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Rebus: A Game Called Malice review — the sleuth solves a dinner party murder

Queen’s, Hornchurch
From left: Emily Joyce, John Michie, Forbes Masson and Emma Noakes in Rebus: A Game of Malice
From left: Emily Joyce, John Michie, Forbes Masson and Emma Noakes in Rebus: A Game of Malice
MARK SEPPLE

★★★☆☆
John Rebus, the Edinburgh detective created by Ian Rankin and the hero of 24 novels (so far), is one of the great characters in British crime fiction. He’s been on TV — played by John Hannah and Ken Stott — and will soon star in a fresh adaptation that will feature the maverick inspector as a cop in his younger days. But for now, we have Rebus on stage, in this new play by Rankin and Simon Reade.

The hook? Having retired from the force, Rebus finds himself at the centre of a crime that unfolds at a smart Edinburgh dinner party where he is one of the guests. The posh residential setting is more Agatha Christie than Ian Rankin — Rebus being more