Customer Reviews

The Complaints

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Oh, Rebus we miss you! Ian Rankin retired Rebus, and now he has given us Inspector Malcolm Fox. Fox is a reformed drinker, teetotaller, and much like Rebus, in that he is honest and fights for the rights of the innocent. The 'drink' is what separates these men, and it goes to show us how much of a problem alcohol can be.

Inspector Fox works in the 'Complaints and Conduct' department in Edinburgh. The difference is that this is the time of great economical distress. Things are falling apart and crime is rising. 'The Complaints' as Fox's department is known deals with racism and corruption in the police department. He is not well liked by his colleagues because his business is investigating them. Much is hush hush, and Fox has just come off a big case that implicates a well known officer. Now, he is asked to help investigate an officer who may be implicated as a pedophile. The problem is this man, Jamie Breck, is also investigating a death that is close to Fox's sister. How complicated can this get, very! Fox is asked to get close to Breck to find out as much as he can. What Fox does discover is that there isn't much and what he does uncover leads to more complications and implications. The high and the mighty might fall and they cannot allow Fox to reveal their secrets.

Ian Rankin is one of those authors who is the epitome of the crime writing genre. This novel covers 18 days in 2009. Days full of adventure, violence and mystery. The fact that Rankin can build such a lot and develop these characters to their utmost is surprising. This is one of those books that is difficult to put down. And, as much as I wanted to know how Fox solves his dilemmas, I did not want the book to end. Oh, woe is me- will Inspector Fox return?

Highly Recommended. prisrob 07-29-10

Doors Open

The Falls: An Inspector Rebus Novel (Inspector Rebus Novels)

A Cool Head

Ian Rankin is best known for his Detective John Rebus police procedurals. When several years ago he decided to retire his alcoholic, curmudgeonly loner of a superb cop, fans were up in arms. How and with whom could Rankin replace this loveable/unlovable anti-hero? But as time went on and Rankin offered a couple of stand-alone novels, he finally found a new hero: Malcolm "Foxy" Fox.

Foxy never thought of himself as a fox. `"A bear of a man'...was the way one of his previous bosses had described him. Slow but steady, and only occasionally to be feared.'" He worked at Lothian and Borders Police HQ in the Conduct and Corrections department. In the United States they are referred to as Internal Affairs. Whether in Scotland or America, their colleagues do not trust this group of cops; they are hated for being snoops and thought of as turncoats ratting on their own.

Foxy has a lot to deal with. First and foremost is maintaining his five-year feat of beating his alcoholism. He never gives in, no matter how strong the yearning. He lives alone and cannot forgive himself for hitting his wife before she walked out. His instincts are sharp and he's very intuitive. Also on his plate is his father, who is in a nursing home he pays for, and a depressed alcoholic sister whose partner, Vince Faulkner, is a batterer he can't get her to leave. Then one night the guy doesn't come home. He's been murdered, and the complex plot moves into high gear.

Faulkner was a construction worker on a site that lost its funding and was palling around with known hoodlums. He was found bludgeoned to death and stabbed on one of the deserted building sites. While it really isn't Foxy's job to solve this crime, he can't help but hear things and put the bits together, which lead to cops involved in underhanded dealings. That's where he must work to solve the disparate crimes and find criminals, even if they lead to cops he knows. Foxy starts an investigation of his own and soon finds himself on suspension. This doesn't stop him.

As a matter of fact, Child Protection, Child Exploitation and Online Protection, another unit buried deep within the corrections, targets another policeman. They are thought of as "the Chop Shop" or "the dark side," which is run by a woman who Foxy has a passing, friendly romantic interlude. But when he finds out how she betrayed him, he dismisses her. The target of her investigation is Detective Jamie Breck. They think he's involved in a child pornography ring located in Australia. Ironically he's teamed up with Foxy, whose mission is to investigate him. But he and Breck like each other and become a team operating on their own. He, too, is put on suspension, so the two men spend a lot of time together.

Ian Rankin is a master at plots and characters. THE COMPLAINTS is a complex and challenging book with a strong storyline. The plot races and tension rises, and readers are lured into that wonderful place where they just can't wait to turn the page. Foxy is a strong character who is well-honed and can carry a series, which seems to be Rankin's plan. Fans will miss Rebus, but they are getting a hero who has some of Rebus's good traits and little of his bad ones. In an interview, Rankin said, "Malcolm Fox is the antithesis of Rebus."

THE COMPLAINTS is a tightly woven story of good vs. evil but with a glance at the brighter side of life, too. Rankin fans will find themselves entertained and eager for book two of the series. In that same interview, Rankin said, "There's more of his ego and subconscious to be explored. And I like him as a character and a human being, so I can envisage one more book with him, but not 17." There you have it: at least one more book and then even Rankin is not sure.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

A cast of thousands, most of whom seem to have a surname beginning with `B', and another majority having a surname of one syllable. Because of this I had great difficulty keeping track of who was who and was forever leafing back to find where a character had last been mentioned.

I found it much less gripping than anything I've read by Rankin previously, and I think I've read the lot. For me the story fell strangely flat in the middle and I found it a real effort to keep going, And why did he set up the makings of a strong love interest and then just let it fizzle out?

I used to love the Rebus stories. `Doors Open' didn't quite match up, but it was way better than `The Complaints'. Is it possible for us to have a return to Rebus? Or even to have Siobhan take over the role? Please consider, Mr Rankin..

"The Complaints" refers to the shorthand nickname for the section of the police in which the main character, Inspector Malcolm Fox, works: Complaints and Conduct (the equivalent of Internal Affairs or Ethical Standards in other jurisdictions). Fox, fresh from a successful investigation into a corrupt copper, is asked to check out another officer, Detective Sergeant Jamie Breck, who is suspected of involvement in a child pornography network. At the same time, he has to deal with the aftermath of a murder of someone connected to his family. Of course, it soon transpires that these two seemingly unrelated events are anything but coincidence, and as Fox starts looking into matters further, he finds himself both professionally and personally at risk.

I'm not going to reveal any more of the plot than that, as I'll be heading into spoiler territory. As always, Rankin's depiction of Edinburgh, and particularly the police and local crooks, is vivid and believable, and I liked the depiction of the relationship between Fox and Breck; both of these characters are well-drawn. The narrative moves along swiftly, and while not being totally "unputdownable", the story is absorbing. Unfortunately, the plot proves somewhat too convoluted and moves too fast towards the end, to the extent that like a previous reviewer, I found myself flicking back to previous chapters to double check who Character X was and to make sure I hadn't missed something. While I can't quite explain why, I didn't feel the same sense of attachment to Fox, Breck and co. as I did to John Rebus, Siobhan Clarke, etc. Rather than being totally immersed in the story, as I have often experienced in a number of the Rebus novels, I felt much more like an observer, at a distance from the characters. That said, it's still well worth the read. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

After reading the other reviews on this novel, I was not sure if I wanted to take a chance on it. Now, I feel silly for doubting Mr.Rankin's gourgeous book.

Many other reviewers have outlined the plot beautifully. Malcom Fox works for the Complaints and Conduct Department (ie. Internal Affairs) and is given the task of investigating a cop suspected of being dirty. Then a murder takes place very close to home and the plot heats up.

Malcom is a fascinating character with an elderly parent to care for, a sibing in an abusive relationship and a daily committment to fighting alcoholism. The entire cast of characters is nicely drawn out and developed.

Some reviews commented that the plot was complex. I did not feel this was a negative thing. It's true that there were many tentacles, but all plot points were resolved nicely and did not seem contrived. In an age of so much 'fast-food' entertainment, I found it nice to have a bit of a plot to chew on and keep straight.

I think too, that long-time Rankin readers have to approach the novel without "Rebus Goggles". If you do not compare Malcom Fox to previous characters or plot points to previous novels...you really enjoy the book and it's new concepts and metaphors with a fresh mind :)

Malcolm Fox was one of the good guys. He was a clean cop that monitors the ones that were not always making sure that his principles were upheld. Foxy worked in Edinburgh for the division called The Complaints and Conduct Department and had the character of a slow and steady man making careful decisions and well thought out plans. He took care of his aging father and tried to protect his sister from herself which was not always easy when she was a magnet for the wrong sort of man.

When Foxy finds himself instead of investigating being investigated he wants to know why. His sister's abusive boyfriend turns up dead and a string of occurrences that appear to be random but are too carefully orchestrated to be so make him wonder who is behind this mess.

Foxy meets a young officer named Jamie Breck and a quick friendship forms even though Breck was one of those he was to be investigating. Was this connection a set-up, is Foxy being thrown under the bus to cover up another crime, who are these people following him? Too many questions with no answers and all the fingers pointing at Foxy and Breck when there is no connection but a dead boyfriend that no one really knew or cared about.

This book give the perspective of the hunter being hunted and when you turn the tables on those that investigate how they use their skills to assist in finding the truth. The truth turns out to be buried very deep and when he finds it even Foxy is shocked by how this all got started.

Ian Rankin loves a good mystery and the reason I know that he in the flawless way he writes it. You never know who is doing what or what door leads to the clue until the moment he wants you to.

This is the kind of book that after you read it you ask yourself why did you bother in the first place? Well in my case it was because I've always liked Rankin. But this was if he wrote it just to keep himself busy and never really put any real thought into it. The characters are all like stick figures and the 'villains' are so one dimensional that you could hang them on a wall. Rankin seems to miss Rebus more than he thought and created this character "Malcolm Fox, Foxy" as a shadow of the great man. Didn't seem to take much time with his personality, he doesn't have one.

Whereas Rebus had an expertise with rock music, Fox listens to 'birdsongs'. Ugh! His car is an old Volvo station wagon, his flat is non-descript. His sister is a boring drunk with an abusive boyfriend, his fathers in a 'senior' house. Even Edinburgh is made dull (not that it isn't) where everyone complains about the 'TRAM' and how it has messed up the traffic. Ugh! There's very little interesting in this book and I doubt I'll read the next one. Kind of reminds me of 'The Lost Symbol', everyone was hoping for something great...NOT.

Zeb Kantrowitz

I think this is the first Rankin novel I have read, and I hate to say it may be my last. It was a slog to get through this book. I almost gave up midway through, and I was relieved when I saw I was nearing the end.

I thought all the characters were one dimensional. I never really got a sense or a picture in my head of any of them. I didn't feel strongly motivated for them, nor did I care what happened to them. Another reviewer on here mentioned he had trouble keeping track of the thousand name cast of characters and I had that problem too.

I also found it odd how the investigation played out. These guys are on suspension yet are rolling around as if they are cops and justifiably on the case, pestering witnesses and practically breaking into places, and at the end, all is forgiven.

anyway, I do not recommend this book. I think the sample was compelling enough for me to give it a shot, but don't waste your money on this novel.

I admit that I'm a newbie to Ian Rankin. I've not read any of the previous series that many reviewers are rueing the end of, so I came to "The Complaints" totally not knowing what to expect. I will also admit I've not been a huge "mystery" or "detective" fiction fan. All that being said, I have to say that Rankin's "The Complaints" is simply one of the best pieces of fiction I've read in a long time.

The characters are wonderfully developed so that you think you know them, but he leaves enough out and introduces enough questions that you aren't 100% sure you have things figured out. He has also crafted a very fast paced story, that is really amazingly complex for as fast as it is developed. Also, for a plot that is as complex as this one it, it is extremely easy to follow and not lose track of just who the players are.

In short...great story...wonderfully written with characters you really care about (or dislike, as the case may be) and just when you think you've got it figured out....well, I'm not taking you there...read it for yourself.

Great read. I'm a serious Rankin fan as of this read.

This is a rambling novel. There is no central theme. Plot unravels, writer loses control. And ending is anticlimatic. There are too many subplots