The Heights

Ian Rankin likes to explore the gray areas in life. This time the ambiguities surround a murder at the Heights, a London more-money-than-taste highrise that houses HNWs and UHNW individuals—those are high net worth and ultra-high net worth to those of us in the LNW and ULNW zones. In this standalone thriller, DS Gillian Gish and colleagues are pitted against organized criminals and the walls that wealth can create in investigating the death of one of the highrise’s concierges, quickly finding a morass of complications. And then there are those moral gray areas—how far can Gish push when she just knows something is wrong, but has no real evidence? Is a police career worth it when Gish’s mother is not-so-slowly declining? Does wealth necessarily mean guilt? Fans of detailed police procedurals will be right at home here, with the London police’s steady and then all-at-once habits on full display. Those who enjoy a no-nonsense lead with heart to spare will fall immediately in step with Gish, too. Rankin’s Inspector Rebus novels wait in the wings for those who need more after this.—Henrietta Thornton