Ian Rankin’s newest story, The Rise, sees a murder story play out in London’s most exclusive high-rise, with every shadowy resident becoming a potential suspect.
“If it’s as much fun to read as it was to write, I’ll be a happy author!”
A gleaming residential tower, ‘The Rise’ is newly constructed from steel and blackened glass, standing on a patch of prestigious London real estate. Looming imposingly over Hyde Park, only multi-millionaires need apply for one of its sumptuous apartments.
But when the young night concierge is found murdered in the building’s lobby, the elite residents quickly find their gilded lifestyles under unwelcome police scrutiny. Investigating officer DS Gish has her work cut out.
When talking about what inspired him to write the book, Ian reveals the idea of a shorter publication on Amazon, and how the length propelled the pacey and sharp murder mystery set in the heart of London.
“The Rise is a story that has been in my mind for quite some time but I could never find what felt like the right format for it – until Amazon asked if I might write something that could be read or listened to in a single sitting. This suited the pace I had in mind for the story – a propulsive tale of murder and intrigue amidst the rich and famous cocooned in a big shiny glass and steel tower.”
As DS Gish continues her investigation into ‘The Rise’, it seems horribly certain that one of the residents must be the killer. The only suspects, those who live in the building, aren’t accustomed to police interrogation Could it be the Russian oligarch? Or the lonely actress? Maybe it’s the family of the career criminal? Or perhaps it’s the building’s reclusive developer who lives alone in the penthouse?
Obstructed continually by locked doors, governments both foreign and domestic, and an apparent absence of motive, can DS Gish solve this impenetrable mystery and apprehend the murderer – before they slip away forever?
The Rise releases on November 1, 2023 and is available as an eBook from Kindle Unlimited, or in audiobook format from Audible, narrated by Indira Varma.
