Standing in Another Man’s Grave is the eighteenth instalment in the bestselling Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in 2012. The title of the book is a mondegreen, Rankin having misheard the Scottish singer songwriter Jackie Leven singing “Standing in Another Man’s Rain”, which mistake he gives to Rebus. Excerpts from Leven’s songs appear with each division of the book.
It’s been some time since Rebus was forced to retire, and he now works as a civilian in a cold-case unit. So when a long-dead case bursts back to life, he can’t resist the opportunity to get his feet under the CID desk once more. But Rebus is as stubborn and anarchic as ever, and he quickly finds himself in deep with pretty much everyone, including DI Siobhan Clarke.
All Rebus wants to do is uncover the truth. The big question is: can he be the man he once was and still stay on the right side of the law?