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Review
'Audiobook of the week....the main pleasure of these 11 tales lies in the baroque nature of the criminal puzzles the Edinburgh copper has to solve: a student actor hanged on his own gallows; a ghost complete with stigmata; a supposed IRA assassination attempt. Macpherson played DCI Jardine in ITV's Taggart for 16 years, so is at home on this Scottish police beat, which stretches back to Rebus's early years in print' (Karen Robinson THE SUNDAY TIMES )
'A treat for Rebus fans who like clever mysteries served up professionally and fancy-free; unsolved likewise. It was also an unexpected treat for this reviewer, who does not read much crime, but found herself gripped by Rankin's art as a story-teller.' (Melanie Reid THE HERALD )
'Rankin is incapable of writing a bad story, and the four here display the usual mix of easy erudition and wit, finished off with compulsory twists.' (Alison Rowat THE HERALD ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'A treat for Rebus fans who like clever mysteries served up professionally and fancy-free; unsolved likewise. It was also an unexpected treat for this reviewer, who does not read much crime, but found herself gripped by Rankin's art as a story-teller.' (Melanie Reid THE HERALD )
'Rankin is incapable of writing a bad story, and the four here display the usual mix of easy erudition and wit, finished off with compulsory twists.' (Alison Rowat THE HERALD ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Audiobook of the week...the main pleasure of these 11 tales lies in the baroque nature of the criminal puzzles the Edinburgh copper has to solve: a student actor hanged on his own gallows; a ghost complete with stigmata; a supposed IRA assassination attempt. Macpherson played DCI Jardine in ITV's Taggart for 16 years, so is at home on this Scottish police beat, which stretches back to Rebus's early years in print' -- Karen Robinson THE SUNDAY TIMES 'A treat for Rebus fans who like clever mysteries served up professionally and fancy-free; unsolved likewise. It was also an unexpected treat for this reviewer, who does not read much crime, but found herself gripped by Rankin's art as a story-teller.' -- Melanie Reid THE HERALD 'Rankin is incapable of writing a bad story, and the four here display the usual mix of easy erudition and wit, finished off with compulsory twists.' -- Alison Rowat THE HERALD
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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It was the perfect murder. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was the perfect murder. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"A Good Hanging" is a moderately entertaining collection of short stories about Ian Rankin's Edinburgh based Detective Inspector Rebus. Many of them are like little potted versions of the Rebus novels with the labyrinthine plotting expunged and the denouements shortened. Some of the stories are better than others with my personal favourites being "Not Provan" set against the background of a Hearts football match and "The Gentlemen's Club" ,a tragic tale of illicit lust amongst privileged teenage girls.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"A Good Hanging," (1992) is a collection of twelve taut, tight short stories, in the Detective Chief Inspector John Rebus series, by the outstanding, award-winning, author Ian Rankin, currently the best-selling author of British mysteries in the United Kingdom. It can, like most of his work, be described as a police procedural, within the tartan noir school, and it is set in Edinburgh, more or less Rankin's home town. Mind you, it surely isn't the tourists' Edinburgh, with its tartan tea rooms and cobbled streets: Rankin takes readers to far meaner streets than any tourists will ever see. Within the book's pages we see many of the city's anonymous middle-class neighborhoods, and its slums. We also meet blackmailers, peeping toms, and a satisfying quotient of murderers.
However, the stories, well-done as they are, do rather lack the author's usual vibrant commentary on the city of Edinburgh, and on Scots weather, food preferences, social habits, etc. that I always so much enjoy. But, mind you, the book is still written with power, wit and energy. The stories also lack the emotional heft that would make them memorable. Only "The Dean Curse," about a retired army man, evidently written as a comment upon Dashiell Hammett's The Dain Curse (Crime Masterworks); and the title story, about a troupe of green young actors in Edinburgh for its famous annual drama festival, actually get any traction. I must also add that these short stories do not show the playful audacious invention of Irvine Welsh's Reheated Cabbage. Perhaps Rankin finds the short detective story format somewhat limiting. (By the way, "A Good Hanging," is a quote from the fool Feste, in William Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT: "Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage.") Have I ever commented on Rankin's - and his creation Rebus's--mordant humor?
Well, just what is tartan noir? A bloodthirsty, bloody-minded business, to be sure, more violent than the average British mystery, but, thankfully, leavened a bit with that mordant Scots humor. Written (duh!) by Scots. James Ellroy, American author of LA Confidential, has dubbed Rankin the progenitor - and king--of tartan noir. Rankin was nominated for an Edgar Award for Black And Blue: An Inspector Rebus Novel 8, for which he won England's prestigious Gold Dagger Award. He was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, and graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He's been employed as grape-picker, swineherd, taxman, hi-fi journalist, and punk musician. His first Rebus novel Knots And Crosses was published in 1987. His works are now receiving television treatment. His novels can be enjoyed individually; it's not necessary to go back to "Knots and Crosses" to enjoy them: but I wouldn't start here.
However, the stories, well-done as they are, do rather lack the author's usual vibrant commentary on the city of Edinburgh, and on Scots weather, food preferences, social habits, etc. that I always so much enjoy. But, mind you, the book is still written with power, wit and energy. The stories also lack the emotional heft that would make them memorable. Only "The Dean Curse," about a retired army man, evidently written as a comment upon Dashiell Hammett's The Dain Curse (Crime Masterworks); and the title story, about a troupe of green young actors in Edinburgh for its famous annual drama festival, actually get any traction. I must also add that these short stories do not show the playful audacious invention of Irvine Welsh's Reheated Cabbage. Perhaps Rankin finds the short detective story format somewhat limiting. (By the way, "A Good Hanging," is a quote from the fool Feste, in William Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT: "Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage.") Have I ever commented on Rankin's - and his creation Rebus's--mordant humor?
Well, just what is tartan noir? A bloodthirsty, bloody-minded business, to be sure, more violent than the average British mystery, but, thankfully, leavened a bit with that mordant Scots humor. Written (duh!) by Scots. James Ellroy, American author of LA Confidential, has dubbed Rankin the progenitor - and king--of tartan noir. Rankin was nominated for an Edgar Award for Black And Blue: An Inspector Rebus Novel 8, for which he won England's prestigious Gold Dagger Award. He was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, and graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He's been employed as grape-picker, swineherd, taxman, hi-fi journalist, and punk musician. His first Rebus novel Knots And Crosses was published in 1987. His works are now receiving television treatment. His novels can be enjoyed individually; it's not necessary to go back to "Knots and Crosses" to enjoy them: but I wouldn't start here.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A collection of short stories is an excellent way to be introduced to an author, and this collection should net Ian Rankin many, many new readers.
Such an edition as this is rather a throw-back to those good-old 'golden' days of the great mystery writers, such as Dame Agatha, Ellery Queen, Rex Stout and many others who regularly wrote short stories along with their full-length novels. Eventually, when a dozen or so of these little gems had accrued in the author's basket, they would be brought out in their own separate volume. Many of these collections are as well known as the authors' full-length novels.
Following this lead, Mr. Rankin displays a sure touch with this batch of shorter stories, all of which feature Detective Inspector John Rebus of the Edinburgh police force. There are other continuing characters as well, who surface here or there, providing a spot of humor or compassion or just camaraderie.
I'd not read anthing by Mr. Rankin before finding this book. That situation is about to be remedied as I go looking for "Knots and Crosses" to begin at the beginning of the Inspector Rebus tales. I would highly recommend a similar path to any other devoted readers of mystery novels, especially those who treasure a setting that's nearly part of the plot, characters with whom one can practically form a friendship, and above all, exellent writing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Authentic but not impressive
A decent collection of short stories. Some of these stories really fascinated me, but unfortunately not the majority of them. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Stepping Out of the Page
There are better long stories
If you are an Ian Rankin/Rebus fan and haven't got this then when you get it you will enjoy some of the stories. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jeremy Scholes
Hung By the Short and Curio
Short stories are usually a format I don't like; they can never delve deep enough into a story to capture my attention. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sam
Rankin's `aving a laugh
In "A Good Hanging", Ian Rankin gives us a collection of short Rebus stories, with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. Ross Maynard
Top Rankin
An excellent book, even more so for those summer days where you want a quick story. Despite the stories being short over the course of all of them you get to know Inspector Rebus... Read more
Published 14 months ago by T. Gardener
A Good Hanging
Rebus is a great Scottish Detective and looks for the simple way to solve sometimes the obvious in crime.
Rankin knows how to captivate the audience ie us... Read more
Rankin knows how to captivate the audience ie us... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. D. WALTERS
Good intro to Rebus
I had seen the TV series and wanted to try the books. I decided that 12 bite-sized chunks of Rebus would give me a broad flavour of the writing and plotting, rather than having me... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Neil Hardie
An insight into Rebus
This collection of short stories about Rebus seems to me to be ideas that Ian Rankin may at some point have tried to work into some of the Rebus novels. Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2009 by David John
Different lengh, same quality
Having read a number of the Rebus novels I was worried that Rebus in short story form would not be as entertaining. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2003 by G. Heron
Consistently excellent. Rankin never lets us down
Perfect as a first Rankin book and introduction to Rebus, or for a quick fix of excellent stories when you're too busy to spend 10 hours with a Rankin novel that you just can't put... Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2001
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