Four thrillers where the real villains wear good suits. A Rebus case that reaches the Scottish Parliament, a murdered Cabinet minister in 1979, a kidnapping with MI5’s secrets at stake, and a Berlin detective who answers to the Nazis. Nobody here trusts the people in charge, and nor should you.
Ian Rankin, Exit Music - Days from retirement, Rebus investigates the murder of a Russian poet and finds a banker, a Parliament insider and an oligarch in the frame. A fitting, gripping farewell.
Simon Scarrow, 'Blackout' - Berlin, 1939. A detective who refused the Party must solve a murder within a regime that distrusts him.
Peter May, 'The Man With No Face' - Brussels, 1979. Edinburgh journalist Neil Bannerman finds two men murdered, a conspiracy and one young witness. A cynical, atmospheric political thriller with heart.
Mick Herron, 'Real Tigers' - When a colleague is kidnapped, MI5’s disgraced slow horses must rescue her, with Jackson Lamb at the helm. Darkly funny and sharp-edged, with Herron on top form.
