- Hardcover
- Publisher: Cassell; n.e. edition (1 Nov 2001)
- ISBN-10: 0304364304
- ISBN-13: 978-0304364305
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 16.6 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,948,772 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Hanging Garden
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk 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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
FEATURING AN EXCLUSIVE INTRODUCTION READ BY IAN RANKIN. DI Rebus is up to his neck in a gang war that threatens his family and his career.
--This text refers to the
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First Sentence
John Rebus kissed his daughter. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
John Rebus kissed his daughter. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Whilst working on an old World War 2 crime, John Rebus gets wrapped up in one of the worst gang wars in Edinburgh after his daughter is involved in a hit and run, leaving her in a coma. Rebus does everything he can, including turning to crime boss `Big Ger' Cafferty for help, to take down a new-comer on the gang scene, Tommy Telford.
I've read all of the Rebus books and this is without a doubt one of the most exciting and most multi-layered of them all. So much is going on the whole time with so many great characters that it doesn't have chance to slow down for a single paragraph. Some old faces return as well as some new ones (which are in later novels) are introduced. Rebus' character really evolves in this novel, showing more of his family background and his love for his daughter Sammy as well as being more passionate than ever to stop a gang war getting out of control. THE HANGING GARDEN is a very fluid and easy read that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and look forward to reading the next in the series now. Although there are many excellent British crime authors about these days such as Simon Beckett and Mark Billingham, it's books like this one that really prove that Ian Rankin is the best of them all.
I've read all of the Rebus books and this is without a doubt one of the most exciting and most multi-layered of them all. So much is going on the whole time with so many great characters that it doesn't have chance to slow down for a single paragraph. Some old faces return as well as some new ones (which are in later novels) are introduced. Rebus' character really evolves in this novel, showing more of his family background and his love for his daughter Sammy as well as being more passionate than ever to stop a gang war getting out of control. THE HANGING GARDEN is a very fluid and easy read that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and look forward to reading the next in the series now. Although there are many excellent British crime authors about these days such as Simon Beckett and Mark Billingham, it's books like this one that really prove that Ian Rankin is the best of them all.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first of Rankin's books that I read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Deciding to write my RPR for Higher English on this book I studied the book in depth and realised that this book has more to it than meets the eye: parallels between Rebus and Lintz, the importance of time. The book, set in Edinburgh, is well written and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in this genre.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
More of what we expect from Ian Rankin - the story centres on Rebus but there are other highly interesting characters that come through his life. Big Ger is particularly appealing and their relationship has developed well. Must read the books in series to get the best out of Rebus progress and feelings.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Another great read.
Rebus is a great character, and Ian Rankin has created a wonderfully warm and fragile tough guy.
Occasionally in a similar writing style to James Ellroy, that writer can... Read more
Occasionally in a similar writing style to James Ellroy, that writer can... Read more
Published 1 month ago by road rocket
review
having started from the first books and working my way through - this is without doubt the best one yet!
Published on 14 May 2010 by Mr. G. J. G. Hughes
The Hanging Garden
Prompt service. Book delivered in superb condition. As someone who is reading the entire Rebus series, I use Amazon to purchase the majority of books because of reliability. Read more
Published on 2 April 2010 by Jane S. Webster
Disappointingly similar to other Rebus books
I enjoy reading the Rebus books and have read most of them. This felt too much like several other books. Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2008 by Janie U
Rebus - you may not like the man but you'll love the book
This is not the best book ever written but it is typically Rebus and if you are picking up Rebus for the first time there is sufficient character description to enable you to... Read more
Published on 30 July 2007 by Ed Taylor
Another brought to life Rebus thriller by Rankin
DI John Rebus is on the search to prove or disprove Joseph Lintz as an SS war criminal known as Josef Linzstek. Then battle breaks out between two gangs. Read more
Published on 30 July 2006 by G. Allan
Another Great Rankin
Compared to some of Ian Rankins other Rebus stories, 'The Hanging Garden' is a lapse in form, but otherwise it is an excellent novel. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2004
Another tedious read with Rankine's charismaless 'tec
Edinburgh deserved a good detective series, certainly, but the Rebus books aren't it. Rankine's apparent desire to put the city at the centre of the tales as their main character... Read more
Published on 22 Dec 2000
The Edinburgh underworld plus a few foreign rogues!
I really wasn't sure whether I was going to like this book because we have suffered a deluge of 'British Maverick Cop' books over the past few years and I was beginning to think... Read more
Published on 27 Aug 1999
This book just made me want to read more by this author!
This is the first book I have read by Ian Rankin, but it certainly won't be the last. It was easy to read and grabbed my attention from beginning to end. Read more
Published on 13 July 1999
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