A Song for the Dark Times

About “A Song for the Dark Times”

A Song for the Dark Times is the 23rd book in the Inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin. The title references Bertolt Brecht’s phrase “singing in/about the dark times,” and also refers to a CD compilation titled Songs for the Dark Times that character Siobhan Clarke burns for John Rebus. The book was published in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, though the phrase “dark times” was meant to reflect global events as of 2019. The story follows Rebus as he investigates a murder while navigating personal and professional challenges. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)