Hide and Seek (Rankin novel)

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Hide and Seek (Rankin novel) - Wikipedia

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Hide and Seek
First edition
Author	Ian Rankin
Language	English
Genre	Detective fiction
Set in	Edinburgh
Publisher	Barrie & Jenkins
Publication date	January 1, 1990
Publication place	Scotland
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	210 pp
ISBN	0-7126-3896-2
OCLC	40815552
Preceded by	Knots and Crosses
Followed by	Tooth and Nail

Hide and Seek is a 1991 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the second of the Inspector Rebus novels. This novel is not to be confused with James Patterson's 1996 novel Hide and Seek.

Plot summary

Detective Inspector John Rebus finds the body of an overdosed drug addict in an Edinburgh squat, laid out cross-like on the floor, between two burned-down candles, with a five-pointed star painted on the wall above. Some of his colleagues are inclined to categorise it as the routine death of a "junkie", but Rebus is perturbed by some unusual facts of the case: a full package of heroin in the dead man's room, and some mysterious bruises on his face and body.

Rebus takes seriously a death which looks more like a murder every day, and he begins to investigate the true circumstances of the death. As part of his investigation, Rebus finds the young woman named Tracy who knew the dead man and heard his terrifying last words: "Hide! Hide!"

It emerges that the dead man took and hid some sensitive photos in a specialist private members' club named Hyde's, where highly connected people in society watch illegal boxing matches. Rebus is able to arrest Hyde's owner and several high-profile members, but to his disgust all die suspicious deaths while imprisoned: the powers-that-be are covering it up to prevent scandal.

Connections to other Rankin books

Rian, a character who appears in Rankin's first novel, The Flood, reappears in this book.
Rebus remembers journalist Jim Stevens from Knots and Crosses, and that he has since moved to London and married a girl "half his age" - a reference to Stevens in Watchman.
When encountering a rentboy, Rebus has a brief flashback to Gordon Reeve from Knots and Crosses.
Recurring characters Brian Holmes, a fellow detective, and Superintendent "Farmer" Watson first appear here.

Writing Hide and Seek

In the Exile on Princes Street foreword to Rebus: The Early Years, Rankin says this was his second attempt at updating Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde into then-modern Edinburgh ("one reviewer 'got it'"), and with this book he began to like Rebus as a character and thought he could use him as a recurring mouthpiece for stories about his views on Scotland.^[1]

He also noted that, shortly after moving to London, there was a real-life case of male prostitutes bribing lawyers and judges, similar to some parts of the book: "questions were asked in parliament" and two lawyers began to investigate the police investigation. "To everyone's surprise, this inquiry found that the allegations were false. Police officers involved in the case found themselves demoted..."^[2]

References

^ Rankin, Ian (2000). Rebus: The Early Years. London, UK: Orion Books. pp. vii–viii. ISBN 978-0-75283-799-4.
^ Rankin, Ian (2000). Rebus: The Early Years. London, UK: Orion Books. p. viii. ISBN 978-0-75283-799-4.

v t e Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series
Novels	Knots and Crosses Hide and Seek Tooth and Nail Strip Jack The Black Book Mortal Causes Let it Bleed Black & Blue The Hanging Garden Dead Souls Set in Darkness The Falls Resurrection Men A Question of Blood Fleshmarket Close The Naming of the Dead Exit Music Standing in Another Man's Grave Saints of the Shadow Bible Even Dogs in the Wild Rather Be the Devil In a House of Lies A Song for the Dark Times A Heart Full of Headstones
Short story collections	A Good Hanging and Other Stories The Beat Goes On
Characters	John Rebus
Television	Rebus (2000–07) "A Question of Blood" "Strip Jack" "Let It Bleed" "Resurrection Men" "The First Stone" "The Naming of the Dead" "Knots and Crosses" Rebus (2024–present)
Stage	Long Shadows

v t e Works by Ian Rankin
Novels	The Flood (1986) Knots and Crosses (1987) Watchman (1988) Westwind (1990) Hide and Seek (1991) Tooth and Nail (1992) Strip Jack (1992) The Black Book (1993) Witch Hunt (1993) Mortal Causes (1994) Bleeding Hearts (1994) Let It Bleed (1995) Blood Hunt (1995) Black & Blue (1997) The Hanging Garden (1998) Dead Souls (1999) Set in Darkness (2000) The Falls (2001) Resurrection Men (2002) A Question of Blood (2003) Fleshmarket Close (2004) The Naming of the Dead (2006) Exit Music (2007) Doors Open (2008) A Cool Head (2009, Quick Reads) The Complaints (2009) The Impossible Dead (2011) Standing in Another Man's Grave (2012) Saints of the Shadow Bible (2013) Even Dogs in the Wild (2015) Rather Be the Devil (2016) In a House of Lies (2018) A Song for the Dark Times (2020) The Dark Remains (2021; with William McIlvanney) A Heart Full of Headstones (2022)
Short story collections	A Good Hanging and Other Stories (1992) Beggars Banquet (2002) The Beat Goes On (2014)
Plays	Dark Road (2013) Long Shadows (2018)
Short stories	Death is Not the End (1998)
Related articles	Inspector Rebus

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