Book Description
The delectable new installment in the best-selling and beloved adventures of Isabel Dalhousie.
When Mimi, Isabel’s cousin from Dallas, arrives in Edinburgh with her husband, Joe, several confounding situations unfurl. First, Mimi and Joe introduce Isabel to Tom Bruce–a bigwig back home in Texas. The roving eye of Tom’s young fiancée leads Isabel to believe that money may be at the root of her love for Tom. But what, Isabel wonders, is at the root of Tom’s interest in Isabel herself? Then there are the feelings that Isabel has for Jamie, which are certainly hard to ignore. And she mustn’t forget about her niece, Cat, who’s busy falling for a man whom Isabel suspects of being an incorrigible mama’s boy.
Of course, Jamie counsels Isabel to stay out of it all, but there are irresistible philosophical issues at stake–when to tell the truth and when to keep one’s mouth shut, to be precise–and philosophical issues are meat and drink to Isabel Dalhousie, editor of the Review of Applied Ethics. In any case, Isabel is certain of the ethical basis for a little sleuthing now and again–especially when the problems involve matters of the heart.
Customer Reviews:
Needs More Substsance...........2007-10-03
I've read McCall's entire #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the first of The Sunday Philosophy Club series and now this. His books are repetitive, with constant allusions to what was written about in previous books. Please, in the future, write a prologue for those who haven't read prior books in a series, so those who have, don't have to be reminded of what they know.
The protagonist in this series is Isabel Dalhousie, who edits a journal of applied ethics. She fancies herself to be a philosopher, and constantly rambles on and on ad nauseum about defining her duties to other people.
She, like Mms Ramotswe, in the detective series, longs for a more gentile time, where people were connected to others, and polite to everyone; is a woman who was left money; starts out being single; unwinds with tea; and has an assistant whose first name is Grace. Although this series is more substantive than the first, there isn't enough meat in it for me.
Should Isabel have an affair with Jamie, or shouldn't she? Will it affect her friendship with him or not? Will her niece be upset (since her niece had an affair with him in the past)? Does her niece have a right to be upset? Is their age difference a problem? What will her housekeeper think? Does it matter if others approve. Get the picture.
I believe authors should "show not tell" and this author tells from every angle possible. Repeatedly.
Why the book is considered a mystery, is the only mystery one will encounter.
A little more introspective.......2007-08-27
Not as jolly fun as some of Mccall Smith, this book deals with fall summer romances and other topics on love and life after forty. Certainly not a mystery. No corpses in this book
Isabel Dalhousie takes a new direction.......2007-08-22
This is a wonderful, meandering story that gives the Isabel Dalhousie series a totally new focus. Isabel comes to the fore as a central character instead of her accustomed role as an observer of others. To be sure, the reader still gets the benefit of her ongoing philosophical mulling of virtually everyone and everything that happens in her life, but in this book, she actually HAS a life. And it's a life that has real emotion and serious romance. Throughout this book (and the rest in the series), the author, Alexander Mccall Smith, uses his characters so well to demonstrate the unceasing zig-zagging that marks everyone's interior lives and ultimately serves up a continuing story full of human foibles, generosity, uncertainty, warmth and love of all kinds. Like virtually all of Mccall Smith's books, "The Right Attitude to Rain" leaves the reader feeling better about human kind and reflective on how to better deal with life's fellow travelers.
I finally love Isabel Dalhousie.......2007-08-18
I was not sold on Isabel when I read the beginning portion of this series (I preferred 44 Scotland Street), but I loved this book. Isabel in particular came alive for me in this book. Smith is so amazing -- even a classic fiction ploy comes as a surprise at the end of this novel.
Interesting and fun characters.......2007-08-17
In another installment in the Isabel Dalhousie mystery series set in Edinburgh, Scotland, we see the wealthy philosopher in a different light. In previous books she was described as a middle-aged spinster, but in this novel Isabel has a suitor. Who cares that he is her niece's castoff? Or that he is fourteen years her junior? Isabel ponders these sticky details as she continues to fall in love with Jamie.
Isabel isn't an innocent; she has been married before and has seen much in her life. She is aware of how fortunate she is to have inherited a house and enough money to keep her in good stead for life. She enjoys a good relationship with her niece, Cat, and is hosting her cousin and spouse, Mimi and Joe, on vacation from America.
It is through Mimi and Joe that she is introduced to another couple from America. Tom and Angela were observed by Isabel in an Edinburgh museum before she met them. She noticed things out of kilter with their relationship on first view, and those things are only reinforced when introduced. Why is Angela with the older man whose face is partially paralyzed? Is it love? Of him or his money? Should Isabel tell Tom of her suspicions about his fiance? Always a philosopher, Isabel feels the need to think and talk these questions out with Jamie. Here lies my biggest, maybe only, problem with the book. Jamie seems to agree with her every spoken thought and seems to have no opinions of his own. He comes across as too malleable. It's hard to feel sexual tension in the story when he has so little personality.
But this series is about philosophical judgments and how they apply to everyday life, and this book is no different. Isabel Dalhousie is an intriguing, fun character. The other characters in the book are interesting and the dialogue is entertaining. The lack of strong mystery doesn't detract from the diversionary amusement value.
Alexander McCall Smith always makes the reader aware of the gentle nature of humans, and a genteel way of life. This book becomes more difficult to put down after the halfway point.
Armchair Interviews says: You can count on this author making you think about human nature.
Amazon.com
Given his contempt for authority, his tendency to pursue investigative avenues of his own choosing, and his habitually ornery manner, it's a wonder that John Rebus hasn't been booted unceremoniously from his job as an Edinburgh cop. He certainly tempts that fate again in A Question of Blood, which finds him and his younger partner, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, trying to close the case of a withdrawn ex-soldier named Lee Herdman, who apparently shot three teenage boys at a Scottish private school, leaving two of them dead, before turning the pistol on himself.
"There's no mystery," Siobhan insists at the start of this 14th Rebus novel (following Resurrection Men). "Herdman lost his marbles, that's all." However, the hard-drinking, chain-smoking Rebus, who'd once sought entry into the same elite regiment in which Herdman served (but ultimately cracked under psychological interrogation), thinks there's more motive than mania behind this classroom slaughter. Perhaps something to do with the gunman's role in a 1995 mission to salvage a downed military helicopter, or with Teri Cotter, a 15-year-old "Goth" who broadcasts her bedroom life over the Internet, yet keeps private her relationship with the haunted Herdman. Rebus's doubts about the murder-suicide theory are deepened with the appearance of two tight-lipped army investigators, and by the peculiar behavior of James Bell, the boy who was only wounded during Herdman's firing spree and whose politician father hopes to use that tragedy as ammo in the campaign against widespread gun ownership. But the detective inspector's focus on this inquiry is susceptible to diversion, both by an internal police probe into his role in the burning death of a small-time crook who'd been stalking Siobhan, and by the fact that Rebus--who shies away from any family contacts--was related to one of Herdman's victims.
Now middle-aged and on the downward slope of his pugnacity (the high point may have come in 1997's Black and Blue), Rebus has become the engine of his own obsolescence. Overexposure to criminals has left him better at understanding them than his colleagues, and he only worsens his career standing by fighting other people's battles for them, especially Siobhan, who risks learning too many lessons from her mentor. To watch Rebus subvert police conventions and fend of personal demons (that latter struggle mirrored in A Question of Blood by Herdman's own) is worth the admission to this consistently ambitious series. --J. Kingston Pierce
Book Description
When a former soldier and recluse murders two 17-year-old students at a posh Edinburgh boarding school, Rebus immediately suspects there is more to the case than meets the eye. Army investigators show up to snoop around the scene of the crime, and links between the killer and a local group of "Goths" (a morbid clique of black-clad teens who listen to heavy metal music) begin to surface. But just as Rebus finds himself in the thick of the murder inquiry, he's threatened with suspension from the police force: a man who had been menacing his partner and friend, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, dies in the same house fire that has left Rebus with horrible, painful burns. Rebus is immediately suspected of foul play. Now Rebus is faced with two harrowing missions: He must get to the root of the boarding school killing even as he tries to clear his own name.
Download Description
When a former soldier and recluse murders two 17 year-old students at a posh Edinburgh boarding school, Inspector John Rebus immediately suspects there is more to the case than meets the eye. Army investigators show up to snoop around the scene of the crime, and links between the killer and a local group of "Goths" (a morbid clique of black-clad teens who listen to heavy metal music) begin to surface. But just as Rebus finds himself in the thick of the murder inquiry, he's threatened with suspension from the police force: a man who had been menacing his partner and friend, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, dies in the same house fire that leaves Rebus with horrible, painful burns, and Rebus is immediately suspected of foul play. Now Rebus is faced with two harrowing missions: he must get to the root of the boarding school killing even as he tries to clear his own name.
Customer Reviews:
What a find!.......2007-06-11
This is the first Ian Rankin novel I've read, but I'll make a point of reading them now. A really well designed mystery/police procedural by a Scottish author set in Edinburgh. The story begins with a school shooting, unfortunately an all too common event today, and not limited to the U.S. There was an earlier shooting in Scotland by a man who burst into a school, similar to Rankin's book. The actual shooting, as well as the whole gun control debate, are brought up in A Question of Blood, as well as other current issues U.S. readers will be familiar with, such as teenage gangs, the drug trade, Internet pornography and Goth kids, who might have stepped out of Columbine. The action is continuous and although there are a lot of characters and various subplots, you don't feel they get in the way of the story. Although the Scottish criminal justice system is somewhat different from the American, police and other personnel face similar problems. I found the book fascinating (I really hate that pseudo-word unputdownable) and recommend it to anyone who likes the mystery genre. Also on the school shooting theme, Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes, in a U.S. setting, is a good comparison read.
More of a Whydunit than a Whodunit.......2006-11-23
The novel starts with a murder suicide; an ex-SAS serviceman walks into a posh private school and kills two students, wounds another and then turns the gun on himself. The Question is why would the killer walk pass all the other students on the Quad, and down a hall to this specific room?
So begins another John Rebus novel, but this one is a different presenta- tion: it's split into seven sections (each representing a day of the week) and follows Rebus and company as they methodically follow the clues to the culmination of the inquiry. One of the victims turn out to be the son of John's cousin, who he hasn't spoken to in years, another the son of a judge; and the wounded child is the son of the local MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament). Are there any connections?
Once again John is in hot-water and suspended, why? Seems that a "villian" who has been harassing Siobhan, had turned up dead in a fire. John was last seen leaving a bar with the victim, hours before the fire. John has turned up at St. Leonard's with his hands in bandages, that he says are the result of a "scalding". Things don't look good for our anti-hero.
But we know that in the end, all things will turn our right enough so that John will be able to stay on the force and go on his un-merry way. What makes the book so good, is that nothing that happens along the way is a turnabout, or a HUH? Everything that happens and the way all of the characters follow the clues are realistic and make for a believable chronology. Rankin is a master at developing a plausible story from beginning to end.
Good characters, reasonably good mystery, fun.......2006-06-18
The strength of Rankin's works is the realistic outlook of John Rebus and Siobhan Clarke: in a society that operates by mechnical principle, they are purely organic and in fact feral, which is what keeps them devoted to truth (in a world where lies are publically rewarded) and allows them to solve mysteries with several layers of implication. Rankin's layering technique is flawless, and his mysteries relatively realistic and logical, which combined with actors who are likable characterizations of threads of thought required to find a balance between society and soul, make for a powerful and fun read. We the readers feel we could live in this world, and even more, we want to, since these characters fight the same quintessential adaptation-or-conflict seesaw we ourselves must undergo. For those who non-critically enjoy a solid mystery that feels as if it could happen in our newspapers, if not our world, Rankin has produced another treat.
A very winding road.......2005-06-27
It kept me hooked, but there were so many characters and scenarios
going on, it was a little confusing. No great payoff until the end. My friend guessed the ending by reading the back cover.
We all need Rebus - he makes our lives look so uncomplicated.......2005-05-02
Ian Rankin and his DI Rebus are soo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o good! And the Scottish locales are so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o well described! And these story plots are just the best - they aren't about crime; they are about wrestling with morals and ethics and questions about whether the end justifies the means in the big picture of police work. As always, there are at least three plots going on here, and the main thread is snatched from the headlines of real-life tragedy: school shootings. Our moody, sullen, irresistible Rebus has his hands full, as usual, and is in hot water with his superiors, as usual. That seems to be when he does his best work. There is an unusually heavy dose of coincidence in this particular book and it propels the book along at an artificial pace but Rankin has earned our (or at least my) trust and forgiveness. It is still a tale well told.
Book Description
#1 international bestseller Ian Rankin sends Inspector John Rebus into the dark streets of Edinburgh's flesh trade when a shocking murder exposes an even more sinister underworld.
Inspector John Rebus has confronted Edinburgh's most hardened criminals, its bloodiest crime scenes, and its most dangerous backstreets--but nothing could prepare him for what he finds on Fleshmarket Alley.
In the city's red-light district, men go to live out their fantasies, and women with no other choice sell their bodies to make a buck. It's a neighborhood of lost inhibitions, scruples, and dreams. In its seediest clubs, refugees seeking asylum in Scotland are subjected to the whims of the most ruthless characters in the crime world--men Rebus knows all too well.
With his singular knack for making crime captivating, Ian Rankin delivers his most explosive mystery to date, fulfilling the promise millions of readers in the United Kingdom and America have seen throughout his accomplished career.
Customer Reviews:
Murder and Once Again John Rebus is in the Thick of it.......2006-12-01
Detective Inspector John Rebus and DS Siobhan Clark have been relocated from their old and familiar offices to Gayfield Square, which isn't all that far away. It's a well to do district, but close to Knoxland, which is one of Edinburgh's low rent housing development's.
And it's in Knoxland that an illegal immigrant is found stabbed to death. While trying to solve the case Rebus is forced to think about the fact that the powers that be would like him to retire, however police work is his life, he has nothing outside of that, so he has no intention of being made redundant, not now, not ever.
Knoxland is home to many immigrants, legal and otherwise and it's occupants have been the source of many racial attacks, so naturally it looks like a race crime. During his investigation Rebus learns much about the difficulties illegal aliens must face in Scotland. Including the legal ones, like the detention centers women and children are locked up in as they wait to find out if they are going to be allowed entry or if they're going to be deported.
Also, as this case is developing, Siobhan is approached by the mother of a teenage girl who has disappeared. Siobhan worked the prior case of the missing girl's sister three years earlier. The girl had been raped and then killed herself, so even though the case is now out of her jurisdiction, Siobhan decides to work it anyway.
And to make Rebus's and Siobhan's life even more complicated, they are called out to a bar in Fleshmarket Alley (Fleshmarket Close in the British version) where the remains of an infant and a woman have been discovered under the concrete floor during renovations.
The genius of Ian Rankin is that he can connect the dots, make us believe that as impossible as it might seem, all these cases are connected, but of course, it takes Rebus and Siobhan a while to put it all together and that makes for just one very, very good story. Mr. Rankin has given us plenty of John Rebus books and they just keep getting better.
Reviewed by Vesta Irene
A betrayal.......2006-03-29
I'm halfway through this book and like other readers, will probably give it up as soon as I find another book to read. I feel betrayed by an author who lures you into spending your money buying his book and your time reading it and then proceeds to batter you over the head with a political agenda. Never mind that I realize most of his points are valid; he could have gotten them across more effectively by just allowing the situations to speak for themselves. If an author feels he must espouse a cause, please let him do it subtly or, even more honestly, express his views in non-fiction. We get such a ceaseless diet of this type of thing every day from the media that some of us would like to just enjoy a good mystery, especially from an author we had trusted to deliver one.
Not the best but Still Love Rebus.......2006-02-05
Note to TV watchers: a completely different plot than the TV show of this name!
Way too many characters and subplots for me to keep track of. And Rebus seems less of a tortured soul than in the other books. But I still love to be with him and Siobhan. And, of course, ridiculous that they changed the title.
If you have only seen the John Hannah version of Rebus, I'd like to say that the book are, while still dark, far wittier.
My first taste of Rankin...I'll have more, please........2006-01-14
Am so glad I discovered this entertaining author--I know, I know, he's been around a long time, where have I been? That having been sad, many of our newest authors of police procedurals should take a lesson from this master. It can't be just about the story...it has to be about the writing. This guy can pen some snappy dialog...you can practically hear it jump off the page, just the way 3-dimensional people talk. He makes it seem so effortless.
So why did I only give it 4 stars? The plot was a little disconnected, perhaps too much going on to maintain the cohesion that I would've liked. I will definitely seek out previous works though...they're sure to be a lively read.
Rebus Redux.......2005-12-01
Ian Rankin isn't the bestselling mystery writer in the UK for nothing. His main man (alter ego?) Inspector John Rebus is a living, breathing anachronism in a jaded world and it is a pleasure to travel in his orbit, even if it means being drunk an awful lot of the time, or so it seems. Rebus is one of those people who has apparently reached an equilibrium with his booze and has achieved a certain ability to operate where most of us would be on our faces. This book could drive you to join Rebus with its unstinting look at the treatment of immigrants and refugees in Scotland and elsewhere in the world and the vulnerability at the hands of a system where they are easily prey to fleshmongers and slave traders. It isn't a pretty picture and it isn't a pretty book, but the story is clean and solid and the story is one that absolutely needs to be told.
The murder that starts this book is almost incidental to the journey of discover that it causes for Rebus and his compatriots. There is a subordinate story that may or may not hook into the primary murder involving the search for a missing girl. It is a heartbreaking development following the suicide of her sister, who was raped and never mentally recovered from the ordeal. The rapist is now out of prison and we don't know what to make of this information. Did he nab her as well? When he turns up dead, she moves from potential hostage to potential murderer...but nobody can find her.
This is more quickly paced than most Rebus books and with denser plotting. You don't need to know Scotland to read this effectively, but it is a good idea to keep track of the story locations in your mind. It might tend to get a little confusing, and "place" means everything to the effectiveness of this story. As if that weren't enough, there is also a very unusual potential romance for Rebus in this book that will have you scratching your head right along with him!
Amazon.com
Like Edinburgh inspector John Rebus, the resurrection men of the title are treading on thin ice--they've all been sent to a short course at the Scottish Police College because they've failed in some way, generally "an issue with authority." Rebus has been known to have issues of that nature before, which only boosts his credibility with the other cops in attendance, suspected by their bosses of being on the wrong side of the fence, on the take, or even guilty of murder on several previous occasions. The dour Inspector's agenda aims to bring the higher-ups proof of the so-called Wild Bunch's nefarious activities; in the process, his own conduct in the old case he and his college classmates must rework and revisit comes under scrutiny. A solid police procedural whose protagonist, the hero of 14 other titles in this internationally acclaimed series, continues to grow on readers who are just discovering him. --Jane Adams
Book Description
Inspector John Rebus has messed up badly this time, so badly that he's been sent to a kind of reform school for damaged cops. While there among the last-chancers known as "resurrection men," he joins a covert mission to gain evidence of a drug heist orchestrated by three of his classmates. But the group has been assigned an unsolved murder that may have resulted from Rebus's own mistake. Now Rebus can't determine if he's been set up for a fall or if his disgraced classmates are as ruthless as he suspects.
When Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke discovers that her investigation of an art dealer's murder is tied to Rebus's inquiry, the two-protÈgÈ and mentor-join forces. Soon they find themselves in the midst of an even bigger scandal than they had imagined-a plot with conspirators in every corner of Scotland and deadly implications about their colleagues.
With the brilliant eye for character and place that earned him the name "the Dickens of Edinburgh," Ian Rankin delivers a page-turning novel of intricate suspense.
Download Description
Inspector John Rebus has messed up badly this time, so badly that he's been sent to a kind of reform school for damaged cops. While there among the last-chancers known as "resurrection men," he joins a covert mission to gain evidence of a drug heist orchestrated by three of his classmates. But the group has been assigned an unsolved murder that may have resulted from Rebus's own mistake. Now Rebus can't determine if he's been set up for a fall or if his disgraced classmates are as ruthless as he suspects.When Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke discovers her investigation of an art dealer's murder is tied to Rebus's inquiry, the two-protégé and mentor-join forces. Soon they find themselves in the midst of an even bigger scandal than they had imagined-a plot with conspirators in every corner of Scotland and deadly implications about their colleagues.With the brilliant eye for character and place that earned him the name "the Dickens of Edinburgh," Ian Rankin delivers a page-turning novel of intricate suspense.
Customer Reviews:
extremely boring.......2007-05-25
This book was so boring that I gave up. I really cannot understand how it could win the Edgar Award (usually books which won this award are good).
You'd Better Have Your Wits About You.......2007-04-17
"Resurrection Men" is the fifteenth in the Detective Inspector John Rebus police procedural series by the outstanding, increasingly appreciated Scots author Ian Rankin, still a young man, lucky for us. In contrast to most Scots mystery writers at work now, Rankin sets his best-of-tartan-noir universe in the east coast Edinburgh, rather than the west coast Glasgow; it's a more beautiful, smaller city, the capital of the country, where you might expect the crime to be white collar, rather than blue. But Rebus always seems to find enough to keep busy.
As the book opens, Rebus has been sent undercover to Tulliallan Police College, where recruits are trained, and troublesome older officers sent to resurrect their careers. Sir David Strathern, chief constable of Lothian and Borders Police, Rebus's permanent posting, suspects several of the officers currently at the college are dirty, and he wants Rebus to find the proof. To Rebus, of course, this a difficult assignment. Aside from the obvious, St. Leonard's, his station house, is in the midst of an engrossing enquiry: Edward Marber, local art dealer, has been done in, and many of the usual suspects are known to Rebus. The policeman finds the college assignment doubly difficult because, for the unsolved case the officers there are always given to work, they're given a case they've never been given before. It's the Rico Lomax case, it was Rebus's, and he knows much too much about it. He can't help wondering...
Rankin is a highly talented writer with a great grip of the English language, Scottish subdivision; a grasp of police work, the ability to keep these three strong subplots going at one time, that sharp Scots humor, and the toughest tartan noir outlook around. Unfortunately, "Resurrection Men" has a few too many characters, and cites unfamiliar-to-Americans police nomenclature a little too often. It took me two readings to get it, and that's with helpful tables upfront.
The youthful writer is also a sharp observer of his city's weather, ambiance, and social systems. He writes that Edinburgh cops call their morgue the "dead center," and are proud to say they work at the dead center of Edinburgh. "The building," he writes, "is tucked away on the Cowgate, one of the city's more secretive streets. Few pedestrians ever found themselves there, and the traffic was intent on being elsewhere."
The author writes further on pedestrians and traffic: a "pavement drunk" causes them to step out onto the road. "The drunk was making for the opposite pavement, stumbling blindly across the road. They both knew he'd make it. He was carrying a bottle: no way a motorist would want that flying through his windshield."
"You worked hard all week, then prayed for oblivion at the weekend," Rebus muses of his city's inhabitants. But you'd better have your wits fully about you when you tackle this book.
This is a throwback to English genre mystery books of the 60's.......2007-01-21
I think it is fitting that I am writing this just after 'Elizabeth' who wrote in her review that this book is "more a "guy type" book." That made me laugh because I was thinking this is more of a 'gal type' book and maybe that's why a lot of it left me wanting for more.
I think of this book as a throwback to the pre- Dick Francis days of English writing. Obviously, resurrection men is a contemporary novel, but it has the feel of a forgotten genre book of yesteryear in its unfolding contemplative and methodical story. I am currently trying to make it through the Edgar award winners and finalists listed here at Amazon. Rankin made it onto this list and for that reason alone I picked it up. What I came away with on completion of this book is that it is not the normal style of writing that I am pulled towards and it is not one that I will seek out in the future. I have read a lot of English mystery/thrillers, from Francis' work to Agatha Raisin and would push you in this direction over Rankin.
About the book... This is a story that never really grabbed me. The writing and character development is good enough to take note of, and the plot is complicated and original enough to perk ones interest. The story is understated and this is nice when you compare it to the likes of Patricia Cornwells 9th or 10th book and her heroine is tracking down several rampaging serial killers at once on two continents. Here we have the classic police procedural unfolding in a too dry manner. I am not English and find more affinity with the works of the 87th precinct or Hillermans stories that here. It might just be the cultural divide that was keeping me from entirely relishing this work. All I can say is that all the components are here for a first rate book, but for some reason, I just didn't enjoy it very much and why this is so is a mystery in itself for me.
Resurrection Man.......2007-01-03
The book was chosen by my book club. It wasn't really my kind of read, more a "guy type" book.
(three and a half stars) overall, a good crime thriller.......2006-11-30
Having learned that I had recently returned from a vacation in Scotland, a friendly neighbor handed me "Resurrection Men," not a book I would normally purchase, because I'm generally not into the "crime thriller" genre. To be honest, although Ian Rankin is obviously a talented writer, I found the plot and various sub-plots to be somewhat convoluted and, on occasion, simply absurd. Rankin juggles numerous characters, and thankfully provides the reader with a dramatis personae. Without this, I would have completely lost the thread of the more minor characters, some of whom, to me, were pretty much interchangeable. I'm sure that, like most serial novels, those who read prior John Rebus books had a much easier time following the web of characters and plots.
Nevertheless, I'm glad I read this book, and will one day pick up other Rankin works. Alot of "Resurrection Men" takes place in Edinburgh (pronounced, as I quickly learned, "Edinboro"), which is where I stayed in Scotland, so that was kind of fun. Knowing how many pubs there are, it didn't shock me how much the characters drank (with the notable exception of Siobhan, probably the most interesting character in the book) but it struck me that most of these people, including Rebus himself, were arguably alcoholics.
[SPOILER COMING UP!!!] One problem I had with the plot was that if three detectives, who recently comitted a serious (but seemingly undetected) crime together, are suddenly removed from duty simultaneously, and placed in a re-training program, wouldn't they be highly suspicious of any other detective who joins their little group? I would. Rebus' cover story was quite ridiculous and transparent.
In conclusion, "Resurrection Men," is certainly not without flaws, but anyone who enjoys crime thrillers should definitely check out Ian Rankin.
Book Description
As a child, Fee is a gifted Korean-American soprano in a boys choir in Maine. Silent after being abused by the director, he is unable to warn his friends or protect his best friend, Peter. Even after the director is imprisoned, Fee continues to believe he is responsible, and while Fee survives to adulthood, his friends do not. In college and after, he struggles to bury his guilt and grief, until as a teacher, he meets a beautiful young student who resembles Peter, and is forced to confront the demons of his brutal past.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting novel -- Not always happy but well done........2007-03-23
While there were a few things about the writer's style I didn't like (no quotation marks, made it difficult to decipher when something was said verses thought. Some conversations with multiple characters were often not tagged for the reader to know who said what) but all in all it was easy to fall into this world created by Chee. I was able to identify with several of the characters (though my experiences as a boy were not as damaging as they were to Peter, Fee, and their friends). I would definitely recommend it!
Don't let the simplicity of this book fool you!.......2005-09-26
I enjoyed discovering how Chee presents this story in such a unique, blunt, and spiritual way. The plot moves fast enough to keep the reader's attention but slow enough that the reader has enough time to capture the drama of the moment. It is a deceptively easy read. Despite the simplicity of the language, the theme is complex on many levels. I also enjoyed the shift in the point-of-view in the third part of this book. Through most of the book the narrator is Fee. However, in the third section, "And Night's Black Sleep Upon the Eyes," the point-of-view shifts to Warden, who narrates this section. This shift in point-of-view contributes to the plot by allowing the reader to understand the background Warden and Fee share, as well as Warden's part in seducing Free or, at least, his willingness to be seduced by Fee. Most of all, I enjoyed Chee's masterful use of similes which pepper the narrative. I enjoyed this story very much and I recommend it to others.
smooth start, rough finish .......2004-09-04
Although the suicides, molestations, and nude adolescent romps at a camp lead by an adult choral director could be seen as extreme, the primary characters keep these devices in check by being well constructed, engaging, and firmly in control during the first part of the novel. Unfortunately, this is reversed in the last quarter. Here an increasingly bizarre and unrealistic plot is forced on the protagonists, who begin to behave in ways that appear contrived and false. Instead of raising my pulse, the jacked up action caused my interest in Fee and Warden to flag. At this point the writing also seemed to become less focused and more opaque. Some passages were almost incomprehensible to me--I suspected proof-reading deficiencies.
Finally, instead of confronting the "fox" and forcing Warden and Fee, in the end, to deal head on with themselves and their relationship, the author chooses abandonment. And, as a reader, that's the way I felt too, abandoned.
It's NOT about Scotland!.......2004-09-01
The title is just the very first of one of the many surprises encountered in this extremely well-written, impressive, and multi-layered novel. There are frequent passages which are so on target and gorgeously done that they gave me chills. I did a lot of rereading in parts. This is a novel that eludes simply categorization such as 'Coming Out' or 'Issue' novel. Give it a try. This seems the start of a very promising career for Chee. Can't wait to see what he does next!!!
A Lambda Award winner for good reason........2003-12-27
An emotionally devasting work of fiction. Alexander Chee is a writer of extravagant talents. Not since "The Hours" have I had to read through so many tears. His prose has a brilliant precision - he communicates a depth feeling - pain, loss, guilt -with an economy of words which is truly impressive.
I'm not going to go into details about the subject matter or describe the many beautifully realized characters. I will conclude these remarks by simply saying that I intend to recommend this heartwrenching novel to everyone I know.
Amazon.com
Penzler Pick, January 2002: Ian Rankin is now the United Kingdom's bestselling crime writer. His 15 police procedurals featuring the dour Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus are beginning, at last, to attract a devoted--and deserved--following in this country. St. Martin's has just published this, Rankin's 1992 collection of short stories, and I can't think of a better way to be introduced to John Rebus and his creator.
Dubbed "Tartan Noir" by James Ellroy, Rankin's tales are set in Edinburgh. Not in the beautiful streets that tourists see (those cobbled sidewalks leading up to Edinburgh Castle), but in its dark, damp recesses where crime flourishes. That's where Rebus works. The crime and criminals there make Rebus's job a tough one, and they also offend his sense of decency and order.
These 12 stories tell of mystery, suffering, and mayhem, which Rebus alone of all the detectives on the force, with his remarkable deductive skills, can solve. In "Being Frank," a homeless man, from his unique perspective on the park bench, is able to give Rebus the information he needs to break up a scam by local ne'er-do-wells. Crimes gone unsolved for 20 years, religious sightings, lovers crossed, and tales of revenge all come under the jaundiced eye of the very talented Rebus.
Even 10 years ago, when he was writing these stories, Rankin was a writer of great gifts. Time has borne out this promise. So it is easy to predict that, once you have sampled these short cases, you will become one of the many readers eagerly awaiting another Rebus novel from this sensitive and enormously talented young writer. --Otto Penzler
Book Description
Twelve remarkable, gritty stories starring Detective Inspector John Rebus in his home city of Edinburgh, as only Ian Rankin can portray it: not just the tearooms and cobbled streets of the tourist brochures, but a modern urban metropolis with a full range of criminals and their victims--blackmailers, peeping Toms, and more than one kind of murderer.It's a city like any other, a city that gives birth to crimes of passion, accidents, and long-hidden jealousy, and a city in which criminal minds find it all too easy to fade into the shadows. As dedicated readers of the series well know, nobody is better equipped to delve into Edinburgh's back alleys and smoky pubs than Rebus, and no one better able to illuminate his world than Ian Rankin.AUTHORBIO: Born in Scotland in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh and has since been employed as a grape picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist, and punk musician. Since publishing his first Rebus novel, Knots and Crosses, in 1987, the series has become phenomenally successful, with each new installment a runaway bestseller in the United Kingdom. Ian has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award. Black Blue won the Crime Writers Association's Gold Dagger Award for best novel of the year in 1997. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their two sons.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent airplane material.......2006-12-30
I enjoyed this book, as I have all of Ian Rankin's John Rebus writings to date. These are short stories that are quick and absorbing reading. Nothing is particularly heavy, but all are very clever. I wanted to move to the next after I finished each. That's my definition of a good airplane book. And, Rankin is such a talented writer.
A good collection.......2006-09-05
This is a collection of 12 short stories featuring Inspector John Rebus. They tend to be quick reading, without an excessive amount of background color. I would recommend the collection for readers who like to cut to the chase, and want some occasional quick reading material. It is a good book for commuters or travelers on long trips, or perhaps to take to the beach.
The stories have interesting plots, and are set in the present day (more or less) with car phones, answering machines, etc. They will give you a different picture of Edinburgh than what you see as a tourist.
I am surprised that I previously missed the collection, but I found it at a book sale.
Rebus at his most concise and puzzling.......2006-06-23
Of all the Inspector Rebus books, this collection of twelve short stories is probably the most powerful distillation of ideas. The mysteries are small but crisp in impact, thanks to the shorter length of stories and thus less of a need to throw obstacles into the reader's mind, and the characters pop out in poetic contrast to their surroundings. Although it tapers off into stories which are both inconclusive and obvious, the majority (2/3) of this book is the best Rebus so far.
A Great Way to Learn About the Early Rebus and Rankin.......2006-03-05
This book of short stories was written in between the third and forth novels. It's an intriguing bit of Rebus-ania because it tells us a lot about the character, the way he acts and about how Rankin saw him.
We get involved with these mini-mysteries, and in each we learn more about the way Rebus' mind works when he looks at a problem. We also get little snippets about his childhood, marriage and background. Mostly we get a feeling for how Rebus is on a day to day basis. Well worth reading.
Thanks, Mr. Rankin, now I'm hooked..........2003-09-07
I decided to try to read a Rebus novel after being introduced to the character one night while watching BBCAmerica. I thought I would start with a good hanging, based on the other reviews. This book is just great. Each story is well thought out and written. Rebus, a poor tormented soul can be dark one minute, and then put a smile on your face with his dry wit the next. Count me in as a Rebus fan.
Average customer rating:
- Period piece with too much language
- Anthony O'Neill's The Lamplighter: a Paralleling World
- Thrilling!
- Disappointing
- Didn't suspend MY disbelief
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The Lamplighter: A Novel
Anthony O'Neill
Manufacturer: Scribner
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ASIN: 0743243498 |
Book Description
An atmospheric thriller set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh, Anthony O'Neill's elegant, darkly masterful novel is full of psychological suspense and first-rate horror.
Evelyn is a clever orphan at the Fountainbridge Institute for Destitute Girls. Enchanted by a cheerful lamplighter who fires the streetlamp outside her window each evening, she mesmerizes the other girls with flights of fancy. In a time before Freudian awareness of sexuality and the subconscious mind, such tales are forbidden by the institute's governor, who warns Evelyn to cease her nocturnal storytelling.
Evelyn defies him -- and is cast out of the orphanage and sacrificed to a shadowy figure claiming to be her long-lost father. Who is this man, and why does he lock Evelyn away in a hunting lodge?
Years later, the mutilated body of a professor of ecclesiastical law turns up on one of Edinburgh's finest streets; the grave of a famous colonel is ravaged; a shady entrepreneur is slaughtered while dashing for a train; and a retired lighthouse keeper is ripped to shreds while walking his dog -- all this after Evelyn, now a young woman, has reappeared in the city. What connects the victims? And what of Evelyn, anguished and appealing, who repeatedly claims to have dreamed the murders in great detail -- each time blaming a mysterious "lamplighter"?
Leading the official investigation is Carus Groves, a conceited yet effective police inspector desperate to cap his unremarkable career with a sensational case. Heading up the unofficial investigation is a disillusioned professor of logic and metaphysics, Thomas McKnight, and his assistant, Joseph Canavan, a strapping young gravedigger. Using reason, intuition, philosophy, and luck, these men race to solve the murders and unveil the source of Evelyn's torment, and in so doing penetrate the very gates of Hell.
Download Description
"An atmospheric thriller set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh, Anthony O'Neill's elegant, darkly masterful novel is full of psychological suspense and first-rate horror. Evelyn is a clever orphan at the Fountainbridge Institute for Destitute Girls. Enchanted by a cheerful lamplighter who fires the streetlamp outside her window each evening, she mesmerizes the other girls with flights of fancy. In a time before Freudian awareness of sexuality and the subconscious mind, such tales are forbidden by the institute's governor, who warns Evelyn to cease her nocturnal storytelling. Evelyn defies him -- and is cast out of the orphanage and sacrificed to a shadowy figure claiming to be her long-lost father. Who is this man, and why does he lock Evelyn away in a hunting lodge? Years later, the mutilated body of a professor of ecclesiastical law turns up on one of Edinburgh's finest streets; the grave of a famous colonel is ravaged; a shady entrepreneur is slaughtered while dashing for a train; and a retired lighthouse keeper is ripped to shreds while walking his dog -- all this after Evelyn, now a young woman, has reappeared in the city. What connects the victims? And what of Evelyn, anguished and appealing, who repeatedly claims to have dreamed the murders in great detail -- each time blaming a mysterious ""lamplighter""? Leading the official investigation is Carus Groves, a conceited yet effective police inspector desperate to cap his unremarkable career with a sensational case. Heading up the unofficial investigation is a disillusioned professor of logic and metaphysics, Thomas McKnight, and his assistant, Joseph Canavan, a strapping young gravedigger. Using reason, intuition, philosophy, and luck, these men race to solve the murders and unveil the source of Evelyn's torment, and in so doing penetrate the very gates of Hell. "
Customer Reviews:
Period piece with too much language.......2006-11-16
I'm all for exercising one's extensive vocabulary, but unfortunately Mr. O'Neil takes that to the extremes in his book "The Lamplighter." I will preface this review by stating I have little desire to finish the book because of O'Neil's overwhelming prose. Dear sir, we live in the 20th century (your book is copyrighted 2003), this is no longer the Victorian era, thus you should not be writing that way. There are easier ways to get your story out than to exhaust the reader by making them read the same sentence three times to understand it. The premise of the book is excellent and it did pique my curiosity, but I'm not in college anymore and I want to enjoy what I read.
Anthony O'Neill's The Lamplighter: a Paralleling World.......2005-12-12
The Lamplighter is an excellent thriller. The author, Anthony O'Neill, employs the use of a well-known Scottish philosopher, David Hume, to illustrate Evelyn's troubles. Specifically, the setting is similar to Hume's history. Next, O'Neill uses two of Hume's major philosophical questions. Finally, we see the very battle of science and superstition to parallel Hume's life. These paralleling points add to the novel's mystery and intrigue.
Foremost, we must note The Lamplighter's setting is in Edinburgh Scotland around the mid-nineteenth century. It was over a hundred years prior that David Hume was born, raised and taught in Edinburgh. Hume walked the very same streets. The setting is our initial introduction to this Scottish philosopher.
Now, we must look to Hume's first major premise. He questioned the concept of perception. He asked if someone leaves a friend in one room and goes to another, how does he know if his friend still exists without perceiving him in any way? The Lamplighter takes this notion and extends it to a greater degree. When Groves discovers the Mirror Society, he learns of their basic belief and fundamental question: if you look into a mirror, how are you not sure that someone else is perceiving you? In other words, you are but a reflection of an entirely mirrored universe and you have no core individuality. This question is surprisingly shocking but significantly contributes to the novel's eerie tone and impression on the reader.
The next paralleling aspect is the imagination. Hume toyed with the idea of what consists of one's imagination. One of his example is dreaming of a flying creature. A person does this by relating and associating ideas that a person has perceived. For instance, he takes the body of a lizard and the wings of a dragon fly and the person has imagined a flying creature. O'Neill, again, takes this notion to a greater degree. McKnight asks Caravan if it is possible that Evelyn's Leerie, if her dreams become intense enough, could become real? His proposal is if the imagination is capable of materializing? These questions further add to the novels thrilling plot and its twists and turns.
The final parallel is the transition to empiricism. Hume was a philosopher during the period of the Enlightenment and he defiantly argues that empiricism is the only way to know things. He argued we must rid ourselves of sources of superstition, prejudice and error. The battle present in The Lamplighter is the Enlightenment versus Superstition. A century or more after the scientific and rational movement, Edinburgh, Scotland is embedded with Enlightenment theories. But, unexplainable murders are committed and baffling creatures are seen during the night. Professor Bolan questions Grove about the necessity to never leave out the possibility of witchcraft and sorcery in his quest for truth. This is the question that many in Edinburgh are skeptical about. Could it be demons? Could it be supernatural things, unexplained by science? This battle indefinitely adds to the mystery and the tension.
Anthony O'Neill is a great author. By using Hume's own questions and either replicating them or taking them to a greater extent, he adds to his novel's mystery. The setting, the questions of imagination, the inquiry regarding the Mirror Society and the battle of science versus sorcery all intensify The Lamplighter's thrill, terror, and adventure. This novel is the detective story meets the thriller. From the novel's midpoint to the end, it is genuine page-turning suspense.
Thrilling!.......2005-12-05
Murder, mayhem and metaphysics in 1886 Scotland. A young orphan girl is dreaming brutal murders. Or is she committing them? Professor McKnight and his assitant Joseph Canavan are on the case. Or are they part of the dream? And what of Inspector Carus Groves, the bumbling Edinburgh detective? Is he so inept that he's bound to stumble upon the truth? This is a fascinating and multi-layered murder mystery, part Sherlock Holmes and part Umbert Eco. Not the least bit scary, but the tone is very different from most horror stories. Challenging, thrilling, and enlightening.
Disappointing.......2005-07-04
This book could have been so much better. The story was interesting for a while until the author got bogged down in a philosophical/religious quagmire. The characters aren't developed well and the ending was unbelievable.
Didn't suspend MY disbelief.......2005-05-08
Good writing and atmosphere held my attention for a time, but a descent into metaphysical, quasi-religious claptrap had me gasping in disbelief. I understand that tastes differ, but this was a waste of my time.
Amazon.com
Edinburgh police inspector John Rebus's obsession--rock & roll--seems odd for a man whose dark, depressed side is so central to his character, but Ian Rankin always manages to work it gracefully into his noirish novels featuring Rebus. In Set in Darkness, Rebus has a fling with Lorna Grieve, a faded rock muse who's the sister of Roddy Grieve, an up-and-coming politico who turns up dead on the grounds of the boarded-up hospital that's being torn down to make way for the new Scottish Parliament. Grieve's body is the second in the space of days found at Queensberry House; the first was a skeleton bricked up in the fireplace. That decades-old murder seems to be tied to the suicide of a mysterious homeless man whose hefty bank balance is revealed well before his true identity.
'So what's the story with Mr Supertramp anyway?'
'He had all this money he either couldn't spend or didn't want to. He took on a new identity. My theory is that he was hiding.'
'Maybe.' He was rifling through the scraps on the desk. She folded her arms, gave him a hard look which he failed to notice. He opened the bread bag and shook out the contents: disposable razor, a sliver of soap, toothbrush. 'An organized mind,' he said. 'Makes himself a wash bag. Doesn't like being dirty.'
'It's like he was acting the part,' she said.
There are always plenty of subplots in a Rankin mystery. This time he adds a stalker who happens to be one of Rebus's colleagues, a couple of toughs who hang out in singles clubs and finish their evenings with a rape or two, and the ongoing story of Rebus's tortured past--a bitter divorce, a daughter still recovering from a terrible accident, and a drinking problem. Set in Darkness hit the bestseller list in Great Britain and should enjoy the same success in its U.S. edition. Rankin's ability to keep finding new dimensions in Rebus, handle intricate plot details brilliantly, and evoke the gloom and darkness of his setting keep winning him new admirers, with just cause. --Jane Adams
Book Description
On the eve of the first Scottish parliament in three hundred years, Edinburgh is a city rife with political passions and expectations.Queensbury House, the home of Scotland's new rulers, falls in the middle of John Rebus' turf, keeping him busy with ceremonial tasks.That quickly changes, however, when a long-dead body is discovered in a Queensbury House fireplace, a homeless man throws himself off a bridge - leaving behind a suitcase full of cash - and an up-and-coming politician is found murdered.The links between the three deaths lead Rebus to a confrontation with one of Edinburgh's most notorious criminals, a man he thought he'd put in jail for life.Someone's going to make a lot of money out of Scotland's independence - and, as Rebus knows all too well, where there's big money at stake, darkness gathers.
Customer Reviews:
I Was A Little Disappointed.......2007-07-04
This was my first Ian Rankin novel. There are three investigations going on in this novel and at the end they all tie in together. John Rebus is well drawn and is interesting. I found the story dragging at times. It's a complex crime novel. I rate this a A-.
A long and slow spiral .......2007-06-30
I have been reading this series in sequence, so I have been entertained by how Rankin is getting better at creating complex and convoluted plot twists and marveled at how refined his character development has become.
I believe this book marked a turning point. Rebus' drinking had always been a continuous and important sidebar of the story, it got relief earlier in the series. But when Rebus'friend Jack Morton was killed, Rebus fell off the wagon hard, and it really and truly made the character all the more complex and interesting. The drinking is now front and center and ruling his life and his work. Rebus can be seen to be in a slow death spiral towards uncontrollable depression, or does it? This is the beauty of the Inspector Rebus series, you begin to care about Rebus, no matter how bad he is with truth, women, relationships, and rules. As in a relation ship with real people, no one starts being completely hateful, but over the series of 12 books, I have come to know the character, I feel I know his history, and despite his odious state of de-evolution, I still care about the character because of the history that Rankin built up over the 12 books. I can't wait to read the rest of the series just for the Rebus development.
The mystery part involves three seemingly disparate deaths, one of a tramp, the second of a up and coming politician, and the third of a man whose death went unnoticed 20 years ago but he jumped back into the public consciousness in a very notable way. At first blush, I didn't think Rankin would be able to pull all this together into one story arc, but he did. I really should stop doubting his ability to do this. The procedure and methodology that Rankin uses to progress his story is once again, very enlightening. Mix in his accounting of the Scottish government and history, the history of 60's and 70's rock and roll, as well as his understated sarcastic asides makes this a very complex and enjoyable read, if you like life complicated, real, and not easily categorized nor understood. The story comes to an end, a very conclusive end, but also with a very depressing twist which sets Rebus up with a very difficult reality. You may not like it, but it is definitely a juicy beginning for the rest of the series.
Alfred Hitchcock would have loved John Rebus' Character.......2006-06-11
Once again (it's so repetitious) Ian Rankin has written a novel that is almost perfect in every way. The story just seems to grow as it goes along, and the characters appear as if this is just a narrative of some tragedy that actually happened and Rankin is just the reporter.
A murder (of a man of a well known family who is standing for the Scottish Parliment and brother of an MP), a suicide (by a man we would call a street person) and a dead body (murdered twenty years ago and wall up in a building under renovation. All this is happening around and in the new Scottish Parliment building and John and Siobhan are off on the most interesting story so far (until the next one).
With the imminent retirement of the Chief Super, Farmer Watson, we know that John is in for trouble with whoever becomes his next boss. It's nice to see Watson get in a few good licks before he leaves the scene. Another DI (the blue eyed boy), is sent by Fettes to watch over this case which they feel is too high profile for a maverick like Rebus.
Of course Rebus gets on his bad side immediately, not to mention everyone else. But with the tenacity that he brings to everything his does, Rebus will find out the truth in the end. What he's not expecting is how. Once again a great read.
It's a stretch to tie this all together........2006-03-08
A body found in a bricked up fireplace after twenty years, a murdered candidate for Scottish parliament, and a suicide with a big secret and it all ties together? Well, it's a bit of a stretch in this one. Renkin works hard and it shows. This is a disparate lot of puzzles, and it is really reaching to work them together. Without the deus ex machina in the form of Rebus's favorite foe, Big Ger it wouldn't really happen at all. It is this occasional dependence on the Scottish crime lord that often works against the series, sometimes it seems an easy way out when Rebus needs something done, either directly or indirectly, and in pops Cafferty. This is a solid outing, but too many characters pop in and out without real purpose making the novel probably 100 pages more than it needs to be.
A Book that is Dark, Brooding and Forbidding and Very Alive.......2004-04-04
Hard-drinking, hard-smoking, divorced Edinburgh cop DI John Rebus is a man who does things his way as he moves through the brooding city of Edinburgh, searching for both his own lost soul and the criminals who lurk in its dark places. DI Derek Linford, in contrast, does things the boss's way, much to Rebus's chagrin.
Both are seconded to the police liaison team for the new Scottish Parliament at Queensberry House when a corpse is found hidden behind a fireplace in one of the parliament buildings. From the condition of the body, it appears that it's been there a long time, years, decades.
A few days later the body of Roddy Grieve, a Labor Party candidate for a seat in the new parliament, is found on the grounds. Grieve comes from a well-known Scottish family. His mother is a famous artist, his brother is a Tory MP, his sister is an ex-supermodel married to an ageing rock star and there is another brother who went missing 20 years ago. Sniffing about for clues as only he can, Rebus comes to suspect the body in the fireplace may be connected to Grieve's murder.
Meanwhile, Rebus's former partner, Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke, is driving home one evening when she happens to see a homeless man leap to his death from a bridge. Following up, she discovers that the supposedly poor and destitute man had over £400,000 in a building society account. He also had the same name as the man whose remains were found behind that fireplace.
Add to the above the escalating violence of a serial rapist who targets women in singles clubs and, as if that isn't enough, Rebus must face the unexpected prison release of his old nemesis, Edinburgh crime boss Big Ger Cafferty, whose interest in Rebus isn't exactly friendly. And through all this, Rebus has to work alongside Linford, a paper pusher on the fast track to promotion.
Little of modern Edinburgh has escaped Rankin's attention here. In fact, one might mistake this excellent novel as a travel guide about where not to go when visiting there. However, there is hope in this book, too. It's just that sometimes it's just a little hard to find, especially when Rankin writes about, corruption, homelessness and despair as if he's been there and seen it all. Yes, this is a dark book. It's also a book that stands apart from others in the genre. It's the kind of book the others aspire to.
Haley Lawford, SV Cheerleader Too
Amazon.com
Edinburgh police detective John Rebus, Ian Rankin's popular series detective, is a brilliantly realized character, as moody, dark, and melancholy as Edinburgh itself. In The Falls, he's almost certain that missing university student Philippa Balfour is dead, but he's less sure how she died or what her misadventure has to do with the tiny doll in a hand-sized coffin that turns up near a waterfall on the Balfour family estate. It's not the first coffin found near the scene of a crime; could Philippa be the victim of a serial killer? The only other lead the police have is a cryptic e-mail from someone called Quiz Master, inviting Philippa--and then constable Siobhan Clarke, who responds using Philippa's screen name--to join him in a bizarre scavenger hunt that might lead Clarke to Philippa's body, her killer, or her own death.
This time out Rebus has a new boss, who's no happier with his unorthodox style or impolitic attitude toward the Edinburgh establishment than his last one was. But even under department suspension, Rebus manages to tie a number of seemingly disparate and unconnected clues together and deliver a killer in a scene that even the most discerning reader may not see coming until it jumps off the page. A bestseller in the U.K., The Falls is Rankin's best yet. --Jane Adams
Book Description
Ian Rankin's John Rebus, arguably the most realistic detective in crime fiction, is a brilliant but troubled man. When a young woman goes missing near his native Edinburgh, Scotland, Rebus finds himself just one small cog in the huge wheel of an inquiry set in motion by her powerfully rich father. Struggling to deal with both his own often-terrifying inner demons as well as the monstrous bureaucracy of the investigative team, Rebus finds himself drawn again and again into the case, desperately searching for the girl's salvation, as well as his own.
In time Rebus uncovers two leads: one, a carved wooden doll stuffed tightly into a tiny casket, and the other the missing girl's possible involvement in a dark, disturbing Internet-based role-playing game. He enlists the help of the tech-savvy DC Siobhan Clarke, who is young enough to know her way around the net, but who may not be old and wise enough to avoid potentially deadly pitfalls and traps. Meanwhile, Rebus tracks down stories of similar caskets and dolls turning up in the area deep into Edinburgh's past, some stretching back to a time when body-snatchers turned into brutal killers.
As Rebus and Clarke delve deeper and deeper into these perilous and obscure worlds, ancient and modern evils begin to converge and soon Rebus finds he's besieged by an impenetrable mass of secrets, lies, and deadly deceit that only he can make sense of. In The Falls, a brilliant addition to an award-winning series, both John Rebus and his creator, Ian Rankin, are at the top of their intense and satisfying form.
Customer Reviews:
Just another great Rankin/Rebus to puzzle over .......2006-08-09
A wealthy young college socialite has gone missing, and a miniture coffin has been found near her home. Rebus is trying to settle in with his new DCS (Gill Templer) while working out how to handle their prior relationship. At the same time he is having his apartment made ship-shape so that he can put it on the market, though he has no idea where he wants to move. He is also becoming involved with Jean, who is a curator (and PhD) at the Scottish Museum.
While reviewing the MisPers (missing persons) computer, Siobhan has found that she was involved in a role playing game. Could this be related to her disappearance? Is her on/off boyfriend involved, and what about his and her parents situations.
As with all Rebus mysteries, there are a lot of 'red herrings' to be eliminated, as well as trying to hold onto the actual clues. When the MisPer turns up dead, the stakes get higher as Rebus guesses that this may be related to a thirty-year murder spree. Typically, the ending is violent, but for a change Rebus only ends up with a sprained ankle.
It's a grand story for laddies and lassies alike. Slainte.
Good story, good telling, somewhat repetitive.......2006-06-23
There are several ways to use repetition in a novel: to show different angles of an object or event, to add detail to an ongoing process, or to create atmosphere. Rankin tries for the latter, giving us the patently effective formula of 1/2 technical mystery and 1/2 cerebral soap opera, but this book goes on a bit long in the second half especially. The mystery itself is reasonably solid but guessable by readers with experience in the UK (Scotland is not England) style of mystery writing. What salvages this as always is the contrast between the insuppressible Rebus and the system of predictability around him, and the details such as the brightly insightful Siobhan Clarke. Still, it is better than most books written in this genre, and its scenes are more artfully constructed to stay in memory, as are its playful indulgences with language.
A Good 'Puzzle' for Rebus!.......2006-05-05
'The Falls' was my introduction to the Rebus book series. I'd seen a few of the TV adapatations, which were OK, but when I realized how many changes were made(The TV version of 'The Falls' is almost unrecognizable), I wanted to see if I could find any of the original material.
I enjoyed getting to know the complex characters, and I didn't feel like I was bagged down by too much of their history from previous books. Rebus has asome very interesting strengths and shortcomings, and both he and Siobhan balance some delicate personal and professional conflicts in this story.
The plot of 'The Falls' was easy enough to follow(Why would anyone who only read three pages bother reviewing it?), and I was intrigued by some of the background info involving the coffins to look up the real-life nineteenth century murder spree mentioned in this story.
Granted, some of the internet references weren't perfect(confusing e-mails with instant messages),and while some have said the 'office politics' of the Edinburgh police were the strength of the book, I couldhave done with slightly less of it in later chapters. Still, it was a good way to mix 'old' and 'new' techniques in crimefighting and crime fiction.
So, while this may not have been the best jumping-on point for a 'Rebus' newbie, I'll be back for more!
You Can Never Get Enough of John Rebus.......2005-01-05
Edinburgh Detective Inspector John Rebus is the kind of anti-hero you hate to love. He's a rule breaking fuse ready to go off at the drop of a dime. He's a loser at love, listens to rock music, drinks too much, worries about getting old, shuns exercise and anything remotely healthy. He's also very, very good at what he does, and that is catching crooks.
Philippa "Flip" Balfour the daughter of a rich investment banker disappears and, of course, her boyfriend is a prime suspect. So also is one of her father's colleagues, but then a weird tiny hadn card doll in a miniture coffin is found and Rebus realises he faces more than an isolated case. And DC Siobhan Clarke volunteers to pursues clues left by an Internet role-playing gamer, by taking on Flip's identity in the game.
The intricate puzzle, masterful pacing and magical description of Edinburhg are guaranteed to keep you flipping through the pages, reading like a ball afire, charging toward the thrilling climax. Rankin is a pro, he never disappoints.
Great Page Turner.......2004-09-28
I picked up The Falls while on a weekend getaway and do not feel sorry about this. The book starts slowly and at the beginning the story sounds like something I've read in other crime fictions. However, I quickly got more than involved with the details in the story - from finding a reality internet game ring leader to solving the mystery of the wooden coffins. Rebus' character is hard not to like - a detective near retirement who has his own principles and vices and who also listens only to his own instincts. If you have free time or just want to read an entertaining book go for the Falls.
Average customer rating:
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Castle Dangerous (Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels S.)
Sir Walter Scott , and
J. H. Alexander
Manufacturer: Edinburgh University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
19th Century
| British
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
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Classics
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Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
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Scott, Sir Walter
| ( S )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
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| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
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ASIN: 0748605886 |
Book Description
In Castle Dangerous, Walter Scott retells a story found in Barbour's Brus. Set in the early fourteenth century during the Scottish Wars of Independence, an English knight defends Douglas Castle against Scottish attempts to retake it. The ballad-like story touches on national rivalry and the idealization of love. The Douglas area, seen as an almost surrealist, gloomy landscape of ravines, trenches, and tombs, perfectly reflect Scott's bleak narrative.
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