Just a couple of days ago Ian Rankin tweeted to us that his new book was read to go to the printers, but we had no idea it would arrive with us so quickly. So, feast your eyes on the latest Rebus novel, Even Dogs in the Wild. It’s got a cover design consistent with Rankin’s other novels over the past four or five years, with the text on coloured bars, almost as though you’ve selected it in a word processor. And there’s a broken cross to the right, which looks a little ominous. I wonder who’s buried there?

The book comes out 5 November – no doubt Scottish crime fiction fans will remember – offering 476 pages of delightfully edgy Edinburgh investigative-ness. It’s one that features just about all our favourite Ian Rankin characters – Rebus, Siobhan Clarke, Big Ger Cafferty and even Malcolm Fox.

Clarke is investigating the death of a lawyer, who was killed during a robbery, but it looks less like a random attack when she receives a note from an anonymous source. Big Ger gets a similar message – a threat – and as the ageing gangster has been a bit closer to Rebus in the twilight of their respective careers, Clarke calls the ex-detective out of retirement to help save Cafferty’s skin.

It looks like there’ll be a turf war between Edinburgh and Glasgow gangs as well, with a new family arriving in the Scottish capital from the West. Undercover detectives, aided by DI Malcolm Fox, are on the case. It seems both story lines will collide and, on top of all this, there’s a killer on the streets who’s out for revenge. If you thought it was curtains for Rebus in 2007 when he retired in Exit Music, think again. There’s life in the old dog yet – wild or not!

Watch for our review, and click here to discover more Scottish crime fiction, and here to read our interview with Ian Rankin. Pre-order your copy on Amazon.