite have the intensity or levels of suspense that many of the previous books have generated.

I think I'll be buying these as long as they keep coming out, I love the interactions between Rebus and Cafferty in particular as they grow old quite ungracefully but I think Rankin needs to focus on either the old Rebus or some of his newer characters if he wants to rekindle the pure excitement of the earlier books.

great story narrated really well

I am a big fan of Ian Rankin but this was the first time I'd listened to one of his books and I really enjoyed it. Great narrator too which made all the difference.

Kept me guessing. I have always loved Rebus.

Narrator was great. He managed to give all the characters different voices. Good book great ending.

My second audible book

I always enjoyed Rebus on tv. It was a bit different to hear a voice playing all the characters. In this case the presentation was very good and quite believable. The story had the usual mix of twists and turns. I just wish I’d noted the characters names while listening.
In all a very enjoyable few hours - I will be listening to more from
Mr. Rankin

Ian Rankin must surely have enjoyed writing this

Great narration as ever. So glad to have Rebus and his sly humour back. A first class romp.

Engaging story with a few twists

The narration was clear, with different voices for each character. The narration also reflected the context of the conversations of the characters.
Ian Rankin has written a believable story which engages the reader, with a few twists.

Rebus at his best!

Loved it. The pace was great and keeps you guessing until the end. Great listen.

Not the full Rebus but good all the same

The fact that Rebus is retired and is on the edge of the investigation is reflected in quality of the story. Having read the series over time seeing the central character demoted to more of a walk on part was fairly hard to get to grips with. That said viewed through a different lens of a standalone story of an ex copper who can't let go and a historic case that threatens his and others reputations and it's a good story, well plotted and written, all you expect from Rankin. The three stars for the performance is purely a personal thing. Having read rather than listened to all the previous Rebus books, the voice in the audio book wasn't anything like the Rebus in my head

Rebus should really retire!

I've read or listened to all the Rebus novels and have a soft spot for the old curmudgeon. However, he's now verging on a caricature and I think the time has come for him to leave the detective work to Siobhan Clarke who is a worthy successor for a new series. He retired 12 years ago and it's stretching credibility to keep him working on cases albeit unofficially.
I have a great respect for the author and the high standards of his books, but sadly the present book bored me. I gave up two thirds of the way and would have earlier if I'd had another book downloaded for my walk. There are too many characters to keep track of with a lot of conversations and interviews and not enough story to keep me interested.

The narrator does a terrific job creating lots of Scottish accents some of them painful to the ear!

One of his best

Rankin’s usual immaculate plotting with a lot of the old guard showing up for another dark tale of murder. Excellent listen.