The Hanging Garden (Inspector Rebus Series) - Softcover

Ian Rankin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312969139 ISBN 13: 9780312969134

Synopsis

His daughter's life hangs in the balance as Detective Inspector Rebus becomes caught up in the middle of two dangerous investigations--one involving a suspected Nazi war criminal, and the other a dispute between two rival gangs. Reprint.

About this title

Review

Ian Rankin's ninth book about Inspector John Rebus of the Edinburgh police is so full of story that it seems about to explode into shapeless anarchy at any moment. What keeps it from doing so is Rankin's strong heart and even stronger writing skills. When a Bosnian prostitute refuses to testify against a crime boss who has threatened her family, he says this about the cops trying to pressure her: "Silence in the room. They were all looking at her. Four men, men with jobs, family ties, men with lives of their own. In the scheme of things, they seldom realised how well off they were. And now they realised something else: how helpless they were."

Rebus is trying to help the young woman--renamed Candice by the young, slick, brutal thug Tommy Telford, who is into everything from drugs and prostitution to aiding a Japanese business syndicate in acquiring a local golf course-- because she's about the same age and physical aspect as his own daughter, Sammy. He's also conducting the investigation of a suspected Nazi war criminal, an old man who spends his time tending graves in Warriston cemetery. "A cemetery should have been about death, but Warriston didn't feel that way to Rebus. Much of it resembled a rambling ark into which some statuary had been dropped," Rankin writes with the icy clarity of cold water over stone.

Add to this Rebus's involvement with an imprisoned crime boss in a plan to bring Telford down; his continuing battle with drink; the strong possibility that people high up in the British Government don't want the old Nazi exposed; danger to Sammy and her journalist lover because of her father's work, and a somewhat strained metaphor of Edinburgh as a new Babylon and you have an admittedly large pot of stew. But Rankin's high art keeps it all bubbling and rich with flavour. Others in the Rebus series include his 1997 Edgar Award-nominated Black and Blue, as well as Hide and Seek, Knots and Crosses,, Let It Bleed, Mortal Causes, Strip Jack, and Tooth and Nail. --Dick Adler, Amazon.com

Review

"Rebus, a puzzle to himself and an enigma to everyone else ... remains one of the most charismatic heroes in contemporary crime fiction."--"Kirkus Reviews" "The two cases [Rebus] is investigating here are complex, like one of those fiendishly difficult double-sided jigsaws. The skill with which Rankin fits them together is formidable."
--"Sunday Telegraph" "Rankin's handling of the gangland plot, culminating in a sting designed to entrap the multi-national mobsters as they raid a huge drug-making plant is masterly."
--"Sunday Times" "Rankin uses his laconic prose as a literary paint stripper, scouring away pretensions to reveal the unwholesome reality beneath."
--"Independent"

Rebus, a puzzle to himself and an enigma to everyone else ... remains one of the most charismatic heroes in contemporary crime fiction. "Kirkus Reviews"

The two cases [Rebus] is investigating here are complex, like one of those fiendishly difficult double-sided jigsaws. The skill with which Rankin fits them together is formidable. "Sunday Telegraph"
""

Rankin's handling of the gangland plot, culminating in a sting designed to entrap the multi-national mobsters as they raid a huge drug-making plant is masterly. "Sunday Times"

Rankin uses his laconic prose as a literary paint stripper, scouring away pretensions to reveal the unwholesome reality beneath. "Independent""

Rebus, a puzzle to himself and an enigma to everyone else ... remains one of the most charismatic heroes in contemporary crime fiction. Kirkus Reviews

The two cases [Rebus] is investigating here are complex, like one of those fiendishly difficult double-sided jigsaws. The skill with which Rankin fits them together is formidable. Sunday Telegraph

Rankin's handling of the gangland plot, culminating in a sting designed to entrap the multi-national mobsters as they raid a huge drug-making plant is masterly. Sunday Times

Rankin uses his laconic prose as a literary paint stripper, scouring away pretensions to reveal the unwholesome reality beneath. Independent

"

"Rebus, a puzzle to himself and an enigma to everyone else ... remains one of the most charismatic heroes in contemporary crime fiction." --Kirkus Reviews

"The two cases [Rebus] is investigating here are complex, like one of those fiendishly difficult double-sided jigsaws. The skill with which Rankin fits them together is formidable." --Sunday Telegraph

"Rankin's handling of the gangland plot, culminating in a sting designed to entrap the multi-national mobsters as they raid a huge drug-making plant is masterly." --Sunday Times

"Rankin uses his laconic prose as a literary paint stripper, scouring away pretensions to reveal the unwholesome reality beneath." --Independent

Edition details

• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312969139
• ISBN 13: 9780312969134
• Binding: Paperback