Rebus: A Game of Malice - Ian Rankin & Simon Reade

I've long been a fan of Ian Rankin's books based around police detective John Rebus. Since 1987, we've had 26 books that have followed his life and cases. Part of the attraction has always been that they are always set in the here and now, so we have seen the changes in Edinburgh, Scotland, and life reflected in the books as time move forwards. Obviously the drawback to that is Rebus is now old, very unfit, and retired.

In addition to the 26 Rebus books, there have been two Rebus plays. For any Rebus fan, I would say that the first play is a must read. "Rebus: Long Shadows" was released in 2018 and introduced a new character (no spoilers) so potentially central to the canon of repeating characters in Rebus's career that I'm very surprised that they haven't reappeared in any of the subsequent books.

Would I say that this second play, "Rebus: A Game of Malice", is also a must read for the Rebus canon. No, its a good read, a quick read, I enjoyed it - but its a small offshoot in the Rebus bibliography with no new characters or events that will affect future Rebus plots or throw light on Rebus's past.