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Ian Rankin, In a House of Lies

Rankins neuester Rebus-Band trudelte pünktlich, aber auch zum richtigen Zeitpunkt ein, gerade als mir nach einem soliden und unaufgeregten Krimi war. Hier wird John Rebus mit einem Abschnitt seiner Vergangenheit konfrontiert, die noch nicht ganz so lange zurückliegt (vermutlich zwischen zwei Bänden in 2006 angesiedelt), wo er nicht so gut wegkommt, als durch einen Zufallsfund ein alter Fall neu aufgerollt wird. Wie er es schafft, den Fall so zum Abschluß zu bringen, dass allen Beteiligten Recht geschieht, ist wieder faszinierend und fesselnd zu lesen. Ich spiele schon seit einiger Zeit mit dem Gedanken die Rebus-Serie von Anfang an wiederzulesen - wenn es nur nicht so viele wären ...
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"I seem to have picked up a wee dose of COPD."
"What's that when it's at home?"
"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - known as emphysema in the old days."
"Trust you to get something that has the word COP in it."
"Aye, I feel like I drew a winning ticket there."
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It wasn't a bad area, he decided; it had just elements. That was the way they phrased it these days in Police Scotland.
Elements. Meaning a combination of feckless parentin, lack of opportunity, boredom and disenfranchisement. Rebus knew all the buzz words and he didn't necessarily disagree. But knowledge was one thing and politicians' words came cheap.
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He was thinking aout families and the lies they told each other. From the outside, it was hard to know what was happening behind their walls and curtained windows. Even once you'd crossed the threshold, there'd be secrets unshared. In an age of the internet and mobile phones, kids and their parents lived ever more separate lives, sharing confidences but also hiding bits of their true selves behind masks. It had been hard enough in the past to read people, but these days you had to push your way through so much that was fake and misleading. Modern policing fell into that trap, heading straight for technology - computers and CCTV - to replace old skills and the occasional inspired guess or piece of intuition.

(Ian Rankin, In a House of Lies, 2018)