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Title: Black and Blue by Ian Rankin ISBN: 0-312-96677-6 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 February, 1999 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.63 (19 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great Discovery
Comment: Some friends gave me this as a Christmas 2002 gift. They knew I liked mysteries/thrillers as I am a close follower of Michael Connelly, Jeffrey Deaver, Ridley Pearson, James Patterson, Robert Crais, and many others. I found this book to be amazing. So much so that I have already read the first four books in the Rebus series and am reading them in sequence. Rankin's detective Rebus is the Scottish version of Connelly's Harry Bosch -- only more extreme and maybe more interesting. Certainly more gritty. And he loves the Rolling Stones! Rankin is a highly intelligent writer and you can see his skills develop from the early books with "Srip Jack" being a turning point of sophistication. I've read that Rankin writes "Tartan Noir." That's a good way to put it. The novels remind me of the best film noir where the cigarette smoke is thick and the booze runs like a river. Being in Scotland also is a real treat, adding a new element of continual interest verus the usual beats of Los Angeles or New York. The layers of intelligence and plot development are lovely. Rankin has an uncanny ability to interweave plot, keep us guesing, and is always surprising us. Keep up the great work Ian. I plan to slow down as I hit the second half of the series as I want to keep Rebus fresh for as long as I can.
Rating: 3
Summary: The plot thickens...and thickens and thickens
Comment: Let me say at the outset that I am a Rankin fan. Police Detective John Rebus is a real human character, and Edinburgh makes a fascinating background to his stories, which are generally well plotted. However, "In Black and Blue," Rankin was just a little too ambitious. There are enough plots and subplots for five books, and he isn't always deft at juggling them. I often found myself scratching my head and flipping back pages to remember who a particular character was (there are a dozen major police characters alone). This is a major distraction in a mystery novel, which should be read full steam ahead. The plot strands involve gangsters, drug dealers, rogue cops, the oil trade, and two (count them two) serial killers. The denouement of all this is far from satisfying: the strands don't come together as neatly as a reader would have wished.
I'm still high on Rankin, but I wish he had turned this one into two separate novels (perhaps "Black" and "Blue").
Rating: 5
Summary: Biscuit-Tins and Wooly Suits galore!
Comment: My first Rankin book (of many more to come). Loved the challenge!! Not only is there a labyrinth of plots and interesting characters, but the setting of Scotland opens up a whole new vista for readers of mysteries, not to mention the colorful language! We're off to Scotland for our first trip there this summer and decided to read the #1 crime writer's book to put us in the mood and get ins to the locale and vocabulary. It was served up in style: Oxford Bar, Weegie-land, stooshie, usquebaugh, squaddies, Furry Boot Town, Ribena, Irn Bru, parrafin budgies, choobs, blether and on and on.... btw Black and Blue is a Rolling Stone number and Ian Rankin is always tying his moods into various musicians and their music! It's a super read.
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Title: Let It Bleed by Ian Rankin ISBN: 0312966652 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin ISBN: 0312969139 Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur Pub. Date: 15 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Strip Jack by Ian Rankin ISBN: 0312965141 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 May, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Mortal Causes by Ian Rankin ISBN: 0312960948 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 January, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Black Book by Ian Rankin ISBN: 0312976755 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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