Past misdeeds, present terrors

The return of an iconic detective leads the latest crime offerings.

- CRAIG SISTERSON

A HEART FULL OF HEADSTONES, by Ian Rankin (Orion, $37.99) Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to literature and charity and scooping a British Book Award for his "act of ventriloquism" in crafting a superb prequel to Tartan Noir godfather William Mcllvanney's ground-breaking Laidlaw trilogy, it's been a good year for lan Rankin.

Now, 35 years after he first introduced "born anarchist" John Rebus, the Edinburgh author delivers a new tale starring one of the most iconic sleuths of modern crime fiction.

Not that Rankin goes easy in this novel on his old pal, who's now retired from the police, suffering from the smoker's malady of COPD and, worst of all, finds himself in court not as a witness but the accused. Could Rebus' pockmarked history of putting justice above procedure see him spend his remaining days withering behind bars?