Rating: 
Summary: Black and Blue
Review: Enjoyable mystery, John Rebus is one tough determinded police officer. He is independent and dedicated to his job resulting in no personal life.He chases leads night and day until he figures out the how and when to solve the mystery. Ian Rankin is a great story teller.
Rating: 
Summary: A struggle to read
Review: Everything seemed to be going wrong for Inspector John Rebus. Tracking murderers, serial killers, with the mafia, press and his supervisors breathing down his neck, a wrong move may mean costly consequences. I found this book a struggle to finish from the start. I was not able to relate to John Rebus and found the book too dark, too complicated. The result is that I flipped through the pages, not really caring what happened in the end.
Rating:
Summary: A struggle to read
Review: Everything seemed to be going wrong for Inspector John Rebus. Tracking murderers, serial killers, with the mafia, press and his supervisors breathing down his neck, a wrong move may mean costly consequences. I found this book a struggle to finish from the start. I was not able to relate to John Rebus and found the book too dark, too complicated. The result is that I flipped through the pages, not really caring what happened in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: These charges are serious
Review: Frankly this is dissappointing and full of anti-logic. Whatever happened to the hush-hush patter and the cunning catchphrases such as "Where are my shoes?" There isn't even the customary scene of conflict with the Nigerian High Commission. Umaro Dikko you are not forgotten!
Rating:
Summary: Quite boring!
Review: I am a great fan of the mystery genre and was looking forward to sampling a new author espeically after hearing such positive comments about Mr. Rankin's work. Frankly, I found the book boring and the story contrived. It just didn't have the edge I have come to expect in top mystery writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Top stuff - by any genre standards
Review: I came to this book looking for something a little different. Having won several awards, I thought it would be good as a sampler of the crime genre. It is quite splendid. Human characters with the kind of flaws you have to accept in people you know and meet, in a familiar but grim surround, like viewing your own house after a burglary. I have since read several more Rebus novels and enjoyed damn near every page. The sharpness of the dialogue and the bold depictions are instantly memorable. The only downside is that I enjoyed 'The Hanging Garden' even more!
Rating:
Summary: Almost impossible to put down.
Review: I didn't know whether to curse or bless the friend who lent me this loooong whodunit! Great writing, good story, wonderful character and I spent an entire weekend reading. Rankin doesn't mask the horror of murder or the hard tactics used by police. But in the end we are glad the police are there. I'm off to read another.
Rating:
Summary: Too confusing to enjoy fully
Review: I got about a third to a half way through this book and decided that I should start over again from the beginning! Yip... its that confusing! The plot is interesting, but there is just an attempt to cram too much in. I don't think I would read another of his books, and I wish I had read the reviews here and noted all the low scores instead of just going out and buying the book straight off. Steer clear... there are better books to read.
Rating: 
Summary: I expected more
Review: I just finished reading this, my first, Rankin book. I wasn't overly impressed with it. The writing style was OK but nothing special and the famous dialogue everyone is so fond of seemed very stilted to me. Witty? Not really. Quite contrived and sometimes embarrassing. Maybe I chose the wrong Rebus book to begin with, but I was not gripped enough with the plot. There were occasions where I thought things were about to get moving and I'd become engrossed in a scene, but then things would move back into their normal groove. Like other reviewers, I also found this book confusing. Characters were referred to but I couldn't remember who they were. I won't criticise this book for being too long, because there's nothing wrong with that, however, a book of this length could have developed the characters so much better. Apart from Rebus, none of the characters are developed and I think this is why I found it so hard to put names to characters. And Rebus for me doesn't work. He's a tough experienced cop with an over-reliance on alcohol. I can't picture him as an ex-SAS man. And he's middled aged yet his obsession with music makes him sound like an indie kid! When the main character doesn't work for you, the book will suffer. No real suspense either. On the other hand, this book wasn't totally devoid of entertainment. I didn't hate it, and I could possibly return to the author for a second bite, but I remain slightly unsatisfied and disappointed with the hype surrounding this author.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Read
Review: I'd heard some good things about Rankin, and this book was the first I read. While it's true the numerous plots can be somewhat confusing, they add to the realism; do any of us believe that police detectives only have one case assigned to them at a time? The darkness of Rebus' world, his cyncism and bitterness, combined with his stubborness and tenacity, give us a picture of a complete but flawed man. Rebus is a fully developed character, and for once we're given a portrait of a loose cannon that we can BELIEVE would continue to hold down a job.
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