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Review
Fox is an engaging character from the downtrodden-but-righteous-rozzer school, and Peter Forbes's attuned reading keeps the ever-complicating plot rattling along. (Karen Robinson THE SUNDAY TIMES )
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
Review
Fox is an engaging character from the downtrodden-but-righteous-rozzer school, and Peter Forbes's attuned reading keeps the ever-complicating plot rattling along. -- Karen Robinson THE SUNDAY TIMES 20111212
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
80 of 87 people found the following review helpful
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.
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.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
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.
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.
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Readers were first introduced to DI Malcolm Fox in a previous Rebus story (The Complaints, 2009).
Ian Rankin has made a seamless transition over to this new protagonist and with the author's usual easy writing style has come up trumps with a well developed character that will no doubt enthrall readers in an exciting series of tales.
Malcolm Fox is an intriguing mix of apathy and action; he is a solid character, single, drives a Volvo & doesn't drink alcohol any more, just sticking to water or Appletiser.
These stories see police procedurals from a different perspective - Rebus often broke the rules whereas Fox enforces them. He heads up a team in the Professional Standards Unit, more commonly known as 'The Complaints' of Lothian and Borders Police, the cops who investigate other cops. His cohorts in this story are DS Tony Kaye and DC Joe Naysmith.
Fox is quoted as stating: 'Maybe I want to make sure the {police} force is on the side of the angels.' For Malcolm Fox, the appeal of the Complaints was its focus on rules broken rather than bones, on cops who crossed the line but were not violent men.
Readers are taken on a journey through Edinburgh, Stirling, St Andrews and Fife - even to the State Mental Hospital at Carstairs in Lanark - as Fox and his team is asked to investigate three colleagues from the neighbouring Fife constabulary.
In the background, Fox struggles with the dilemma of balancing his work duties alongside appeasing his sister's frustration at the time and resources needed to care for their elderly father's illness.
As the story progresses, Fox is drawn into looking at the suspicious death of lawyer and nationalist Francis Vernal who was found dead in his car having crashed on a country road in Fife. There was also a gunshot wound to his head and the incident had never been fully investigated when it occurred some twenty years earlier in 1985. This part of the story bears striking resemblances to the non fictional case of nationalist Willie MacRae whose death occurred in the Highlands in 1985 in similar circumstances.
Rankin's writings are ever topical and the plot reflects the SNP and its activities in the mid 80's - perhaps especially pertinent at the moment, as the SNP party has just staged its first conference in Inverness this weekend.
EDIT: ** PLEASE SEE FictionFan's excellent comment on this review - she has kindly clarified the inaccuracies in my sentence above. **
The author's excellent descriptive skills are used to advantage to develop the personalities of his characters as well as eloquently taking readers on a journey through central Scotland.
I enjoyed this story immensely and I'm sure others will to. Rebus can surely sit back and relish his retirement!
Ian Rankin has made a seamless transition over to this new protagonist and with the author's usual easy writing style has come up trumps with a well developed character that will no doubt enthrall readers in an exciting series of tales.
Malcolm Fox is an intriguing mix of apathy and action; he is a solid character, single, drives a Volvo & doesn't drink alcohol any more, just sticking to water or Appletiser.
These stories see police procedurals from a different perspective - Rebus often broke the rules whereas Fox enforces them. He heads up a team in the Professional Standards Unit, more commonly known as 'The Complaints' of Lothian and Borders Police, the cops who investigate other cops. His cohorts in this story are DS Tony Kaye and DC Joe Naysmith.
Fox is quoted as stating: 'Maybe I want to make sure the {police} force is on the side of the angels.' For Malcolm Fox, the appeal of the Complaints was its focus on rules broken rather than bones, on cops who crossed the line but were not violent men.
Readers are taken on a journey through Edinburgh, Stirling, St Andrews and Fife - even to the State Mental Hospital at Carstairs in Lanark - as Fox and his team is asked to investigate three colleagues from the neighbouring Fife constabulary.
In the background, Fox struggles with the dilemma of balancing his work duties alongside appeasing his sister's frustration at the time and resources needed to care for their elderly father's illness.
As the story progresses, Fox is drawn into looking at the suspicious death of lawyer and nationalist Francis Vernal who was found dead in his car having crashed on a country road in Fife. There was also a gunshot wound to his head and the incident had never been fully investigated when it occurred some twenty years earlier in 1985. This part of the story bears striking resemblances to the non fictional case of nationalist Willie MacRae whose death occurred in the Highlands in 1985 in similar circumstances.
Rankin's writings are ever topical and the plot reflects the SNP and its activities in the mid 80's - perhaps especially pertinent at the moment, as the SNP party has just staged its first conference in Inverness this weekend.
EDIT: ** PLEASE SEE FictionFan's excellent comment on this review - she has kindly clarified the inaccuracies in my sentence above. **
The author's excellent descriptive skills are used to advantage to develop the personalities of his characters as well as eloquently taking readers on a journey through central Scotland.
I enjoyed this story immensely and I'm sure others will to. Rebus can surely sit back and relish his retirement!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Rankin treads water
With the Malcolm Fox novels, Ian Rankin is exploring pretty much the same territory as he did with John Rebus, but from slightly different perspectives. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jl Adcock
Compelling
This is nicely structured; it moves slowly but compellingly to its final resolution, which unlike the first Malcolm Fox book is entirely comprehensible. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Astolpho
very disappointing
This is the first Ian Rankin book I have read and will be the last. I got to page 200 and by then this overwhelming feeling of boredom overcame me. Read more
Published 2 months ago by dixie dean
The Impossible Dead
Usual high standard from Rankin. Good tempo, well written characters. I hope we go on a "Rebus" journey with Fox.
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. Lorna Mcdevitt
More about The Complaints - 3.5 stars
'He's not here,' the desk sergeant said.'
The novel opens with the Complaints team turning up in Fife for an internal police investigation only to find the whole team... Read more
The novel opens with the Complaints team turning up in Fife for an internal police investigation only to find the whole team... Read more
Published 2 months ago by purpleheart
Beware This is Abridged
I put 5 stars as I am still looking forward to this, but the audio edition is NOT Unabridged.
The abridged edition is only 7 hours long. Read more
The abridged edition is only 7 hours long. Read more
Published 2 months ago by dearleuk
Rankin at his best
A cover blurb by P.D. James for this excellent crime novel sums up Rankin's writing in general as "the integration of setting, plot, characters and a theme... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Blue in Washington
A very good read!
I haven't read this book personally, as I bought it for a friend's husband as a Christmas gift. He loved it, passed it to my friend and she read and loved it, too. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lesley Wells
A believable character in Fox but misplaced in his role
I was looking forward to this second outing for Fox and the Complaints team. The premise though just doesn't work and the early exchanges are the same cliched response of cops... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Richard Latham
Rebus: Version 2
Fox is another dysfunctional middle aged white police detective. Does this sound familiar?
There is a hint of a structural analysis of the corruption of the police force and... Read more
There is a hint of a structural analysis of the corruption of the police force and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Michael Moore
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