When Rebus was on the police force, he had a reputation for skirting the edge of ethics and legality, all in the service of justice (in Rebus's mind). The story is a web of interlinked elements that are complex enough to tease the brain and yet in Rankin’s hands it’s all so well told that it seems to fit seamlessly together.

His books have been translated into thirty-six languages and have been adapted for radio, the stage and the screen. The development offers a wide range of exclusive services, and the reception area is presided over by a uniformed man combining the roles of concierge and security guard. This novel exudes a wonderfully vivid sense of place and leads the reader inside the head of its teenage hero . Characters from former books show up and if you haven't read several of the books in this series, you will be confused. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images View image in fullscreen One Hyde Park … a luxury high-rise development overlooking Hyde Park in London becomes the focus of a murder inquiry in The Rise.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

That’s hard to achieve in a shorter novel as you have to establish plot and character in double time, and keep the balance between character overload and pacing just right. Unfortunately The Rise appears to be only available on Kindle or Audible, but it is well worth hunting down.

The shorter form does not allow for the large number of complexities of a Rebus novel but Rankin's talent slips many of them in there.