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Sarah Broadhurst's view...
August 2010 Book of the Month.
The complaints of the title is the ‘Complaints and Conduct Department’, a section of the police force which investigates the behaviour of other police officers. Rankin’s new character, Malcolm Fox, works for them. He’s very different from Rebus, being a moral and clean-living man but he is equally fascinating.
Rankin’s gritty Edinburgh is still central, and there is an evil, corrupt undercurrent to yet another brilliant police procedure thriller from a master of the genre. If you haven’t tried Rankin, this is an excellent place to start.
Comparison: Colin Dexter, Peter James, Mark Billingham.
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Synopsis
The Complaints by Ian Rankin
Nobody likes The Complaints - they're the cops who investigate other cops. Complaints and Conduct Department, to give them their full title, but known colloquially as 'the Dark Side', or simply 'The Complaints'. Malcolm Fox works for The Complaints. He's just had a result, and should be feeling good about himself. But he's middle-aged, sour and unwell. He also has a father in a care home and a sister who persists in an abusive relationship. In the midst of an aggressive Edinburgh winter, the reluctant Fox is given a new task. There's a cop called Jamie Breck, and he's dirty. Problem is, no one can prove it. But as Fox takes on the job, he learns that there's more to Breck than anyone thinks. This knowledge will prove dangerous, especially when murder intervenes.
Reviews
'If you haven't tried Rankin, this is an excellent place to start.'
Sarah Broadhurst SUNDAY TIMES
'Ian Rankin efficiently exorcises the ghost of Rebus in this post-Rebus stand-alone novel, set in the police complaints department in a recession-riven Edinburgh'
METRO
'Another slick crime caper from a master at the top of his game'
(4 stars) NEWS OF THE WORLD
'a familiar Rankin blend of whodunnit, workplace soap opera and a spiky guide to Edinburgh, handled with flair and finesse. With The Complaints, the author conclusively shows that he can put together a satisfyingly complex detetective story without a Rolling Stones-loving, former SAS sleuth at its centre'
John Dugdale SUNDAY TIMES
'The first Rankin novel featuring Edinburgh policeman, Malcolm Fox, a very different character from DI Rebus, who works for the unpopular Complaints & Conduct department of the Edinburgh force'
GOOD BOOK GUIDE
'Ian Rankin showed their was life after Rebus by creating a new set of Scottish police characters in the very satisfying THE COMPLAINTS'
DEADLY PLEASURES
About the Author
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Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh and has since been employed as grape-picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist and punk musician.
His first Rebus novel, Knots & Crosses, was published in 1987 and the Rebus books have now been translated into 22 languages and are increasingly popular in the USA.
Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and is a past winner of the prestigious Chandler-Fulbright Award, as well two CWA short-story 'Daggers' and the 1997 CWA Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction for Black & Blue, which was also shortlisted for the Mystery Writers of America 'Edgar' award for best novel. Dead Souls, the tenth novel in the series, was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger in 1999. Black & Blue, The Hanging Garden, Dead Souls and Mortal Causes have been televised on ITV, starring John Hannah as Inspector Rebus. His 3-part documentary series on the subject of evil was broadcast on Channel 4 in December 2002. An Alumnus of the Year at Edinburgh University, he has also been awarded two honorary doctorates, one from the University of Abertay Dundee and one, more recently, from the University of St Andrews.
He was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Golden Jubilee Birthday Honours List in June 2002 and is now the UK's number one best-selling crime writer. Ian Rankin lives in Edinburgh with his wife and two sons.
A message from Ian Rankin...
"The 'Ian Rankin's Edinburgh' app has a winter update and its still free, free, free. Its available for iPhone and Android, I'm told. I'm sure that means something to most of you..." Click here to find out more.
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Book Info
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Categories
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Categories
Mystery / Thriller
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