Hanging Garden

Friends of mine have been raving about Rebus for years, now I know why - superb as always - and Ian Rankin is obviously a fan of one of my favourite bands The Cure, what could be better.

Ian Rankin's writing ranks right up there with Colin Dexter and Reginald Hill in my opinion. I am a great fan of this genre of mystery and this is probably the best book that I've read so far that depicts gang rivalries and outright gang wars. Rebus finds himself drawn right into the middle of the

Show More

biggest gang war that his city of Edinburgh has ever seen. This to me is Rankin's best novel so far in this series. I can only hope that the others that follow will maintain this high standard. I couldn't put the book down, and now I can hardly wait to read the next book in the series. Rankin is an author to be reckoned with and that's for sure.

Show Less

Excellent entry in the Rebus series sees Rankin delving deeply into his creation's motivation. The multi-stranded plot elements come together successfully and the ironic twist in the tail is a real stinger.

Another excellent Rebus novel.

Stuck looking for an old Nazi war criminal while gangland war is breaking out, Rebus is forced to make a deal with the proverbial devil, Big Ger Cafferty, when his own daughter is attacked. This is another captivating installment in the Rebus-series and, as usual, Rankin doesn't disappoint with

Show More

excellent characters, great dialogue, and plot-twists that'll give you whiplash. I'm loving this series! Even though I had seen a TV-episode based on this novel, there are so many different layers that it was a thoroughly enjoyable read despite already knowing the resolution to some parts of the mystery.

Show Less

Bloody is the word for this one. Very bloody.

Synopsis: Samantha is struck by a hit and run driver and Rebus thinks that it was to get at him. It also looks like there is going to be a gang war and two new gangs, one from Russia and the other from Japan are moving in. Add to this a suspected Nazi and meddling from London and Rebus is in yet

Show More

another mess.
Review: These books are much better since the stories aren't reliant on an alcoholic main character.

Show Less

This was the ninth novel featuring Detective Inspector John Rebus, and the reader finds him caught in the middle of a gang war in Edinburgh between the established forces of Maurice Gerald Cafferty ("Big Ger"), Rebus's long-standing foe, recently arrived upstart, Tommy Telford.

Rebus is not too

Show More

concerned by the prospect of the gangsters killing each other off, though it is only a matter of time before innocent bystanders are caught in the crossfire. Besides, he has other matters demanding his attention. An eminent professor at the city's university has been accused of being a war criminal, complicit in the massacre of the civilian population of a small village in France in the tail end of the Second World War. Rebus has been assigned to investigate whether there is a case to answer. In the meantime, personal tragedy intervenes, and Rebus is left wondering whether an apparent accident that befalls his daughter might actually have been something more sinister. It looks like he has chosen the wrong time to try to give up alcohol, especially as he is carrying a half-bottle of whisky around with him, just in case!

Like its predecessor in the series, this showed Rankin and Rebus moving into another gear.. There are several parallel plots, all with their own intricacies and inherent plausibility. The relationships between Rebus and both Cafferty and Siobhan Clarke, his often reluctant protégée, continue to develop, assuming Byzantine intricacies and twists of their own.

Show Less

Compelling and nasty as always.

I don't think I would want to inhabit John Rebus's world but it sure makes for a gripping read.

In this book, Rebus's daughter, Samantha, is hit by a car just after she and Rebus had dinner together. Samantha suffers a serious head injury and is unconscious for days. Rebus is out for revenge and he

Show More

goes to Big Ger Cafferty, crime boss of Edinburgh presently in jail, for help in finding out who did this. Rebus thinks it will probably lead back to Tommy Telford, another criminal who is trying to take over Cafferty's turf. Rebus got involved in saving a woman, Candice/Katrina, who was a prostitute in Telford's organization. For a few nights Candice stayed with Samantha and Rebus thinks Telford targeted Samantha because of this. So Rebus is also wanting to take Telford down. His assigned case involves a man who is suspected of committing wartime atrocities during the second World War. It's a common device to link disparate cases together but Rankin handles it so masterfully I couldn't find a fake note.

One of the things I really like about the Rebus books is the constant reference to music, primarily rock and roll from the sixties. Rebus is a fan of Van the Man Morrison and he has this to say about one of his recordings:

He put Van Morrison on the hifi: Hardnose the Highway. He'd played this music on East Neuk beaches and tenement stakeouts. It always seemed to heal him, or at least patch the wounds.

I know just what he means.

Show Less

Another great book in the Inspector Rebus series. Big surprise at the end of this book.

John Rebus is investigating a crime from World War Two: A war criminal, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of French people, is supposed to have hid in Edinburgh since the end of the war. But Rebus is also drawn into a battle of different gangs in the city, and everything becomes personal when

Show More

his daughter has an accident that might be connected to it.

I must say that to me this was the best Rebus book so far. All the strands of the story were equally gripping, and I enjoyed the style and atmosphere so much. Usually I am not a fan of the plots involving the Scottish gangsters and too many police persons from the different stations, but while it was still a bit hard to not loose track of who was who, it was easier than in the previous novels and did not distract from the plot. What a superb crime novel! I hope to continue with the series soon!

Show Less