Book Review - The Complaints by Ian Rankin

Paperback: 452 pages
Publisher: Orion
Publication date: August 5 2010
ISBN13: 9781409103479

First Line - "There was a smattering of applause as Malcolm Fox entered the room."

Nobody likes The Complaints - they're the cops who investigate other cops. Complaints and Conduct Department, to give them their full title, but known colloquially as 'the Dark Side', or simply 'The Complaints'. Malcolm Fox works for The Complaints. He's just had a result, and should be feeling good about himself. But he's middle-aged, sour and unwell. He also has a father in a care home and a sister who persists in an abusive relationship.

In the midst of an aggressive Edinburgh winter, the reluctant Fox is given a new task. There's a cop called Jamie Breck, and he's dirty. Problem is, no one can prove it. But as Fox takes on the job, he learns that there's more to Breck than anyone thinks. This knowledge will prove dangerous, especially when murder intervenes.

Well now, a new genre for me. This is my first proper foray into this genre and I'm unfamiliar with everything that goes with it. Crime/mystery/thriller...police procedure, I'm not sure yet what it's best known as but I like it. From a bit of digging online I've found that the buzz word for this particular branch of the genre is 'Tartan Noir', which roughly translated means it's police procedure thriller set in Scotland...and I think they're all written by Scots too. Anyway, it's looking good.

I picked up this one because I actually want to read the second book in this series (The Impossible Dead) so had to get to this one first. That second book caught my eye as it's set in a town that I'm intimately familiar with and Malcolm Fox (the lead character) is based in the Lothian and Borders (Edinburgh) police force.

So, the story - I thought it was great! I raced though it and even before I got half way through I knew this was going to be the start of a new obsession. I loved the tension and how all the little loose ends were drawn together and it was like watching a police drama unfold on tv. I could see each of the characters clearly in my head, I could hear the voices and the dialogue, the setting...loved it all.

There's no Hollywood treatment here, it's ground level Scottish policing and it's really well done. I have a friend on the same police force and I could see him fitting in with these guys without any difficulty.

I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship between Tartan Noir and I :D

Book Review - Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley

Paperback: 369 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Publication date: 4 Aug 2011
ISBN13: 9781841498652

First Line - "The corpse sat in a simple, high-backed chair"

The year is 1827. For Adam Quire, an officer of the recently formed City Police, Edinburgh is a terrifying place. It is a city populated by mad alchemists and a criminal underclass prepared to treat with the darkest of powers. But nothing can prepare him for the trail of undead hounds, emptied graves, brutal murders and mob violence that will take him into the darkest corners of the underworld and to the highest reaches of elegant Edinburgh society.

Wow! 2011 is drawing to a close and I think I just found my favourite read of the year. Edinburgh Dead by Brian Ruckley! Totally brilliant! It's rare that I can use the term 'unputdownable', but I definitely can say it about this one. Read it in less than 48 hours, which for me is pretty much unheard of. Could NOT put it down.

I'm fond of Historical fiction (albeit usually romantic) but to say I'm not usually a crime/mystery reader is an understatement, not a single murder mystery comes to mind that I've read but the lure of the area around where I live used as a backdrop, coupled with zombie dogs just sucked me right in. There are zombie humans too but I mostly wanted to see the zom-dogs loose on Edinburgh's streets and closes.

I really, really loved that I knew all the places mentioned in the book. I'm in Edinburgh about once or twice a fortnight and all of the places and building's are familiar to me. Loved that. The people of the story are familiar 'faces' too...even the non-famous one's. Go to certain parts of Edinburgh on any given day and chances are you'll rub shoulders with just the sort of people mentioned in the pages. There's maybe 200 years seperating them but their banter hasn't changed that much. As for the famous 'faces' well, in particular Burke and Hare the infamous body snatchers or 'Ressurectionists' as they were also know are common knowledge for anyone who spends any time in or around Edinburgh and I loved reading about them. Fictionalised in parts but great fun to read nonetheless.

And zombie's. Let's not forget the zombies. They're the reason that I wanted to read this so bad in the first place, although I did wonder how a person could fit the undead into an Historical murder/crime/mystery. The whole book has a dark, gritty feel to it and the air of supernatural 'going's on' didn't seem out of place or contrived at all. In fact, as unlikely as it all sounds Mr Ruckley writes in such a way as to have me think it was all quite plausible. It's very well done.

I loved all of the characters and really felt like I got to know them. Some of them I'd like to know even better and REALLY want there to be more cases for Adam Quire to solve... I'd read any and all stories if this were made into an ongoing series.

There's a bit of a twist in the tale at the end and being as unfamiliar with crime mystery as I am, I'm not sure if that's usual but whether it is or it isn't, the twist at the end just sealed the deal for me. It was a brilliant end to a brilliant story and I just hope I can find more stories like it.

I can't say enough good things about this, I'm all over the place but I just really, really liked this one. I only finished it half an hour ago so it's all still running through my mind. I'll probably think of a dozen things to say after I hit 'publish', but for now I'll just close by saying again....

Really liked it! A lot!

Brian Ruckly has a great website where you can find out more about his books, and a really interesting photo trailer section where he has added his photo's from a lot of the area's mentioned in the Edinburgh Dead. It's quite cool.