Resurrection Men: An Inspector Rebus Novel

by Ian Rankin

Book Overview

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316766844
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
• Length: 436 Pages
• Weight: 1.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.8" x 1.5" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant

Great character development, brilliant plot developments, twisty endings, realistic settings. 435 pages holds your interest all the way through, this book follows after The Falls, the development of the supporting/background characters continues in believable and interesting fashion. The complexity of the plots that sometimes run parallel then may fold in on themselves, then unfold, is fascinating. A great detective story, fantastic writing. If you are in the mood to read two, read The Falls first and then this; however you can read this one on its own and be very pleased.

Detective John Rebus at his best!!!

Detective John Rebus goes "under" at the request of his superiors to find the "dirty cops" in this Scottish novel.This is superb writing, you get the feel of the characters, are inside their minds editing as they speak and wondering as they do what will happen next. I have read enough mysteries that I can often guess the ending- this story was more subtle and more exciting- a great, great read...

A+ for Rankin

I have a note for Rebus fans and new comers.For John Rebus fans:This newest book is a must. Buy it, if for no other reason, than the supplementary note in the front of the book that exlains the Scottish police force chain of command. No longer do we North Americans have to wonder whether a DC takes home more in his "pay packet" than an ACC. Or what a "wooley suiter" is. Hey, you can use this handy list when you watch "Frost" and other British police shows popping up on PBS stations or on Canadian TV whose signals stretch over the borders. Better yet, use it when you see a "John Rebus" special on TV over here when you can find one showing. I won't go into the story details--other reveiws have done a good job on doing that, but what I will say is that I thought the story started out very well. There were many exciting possibilities in it (A+) for that. But, I would have liked to see a lot more ending action. But overall, I still give the book 5 stars (4 for the story and 1 for the supplementary info)For new comers:The John Rebus stories are a series. Each book is fine as a stand alone. I read them out of order and liked them anyway, but if you have an opportunity, read them in order. However, this particular story does very well as a stand alone if you want to read it first and then start from the beginning. Rebus is a detective with personal problems--which seem to aid his work rather than detract from it. It is fun to watch him sometimes suffer, sometimes stumble, but always work methodically through a case. Rebus is a very human character.End of comments

a truly wonderful reading experience

In a moment of pure frustration, DI Rebus throws a mug of tea at his superior DCS Gill Templer. This action causes him to be removed from the Marber murder inquiry (Edward Marber was a successful Edinburgh art dealer who was brutally murdered outside his residence), and sent to Tulliallan Police College for counseling and a refresher's course on how to be a better police officer. There, he meets other officers who have all been sent up for the same reasons -- an inability to deal with authority and proper police procedure -- the Resurrection Men (or the Wild Men depending on who you're talking to) who have all been given this one last chance to pull up their socks and rescue what's left of their careers. As part of their rehabilitation, the Resurrection Men have been given a cold case to investigate -- the murder of Eric Lomax, a vicious small time crook who was beaten to death sometime in 1995. The point of this exercise is to go over (again) the previous inquiry and to understand where that initial investigation had gone wrong, see if any new leads can be further developed, and to see if they can all work together as a team and actually get a result. Hindering this current investigation however are secrets that some of the Resurrection Men have pertaining to the original investigation -- Rebus included. Will these secrets come back to haunt these officers? Will the secrets actually affect the current investigation? More worrying for Rebus however is the sinking feeling that any time now someone will discover his particular secret, and that he will really have to face the music for having crossed the line that fateful day in 1995..."The Resurrection Men" proved to be quite to read. Ian Rankin does a wonderful job of painting in Rebus's feeling of paranoia and loneliness as he tries to do his job as well as make sure that no one ever discovers what he did back then. Also nicely done was the manner in which Rankin seamlessly sews together the three subplots -- the subplot involving the Resurrection Men's reexamination of the Lomax murder; DS Siobhan Clark's investigation of the Marber murder; and a third subplot involving Rebus that I will not go into so as to enter into the realm of plot spoilers. And even though I expected that all these subplots would suddenly come together with a bang, waiting to see how Rankin would actually achieve this was still a treat. Some resolutions I expected but some still surprised me (in a good way, that is).Well written, with strong character developments and a plot that unfolded smoothly and with nice tight pacing, "The Resurrection Men" was fun to read and should not be missed.

Well, 13 obviously isn't unlucky for Rankin....

Detective Inspector Rebus has crossed the line. Never one for authority, this time he has gone too far. During a dispute over how to handle the investigation into the death of Edinburgh art dealer Edward Marber, Rebus throws a mug of coffee over the Chief Super, and is immediately suspended. He then faces his Last Chance Saloon, as he is sent back to Police College for punishment, to learn the foreign (to Rebus, at least) arts of discipline and respect for authority. He is placed with four other of the force's more unorthodox members, and as a training exercise they are given an unsolved case - the murder of Edinburgh low-life Rico Lomax - to have a deeper look at. However, it soon becomes apparent to Rebus that something incredibly fishy is going on, something that has to do with the real reason their superiors have asked them to investigate this case...Meanwhile, back in Edinburgh, Rebus' protégé DS Siobhan Clark is left to deal with the killing of the art dealer, and feels herself being thrown into uncertainty when the name of notorious gangster - and Rebus's nemesis - Morris Gerald Cafferty, recently released from prison, turns up. Is she ready to follow in Rebus's footsteps, and is she capable of contending with the possible new complexities of an already puzzling case?This, Rankin's 13th Rebus novel, is one of his very best. It boasts a brilliantly thick plot, true to previous form, more great characters, a tense yet blunt writing style, and of course Edinburgh, which continues to breath and pulse like a menacing giant. John Rebus is on absolutely wonderful form yet again in a complex, engrossing, and incredibly strong book, and DS Clarke is marvellous, becoming more and more like her boss every day. It is clear that Rankin is priming her to step into Rebus' shoes upon his retirement, which is surely not far away. And when Rankin does retire him to a more background role, reader's need not worry, as Clarke is an ideal replacement.I would recommend this book, indeed to entire series, the best currently being produced in Britain, to anyone who is a fan of brilliant crime novels. In the UK Rankin is a writing phenomena, sales of his books alone account for approximately 10% of the ENTIRE British crime market. And quite deservedly so. He's a brilliant crime writer whose talents eclipse those of even such greats as Michael Connelly (in my opinion), and Resurrection Men can only further cement his growing readership in the US. If there's any justice, Resurrection Men, this 13th in the rebus series, will be a best-seller all over America.