The Impossible Dead
From the iconic #1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES
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4.2 • 164 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
Malcolm Fox returns in the stunning second novel in Ian Rankin's series... 'Criminally good' WOMAN & HOME
From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.
'Excitingly gripping storytelling' THE TIMES
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Insp. Malcolm Fox proves a worthy successor to John Rebus in Rankin's satisfyingly layered second novel featuring the Edinburgh Internal Affairs cop (after The Complaints). Fox and his two colleagues receive a frosty reception in Kirkcaldy, where they must decide whether a disgraced officer's three fellow cops helped cover up his misdeeds. Det. Constable Paul Carter, found guilty of sexual misconduct, intrigues Fox because it was Carter's ex-copper uncle, Alan, who turned him in. Since interviewing the belligerent Carter and his mates leads nowhere, Fox turns to Alan for insight. He discovers the elder Carter was hired by a prestigious lawyer to look into the 1985 "suicide" or possible murder of Francis Vernal, a fellow attorney, well-known orator, and vocal supporter of the fringe Scottish separatist movement. Soon Fox's attention is divided between following up scant leads in the Carter investigation and unearthing decades-old secrets about Vernal's life and associates. Rankin elegantly weaves together the two story lines without forcing a connection.
Customer Reviews
The Impossible Dead
Gripping story with many intriguing references to contemporary Scottish politics and elements of its darker recent history. And for a reader from Fife, some nice writing about the local area!
The Impossible Dead
As an avid Rebus ‘fan’ I was looking forward to the development of Malcolm Fox, a character with whom we had been only briefly acquainted. Sadly, my excitement was unfounded.
Fox, even though we are only at the beginning of his journey, seems hollow and, I fear, does not offer even the prospect of the depth and intrigue of Rankin’s most glorious creation, Inspector Rebus. The locations are left half-explored, the plot shamefully ‘un-thickened’ and the implausibly weak plan to do away with our sober hero is hardly the stuff of a criminal mastermind. However, I could not have been less interested in whether this particular ’rubber-heeled’ investigator met his end and I couldn’t help feeling that Rankin actually felt the same way.
Therein lies the problem I feel, as it seems to me that having almost put one of the greatest detectives of modern times out to pasture (again), the author is merely going through the motions with this particular character. Let’s face it, Fox never really came close to laying a hand on Rebus and sadly, the same will be true of his life in print.
Very good
Slow and brooding. I really enjoyed my first outing with this author.