Ian Rankin puts aside his long-running, gritty series about Scottish police detective John Rebus for The Heights, a solid police procedural set in an exclusive London apartment complex.
Night-shift concierge Dwayne Hogarth's body is found in the lobby of the Heights following a late-night party at the 18-story building, which has inspiring views of Hyde Park. Security cameras at the Heights had been turned off, despite its state-of-the-art amenities, including a private cinema and a spa with therapists on duty 24/7.
Well-respected Detective Sergeant Gillian Gish receives cooperation from the building's owner, Allan Franklyn, a high-end developer who worries a long investigation may affect investments for his plan to build a second Heights tower. But the rest of the residents--including a pop singer, a reality TV personality, a gangster's wife, and a mysterious man who allegedly made "a mint in post-glasnost Russia"--are closemouthed. Politics enter when the Foreign Office meddles in the investigation, concerned that a high-profile resident's involvement may affect trade negotiations with Mozambique.
In The Heights, Rankin (Rather Be the Devil; Standing in Another Man's Grave) layers economics and classism into a tightly focused procedural. The building's residents are from "Money London," which does not reflect the status of Gillian and her team or of Dwayne and his DJ brother, Mark, who are Black. The insightful Gillian must also juggle her intense police work with arranging caregivers for her mother, who has dementia.
The Heights delivers the sort of satisfying story readers have come to expect from Rankin. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer