Ian Rankin

If you, like me, have been more than a bit concerned about regular reading habits with the retirement of Rebus, I'm happy to report that at least I'm no longer fearful. Well about the loss of a fictional companion anyway. Now I can spend long periods of time worrying about Ian Rankin's health and hoping that all is going well with his writing. Because I'd really like to think there's more than a few Malcolm Fox books in the future, as this new series shapes up to be something well worth following.

It's probably not surprising that there are some aspects between the two series that are similar. There is a central character with a difficult back story, albeit with differences between Fox and Rebus. Fox isn't as comfortable in his flaws, he's taking steps to try to get his act together. It makes sense that a flawed man is working for The Complaints. It's not surprising that a man who has done the best and the worst can cope with the best and the worst in others.

Another similarity is the way that the books are perfectly balanced between a character study and a good, solid plot. In THE IMPOSSIBLE DEAD The Complaints are investigating allegations about a single individual - ex-Detective Paul Carter and what looks like a cover-up by his fellow officers. Fox and his small team are forced closer together simply by being outsiders, but this book gives Rankin the chance to strengthen that team feeling, whilst also allowing them to rise as individuals - again not unlike the Rebus / Siobhan pairing.

Whilst Fox, his ailing father and his bitter and twisted sister remain the focus of the personal aspects of the book, there is a back story for all of the team building, just as the resentment of the cops that investigate other cops is growing. I must admit I'm finding that aspect - cops investigating other cops, and the things that are being hidden and why - part of what's particularly interesting about this series. Obviously because it is something different, but also because in Rankin's hands, it's not one-dimensional, and the mechanics of "investigation" of a crime remain forefront.

Whilst I'm happy that the occasional Rebus outing is still in the offing, I've also developed quite a liking for this new direction in a big hurry. Of course, there is always the fact that if Rankin published his to do list, I'd read that as well, but THE IMPOSSIBLE DEAD is really a very good entry in this excellent new series.

There is life after Rebus, even if it comes in a package of polar opposites.  Rebus was an old school cop - murder squad, Malcolm Fox works for the cops who investigate other cops.  Rebus was more than prepared to ignore rules, stretch boundaries and stomp rather resoundingly all over team work.  Fox looks for just that sort of behaviour. Rebus was an unreformed grumpy drunk, Fox is a more carefully controlled man with a broken marriage, his drinking under control.  They are both solitary men, although with Rebus there was something satisfied about his aloneness, Fox's comes with a real sense of regret.

But, however you characterise the people in any book by Ian Rankin, he really knows how to write a character that holds your attention, albeit in this case, a character that is considerably more subdued, controlled, underplayed than Rebus ever could be.  In a strange way I couldn't get Siobhan out of my mind whenever Fox made an appearance - there seemed to be something in common about those two.

Given that this new series centres around the Complaints department, obviously Fox and his colleagues are going to be investigating a cop, although their current investigation carries some baggage from a recent case involving a long-time member.  In a twist, a young officer colleague of Heaton's comes under suspicion when there's some evidence he could be involved in an online child pornography group.  In a further twist, that young officer - Jamie Breck - is the officer who calls Fox to tell him that his sister's boyfriend has been murdered.  Fox and his sister have had their difficulties in the past, not just because the now dead boyfriend used to beat her up on a semi-regular basis, there's always been a bit of conflict there.  None of which is helped by their father aging and getting increasingly frail.

There's a lot of connections in the case that Fox is investigating.  There's a feeling of swirling activity around him, Breck, his sister, and into the group originally investigating the online child pornography case.  Within those connections and co-incidences there's going to be some conflict of interest complications and of course Fox gets himself into deep water, only digging himself out as he starts to get to the bottom of all of the connections.  Which is complicated even more by the fact that he and Breck find common ground, friendship if you like.

THE COMPLAINTS is a different book from anything in the Rebus series partially because the nature of the investigation is different, and partially because Fox isn't Rebus.  The investigation - the getting to the bottom of who's crooked, who's just unfortunate and who's flat out stupid, the idea that cops are investigating cops gives that aspect of the book a different feeling.  It's quite feasible that some readers may find it a little flatter than what they are used to - possibly because there's less of that feeling of justice being seen to be done, and more a feeling of housework - necessary but definitely not high profile or glamorous.  Beside that the character of Fox is more subdued than Rebus... less dangerous, definitely less edgy.  He's a solid man, doing a nasty job that somebody has to do.  He takes it seriously, he believes his job is about doing what's right and doing it well.

A great story is normally pretty well guaranteed in any book written by Rankin, but THE COMPLAINTS gives us a new scenario, a different approach and a different overall feel.  Which is a very good thing.

Mammoth by name, mammoth by nature - this collection has 42 stories in total, many of which come from well-known names, with a good sprinkling of new and emerging writers. Exactly the sort of thing short story fans would be looking for.

Preferring the darker side of the genre, there was lots to satisfy this reader in this collection, but there's also entries from the lighter side - how could there not be with writers like Alexander McCall Smith.  In this collection you'll find a couple of entries by Ian Rankin and Peter Lovesey and others from Mick Herron, Denise Mina, Edward Marston, Marilyn Todd, Kate Atkinson, Stuart MacBride, David Hewson, Alexander McCall Smith, Nigel Bird, Robert Barnard, Lin Anderson, Allan Guthrie, A.L. Kennedy, Simon Kernick, Roz Southey, Andrew Taylor, Sheila Quigley, Declan Burke, Keith McCarthy, Christopher Brookmyre, Gerard Brennan, Matthew J. Elliott, Colin Bateman, Ray Banks, Simon Brett, Adrian Magson, Jay Stringer, Amy Myers, Nick Quantrill, Stephen Booth, Paul Johnston, Zoe Sharp, Paul D. Brazill, Louise Welsh, Liza Cody, Peter Turnbull and Nicholas Royle.  You can probably imagine with a lineup like that, just how good each of these stories is to have been included.  The range is wide, the subject and handling different, and frankly, this is just a terrific collection.

Just a quick warning - a few stories in this collection are duplicated in the little collection CRIMESPOTTING I read a while ago.  No big deal - they were all well worth reading a second time.

I think I'll just keep saying this until I run out of breath completely - but really, the world needs more quality collections of Crime Short Stories.  CRIMESPOTTING, a fabulous little volume put together as a fund raiser for The ONECITY Trust, is subtitled "An Edinburgh Crime Collection".  It features stories by lesser and well known authors including (in alphabetical order) Lin Anderson, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Atwood, Christopher Brookmyre, John Burnside, Isla Dewar, A.L. Kennedy, Denise Mina, Ian Rankin and James Robertson.  (There are some stories here which go on to be included in the Mammoth Book of Best British Crime which I'm going to mention in a review soonish).  The requirement for inclusion was that the story included a "crime" and was set in Edinburgh.  The results are remarkedly diverse.

Needless to say I've been reading a few short story collections recently.  Mostly because I find them such a fascinating form of writing, although I also find them almost invaluable for filling in the dreaded "waiting time" that seems to go with life these days.  One thing I'm increasingly becoming aware of is that a really really good short story can't be as easy to write as you would think.  A Crime short story in particular still has to provide a reader with some of the elements of the genre that you expect - a crime / investigation / resolution / explanation / consideration / illumination and so on.

What was immediately obvious in CRIMESPOTTING is that there is an incredibly high standard of story-telling in each of these entries - although there are obviously also absolute standout entries.  To be honest I'd have a bit of trouble voting for my specific favourite as a lot of them appealed immensely.  Luckily, there's probably something for fans of all sorts of different sub-genres.  

For this reader, CRIMESPOTTING (and The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime for that matter) really were a master class in short story reading.  Good enough to go back and reread many of the entries, CRIMESPOTTING became a permanent resident of the car glovebox a while ago.  It will head back there after this review has been written as flicking back through the book there's a couple of entries I'd like to read again.