The Hanging Garden: An Inspector Rebus Mystery (Inspector Rebus series Book 9)

Detective Inspector John Rebus is assigned to investigate a suspected war criminal, keeping him occupied with paperwork. When a dispute escalates between gangster Tommy Telford and Big Ger Cafferty's organization, Rebus sees an opportunity to escape his desk duties. Telford maintains connections to Mr. Pink Eyes, a brutal gangster trafficking Chechen refugees into Britain to work as prostitutes. After Rebus takes a Bosnian call girl under his protection, he becomes personally invested in removing Telford from the city. When Rebus's daughter is struck by a professional hit-and-run driver, Rebus becomes determined to bring down Tommy Telford as the prime suspect—willing to make dangerous compromises to do so. The case involves seemingly unrelated facts: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the hanging of four French villagers during World War II, and the hanging of an old man in a Scottish cemetery, all connected to one man. The ninth book in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series, this novel explores extreme human cruelty through its investigation into organized crime and personal vengeance.