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The Impossible Dead [Paperback]

Ian Rankin (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (147 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Release Date: 24 May 2012

Malcolm Fox and his team are back, investigating whether fellow cops covered up for Detective Paul Carter. Carter has been found guilty of misconduct, but what should be a simple job is soon complicated by a brutal murder and a weapon that should not even exist.

A trail of revelations leads Fox back to 1985, a year of desperate unrest when letter-bombs and poisonous spores were sent to government offices, and kidnappings and murders were plotted. But while the body count rises the clock starts ticking, and a dramatic turn of events sees Fox in mortal danger.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Orion (24 May 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1409136299
  • ISBN-13: 978-1409136293
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.7 x 3.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (147 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"Fox works for me. Divorced and in his mid-40s, he's quieter than Rebus and warier of confrontation, but no less complex... So doubters be damned: this novel is taut, compulsive and hugely satisfying" (John O'Connell GUARDIAN 20120526)

"An addictive, brilliantly written page-turner" (PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH 20120531)

"A cracking thriller starring Ian Rankin's new hero Malcolm Fox" (Shari Low DAILY RECORD 20120707)

Book Description

Malcolm Fox returns in the stunning second novel in Ian Rankin's new series...
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Readable but not great 31 Oct 2011
By Bluebell TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've enjoyed dozens of Ian Rankin's books and felt a pang when the Rebus series finished. However, the arrival of his new detective, Malcolm Fox, in The Complaints filled the gap and heralded a fine new series. To my disappointment, this second book in the new series, is not as good as the first. It is very slow to get going: there are pages and pages of chit-chat between Fox and his two side-kicks, Kaye and Naysmith, with descriptions of journeys around Fife, the scenery as they drive to and from Edinburgh and their problems over police inter-departmental friction. Yet, with all this descriptive stuff I never really get a picture in my mind of Fox who is two-dimensional, in contrast to Rebus, who is so clearly pictured in my mind by the books that when Ken Stott appeared in the TV series he was perfect. In the first book in the new series I welcomed the fact that Fox wasn't the usual hard-drinking, smoking stereotype of most detective series, but I don't feel his character has been developed enough for the reader to identify with him in his quests for truth.

Only when one gets well into the book does the action begin and then it goes off into all sorts of tangents: terrorism, police corruption, MI5, under-cover police activity, murder, suicide plus diversions into Fox's stormy relationship with his sister and worries over his father's deteriorating health. Having been a bit bored by the first half of the book I became confused over the plethora of story-lines in the latter part of the novel.
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123 of 132 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars As good as Rebus... 15 Oct 2011
By FictionFan TOP 100 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Kindle Edition
I didn't think that Ian Rankin would ever be able to create another character who could compete with Rebus. I was wrong.

The first book in his new series, The Complaints, was good but this second one is even better. As members of the Professional Standards team, Inspector Malcolm Fox and his team are in Fife, looking into possible misconduct in the force there. When an ex-copper is found dead, Fox becomes aware that he had been looking into an old case - the death of a political activist which at the time had been classed as a suicide. Now Fox and his team have two cases on their hands.

One of the things I like most about Rankin is the way he sets his books firmly in the real world. With references to actual events and people, his plots become entirely convincing. He tells modern Scotland like it is - neither all good nor all bad. The short period in the eighties when Scottish nationalism turned briefly into terrorism is used for the main strand of the book. Rankin shows the contrast of those days, when fervent nationalists felt the democratic process held no hope for them, to the Scotland of today, with its devolved government, more confident and comfortable in its skin, with nationalism a question to be debated rather than won by force.

Malcolm Fox is turning into just as interesting a character as Rebus, if less of a maverick. Working in the Complaints, he has to face the obstruction and sometimes contempt of fellow officers, but he believes in what he's doing and wants to do it well. This time though a comment of his father makes him wonder if he has what it takes to investigate a real crime and that doubt acts as a spur to him to step outside his normal boundaries. In this book we also get to know more about his colleagues, Kaye and Naysmith. The interactions between them come over as convincing and enjoyable - three team players working well together. Fox's relationships with his father and sister are further developed and this glimpse into his life outside work makes him into a more rounded and believable character.

I'm delighted to hear that Rankin may bring Rebus back to us but I sincerely hope that Malcolm Fox is here for a long run too. Highly recommended.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Other Scotlands were available 3 Nov 2011
By D. Harris TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
In The Complaints Rankin introduced his new detective, Inspector Malcolm Fox, who has his second outing in "The Impossible Dead". I struggled there not to write "his new, post Rebus detective..." and really feel I ought to review the book in it's own terms and not mention the previous series. It's hard though. It seems that in many respects Fox is constructed as a not-Rebus - teetotal (albeit with a less sober past), less of a loner, a policeman who, as part of The Complaints, investigates the Rebuses of this work. Ignoring that seems to miss the point. Also, to construct a compelling story - which this is - Rankin has to take Fox on a little trip to... well not perhaps Rebusland, but somewhere close. After all, the obedient, rule following policeman doesn't tend to engage in the kind of confrontations - against superiors, authority, procedure or villains - that make for a page turning crime novel.

So here we have Fox and his team making slow progress across the river in Fife with a routine case involving low level corruption and cover-ups, when a murder happens. Although it is only tenuously connected to their own case, and is out of their Force's area, Fox bends his enquiry beyond breaking point to follow up the murder, eventually taking in a mysterious death twenty five years before, gun running, Scottish terrorism in the 80s, and much more. The story goes at a breakneck pace with the villain confronted in a dramatic climax. All great fun, even if the ending seems unlikely (more so, actually, than most of the Rebus stories). And some genuinely interesting thoughts about the recent Scottish past, and the half familiar, half strange world of the 1980s whose atmosphere of paranoia is a key part of the background to this book.

However, I wasn't sure whether, with Fox, Rankin is going to be able to go on having his cake and eating it much longer. The sort of behaviour that Fox gets away with in this book, with only the occasional slap on the wrist, was sort-of credible for an edgy loner like Rebus, but Fox is in the spotlight, in a role where he must, like Ceasar's wife, be above suspicion. Either he's in the wrong job and will soon be out of the Complaints, or it will get more and more difficult to suspend belief enough to enjoy these stories - which would be a pity, so I hope that Rankin takes the other course and lets Fox become the detective he seems to want to be.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A proper detective novel.
This is a well written page-turner with a completely plausible story which kept me interested right to the very end.
Published 3 hours ago by Mr. David Davidson
5.0 out of 5 stars The Impossible Dead - Ian Rankin
I am an Ian Rankin fan, especially his Rebus books. This book is a new path as it's about the Police Complaints department, who are obviously not liked at all by other Police... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Walter Sim
4.0 out of 5 stars Steady away
Rankin is always good for a story and this second outing for Malcolm Fox and his small team is no exception. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Michael Watson
5.0 out of 5 stars This Book is very Readable
I loved this book, Mr Fox is every bit as lovable as Rebus.
Well done Ian Rankin. Looking forward to reading more.
Published 1 month ago by J L Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars book
I bought this for my stepdaughter for her birthday as she collects all of the ian rankin books and she said it was an excellent book to read
Published 1 month ago by alan balchin
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprised by Fox.
I didn't think I'd like a new detective by Rankin after Rebus, but it was brilliant. I was really surprised. .
Published 1 month ago by Anne Yeomans
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
A book that you won't want to put down. Fast paced, good plot, interesting characters, Ian Rankin has a police officer ready and able to take over from Rebus. Read more
Published 1 month ago by John O'Sullivan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Never dissapointed with Ian Rankin books. Well written and maintains the interest with each story line. Highly recommended. . .
Published 1 month ago by David Richardson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Excellent, kept me spellbound. I could hardly put the Kindle down until I reached the end. Well worth a buy
Published 2 months ago by mphd
5.0 out of 5 stars Another good Rankin read.
Ian Rankin can do no wrong in my book when it comes to his stories. I love them all. I am always fascinated by the detail of music tapes, discs etc. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mrs Evelyn Chapman
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