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A Good Hanging and Other Stories (Inspector Rebus Short stories)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 1,124 ratings · 63 reviews

Penzler Pick, January 2002: Ian Rankin is now the United Kingdom's bestselling crime writer. His 15 police procedurals featuring the dour Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus are beginning, at last, to attract a devoted--and deserved--following in this country. St. Martin's has just published this, Rankin's 1992 collection of short stories, and I can't think of a better...more

Paperback, 288 pages

Published January 1st 1998 by Orion (first published 1992)

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Jan 22, 2011 Stephanie (Stepping out of the Page) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, crime-thriller-mystery, short-stories, movies-or-tv, adult-fiction, awful-cover, books-i-own

A decent collection of short stories. Some of these stories really fascinated me, but unfortunately not the majority of them. Those that did certainly did make me want to delve deeper into the story, especially the title story which was my favourite from the collection. All round, the stories were of good quality and did have a certain Scottish authenticity. I didn't find myself loving or loathing Rebus, but he was a very realistic character. The stories were good for a quick read - I'm not sure...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a wonderful collection of short stories featuring Scottish detective John Rebus. Rebus is the character Rankin is best known for and the subject of nearly twenty novels.

The dozen stories here range from light mystery to macabre thrillers and all are good. Rebus' character shows many layers in these stories when reflected on as a whole and the reader will discover some things about the venerable detective that aren't revealed in each novel.

My favorites:

The Dean Curse - A thief steals the...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookcrossed-or-otherwise-set-free, 2006

Twelve remarkable, gritty stories starring Detective Inspector John Rebus in his home city of Edinburgh, as only Ian Rankin can portray it: not just the tearooms and cobbled streets of the tourist brochures, but a modern urban metropolis with a full range of criminals and their victims--blackmailers, peeping Toms, and more than one kind of murderer. It's a city like any other, a city that gives birth to crimes of passion, accidents, and long-hidden jealousy, and a city in which criminal minds fi...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Ariel Cardoso rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book A GOOD HANGING by Ian Rankin was interesting, suspensful and a good callenge to read. I enjoyed it a lot, but the biggest problem was that it's not a whole novel, it's multiple short stories. Each of the stories related to each other in the way that they're all about homocide, and death in general, but other than that, they're all very different and they all have their own style in the writing. Although they were interesting, I wish I knew before hand that it was that format, becasue I...more The book A GOOD HANGING by Ian Rankin was interesting, suspensful and a good callenge to read. I enjoyed it a lot, but the biggest problem was that it's not a whole novel, it's multiple short stories. Each of the stories related to each other in the way that they're all about homocide, and death in general, but other than that, they're all very different and they all have their own style in the writing. Although they were interesting, I wish I knew before hand that it was that format, becasue I probably wouldn't have checked it out, or even picked it up. I like to have time to learn about the characters and develope a feeling toward them before the actual plot line developes, and this book didn't have that. Each of the stories were really exciting though, they all had you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out who the murderer was, what happened to the victim, and how the crime was solved. My favorite story was the first one becasue it made you feel like you were part of the story, and had you trying to put together the evidence before the investigators did. I'm really interested in CSI, and I feel that the information given in the book was accurate, but with too little detail. When a book describes a crime scene, I want to be able to see the scene in my head, and imagine exactly how it would feel to be there, but this book didn't give that to me. I wish there was more detail in the stories, explaining how the investagator felt, how the famiies of the victims felt, how the murderer felt during the story etc. but they were still well written. Although the stories were interesting and fun to read, I probably wouldn't check out this book again because I didn't really like being thrown into a story beore I know anyting about the people or the story line. I was placed in the climax of a story before the story really had time to develope. I did enjoy the book though, and If you're interested in a quick read that's intriguing and suspensful, I would absolutely recommend it. (less)

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Aug 01, 2011 Anirudh Parthasarathy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Good Hanging and Other Stories is a collection of short stories written by the British crime novelist Ian Rankin, famous for his John Rebus series. This is also a novel which features John Rebus. The book has twelve short stories.

John Rebus is a police Detective Inspector based in Edinburgh, addicted to smoking and drinking. He is an officer who has various contacts around the town, but is not very outspoken. In fact, nobody knows anything much about him.

All the stories in this book happen in...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Bookworm Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Detective Rebus collection. Not a novel, but a collection of 'shorts'. It is one of those books you grab in haste because of the author. Or, you are a really really big fan and need to have everything the author has ever written.

Even though I have enjoyed many Rankin books in the past, I am in the 'haste' category.

I picked this up at a booksale. The booksale where you fill a box for $5. The sale is a mad dash into an overly crowded barn with two rows of tightly packed books. You have to fight...more A Detective Rebus collection. Not a novel, but a collection of 'shorts'. It is one of those books you grab in haste because of the author. Or, you are a really really big fan and need to have everything the author has ever written.

Even though I have enjoyed many Rankin books in the past, I am in the 'haste' category.

I picked this up at a booksale. The booksale where you fill a box for $5. The sale is a mad dash into an overly crowded barn with two rows of tightly packed books. You have to fight your way, with your box, into the melee where you grab anything and everything. You see the name of an author you slightly recognize? You grab it! You see a cover of a book that looks slightly interesting? You grab it! You find the fantasy section? Grab everything! After your box is overflowing, or hitting the fifty pound mark and getting to heavy to carry with one hand (because you need the other hand to grab books and fend of others going through your box), you take the box aside and go through it. This is where you realize you've picked up two copies of the same chic-lit book, book 12 and 15 from the same fantasy series (which you've only read book 1 and 2), and a microwave cookbook which you though by the cover picture was some funny memoir about the 80's. You toss these rejects and head back for more...you want to get your $5 worth, right?!

After you get home and start analyzing your box of books you run across things like A Good Hanging. It was picked up because of the author's name. It made it through the barnyard toss, unlike that microwave cookbook, because it appeared to be a worthwhile novel - a real gem. But, upon closer inspection it turned out to be a collection of short stories. One of those books authors seem to put out to get that last little bit of coin from the most die hard of fans. Unpublished and unfinished sorts of things tend to end up in books like this. If you've ever read anything like this you'll nod your head in agreement that the quality of these things tend to be a bit shoddy. Sometimes there will be an anecdote or two that stick with you for years, but, for the most part it's in one ear and out the other.

What you'll find with A Good Hanging is reminiscent of what Sherlock Holmes' I've read; tiny, one off, mysteries that are quickly solved by that magic piece of evidence or through a tricked confession. For the most part entertaining and interesting to read, but, lack the substance of a novel. What I really found strange was the lack of a sidekick, no Siobhan in this book. All Rebus. As long as you know this going in, you should find this book ok. Not one to write home about, but, solid enough to buy for under a dollar.

And, I believe as intended by Rankin, reading this book made me recall that I really enjoy this Detective Rebus. But, what I really like is the non-crime related part of him, where he hangs out in seedy bars and coerces ratfinks to give him bits of underworld info with a 20 pound note (or an arm twisting). This is the stuff you learn about when you read an entire novel, not just the shorts...so, I hit up the Rankin section at my library.(less)

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Jun 16, 2012 Nicholas Whyte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1951749.html

This is the last of the Rebus books for me - though I still have about a half-dozen other Rankins on the shelves - a collection of short stories published in 1992, when Rebus's sidekick was still Brian Holmes rather than Siobhan Clarke; I missed her but otherwise really enjoyed all the stories, excellent little crime vignettes - in some cases you can see what the twist is likely to be but still admire Rankin's skill in getting us and Rebus there. (A coup...more

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Feb 27, 2009 Jan C rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Scots

Shelves: anthology, mystery, scotland

Excellent. John Rebus short stories. Most are told with a sense of humor, sometimes a very dark one.

"The Dean Curse" plays on Hammett's "The Dain Curse" with Rebus throwing the book across the room because no one has that many coincidences. He's looking at it with far too much of a professional eye. And then he gets called out on a case that uses it ironically.

My favorite, I think, was "Sunday". Most of the story is Rebus taking us through his typical Sunday - walking down the block to get the...more

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Feb 26, 2010 Lourdes Fernandez Venard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I could read Rankin's short stories all day -- he's that good. What I also like about this collection is that they add to Rebus' characterization and that, taken together, they read as one story -- just a story of one Rebus case after another. The title story is about a student hanging during the Edinburgh Festival. In order to solve the crime, Rebus must attend a Shakespeare play which holds a vital clue. In "Not Provan," it seems a guilty man will go free at trial -- unless Rebus can break his...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Varun rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

Rankin is a very gifted mystery writer,as is evident from his short stories.He writes textured mysteries and his mysteries are unique in the way,they focus on character development and social commentary as equally as the mystery itself.The slow pace proves to be an asset in this collection,because it draws us easily into Rankin's world.To be fair the mysteries are very predictable.Even a non seasoned reader of mystery novels can well predict in advance the solution to the mysteries.If the myster...more

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Oct 22, 2012 Lili rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, paperback, short-stories

A collection of short stories from Ian Rankin, unfortunately not all were good although two or three were particularly interesting.

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May 12, 2012 Connie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't normally like short stories, but I really did enjoy each one of these in this book. There are 12 stories in all and each one gives a little more understanding of Rebus. I think the story I enjoyed the most was the one called "Sunday". It showed both a compassionate side and a vulnerable side to Rebus. I also liked Detective Constable Holmes in this one. How you could see the respect he had for Rebus even though Rebus didn't really treat him well all the time.

There was some dark humor in...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Bryn Musson rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not a great fan of Rankin, but I thought I'd give short stories a go. I gave up, in a short story wasting a page just to slag off another author (Dashiell Hammett I think) for having ridiculous plots is cheap and petty. Also a little hypocritical, really, Edinburgh isn't that big, but it would be knee deep in corpses if Rankin is to be believed. If you are going to write about a super sleuth then you have to have a certain amount of ridiculous or they'd have nothing to do. Off to the charity sho...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Oddmonster rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gris, scotland

It turns out that one of the many things I like about Inspector Rebus is that he's a book-flinger:

John Rebus threw The Dain Curse up in the air, sending it spinning towards his living-room ceiling. Gravity caught up with it just short of the ceiling and pulled it down hard, so that it landed open against the uncarpeted floor.

--"The Dean Curse"

A well-chosen collection that should appeal to Rebus and non-Rebus readers alike. Standouts: "The Dean Curse", "Tit for Tat" and "Not Provan".

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Jul 27, 2011 Jen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not a short story fan really, I much prefer something I really feel that I can get my teeth into. However, this was better for me than a collection of short stories generally would be because I already knew some of the characters having read previous Rebus novels. I would recommend this to Rebus fans, I felt it was a little like watching Rebus do Columbo! The stories are interesting, well written and thoughtful. I enjoyed it, but also couldn't wait to get onto my next full length Rebus case!

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Jul 03, 2009 Jessica Howard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-british

A solid collection of mystery short stories featuring the inimitable Inspector John Rebus. Each story is 10-30 pages long, and features a different case, but there are recurring characters and incidents as the story progresses, making for a cohesive whole. All the stories are set in and around Edinburgh, and feature a wacky and often sad collection of criminals, some of Rebus's fellow officers in the Lothian and Borders, and of course, Rebus himself in all his nuanced, alcoholic, perceptive glor...more

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Aug 21, 2011 Emilie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scottish-lit

This wasn't bad at all. At first I wasn't too keen on Rebus (he's a bit of a sad-sack human being) and I was annoyed at how many gaps Rankin leaves in his protagonist's reasoning (take me through it damn it!), but it soon grew on me and eventually I liked it. I don't think Rankin is as good as other crime writers, but he's decent. What's best though, is reading stories set in my city, and for that only, the read is worth it.

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Sep 15, 2010 Adam rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, short-stories

I wasn't overly impressed by Ian Rankin's first three Inspector Rebus novels. The first two, especially, hinged on wildly implausible and not terribly clever "puzzle murders," which are never my favorite types of mystery stories.

I enjoyed this collection of short stories, however, since it was more character-driven. "Sunday" and "Auld Lang Syne" in particular gave me a better sense of who Rebus was as a person than the entirety of Rankin's first three novels about him.

Rankin's tendency to be cut...more

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May 16, 2012 Pragyan Thapa rated it 4 of 5 stars

My first Ian Rankin book. The reason I just picked it up from the bookstore was, the title was quite catchy and its a collection of stories and I've got a soft spot for short stories. It was a real page turner and I can see a lot of Agatha Christie and COnan Doyle influence in the character of Reebus. All stories were great and I'm now going to start the whole Reebus series :)

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Feb 28, 2013 Leslie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 100books2013, mystery

Nice collection of short stories, all featuring Inspector John Rebus, who investigates crime in Edinburgh, Scotland and reveals the seamier side of the city. Fast paced, interesting and with a wide variety of characters and mysteries, mostly murder. There is a psychological aspect to many of the stories as well. Enjoyable easy read.

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Sep 27, 2011 Phil Mc rated it 2 of 5 stars

Too inconsistent, although that is the perennial problem with short stories, to be worthy of better.

The highlights are dark, tense and focused on Rebus the man. The lowlights are forgettable at best. Any interest comes from the character and some of these would make very chapters in larger works but are ultimately ufulfilling.

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Jul 28, 2011 Natascia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

a collection of short crime stories starring Inspector Rebus and all set in and around Edinburgh. An enjoyable and easy read, the mysteries are told with sense of humour and feature a full range of criminals and victims. Rebus is a tough, sympathetic, quick-witted and romantic detective. A good read.

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Nov 25, 2008 Kari Coleman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the first book I picked up by this author, and I really did enjoy it. I was not aware when I took it from the library that it was going to be a collection of short stories, but after reading them, I have decided that I'd like to try one of his novels.

Has anyone read anything by him before? I love that he's Scottish and the verbs he uses are GREAT!

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Mar 14, 2013 False Millennium rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery-suspense-spy-intelligence

A book of short stories featuring detective John Rebus. Since I am not a huge fan of the short story, I didn't enjoy this as much as the regular work, but as I am currently reading my way through ALL of Rankin, this was a must.

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Aug 29, 2011 Artemis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Most of the Rebus short stories are well structured and written. I didn't like two out of twelve, but hey that is plenty. They are a good glimpse of his genius even for some small cases.

I am sad that there is no more Rebus for me to read.

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Apr 13, 2012 Thomas King rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am originally from Edinburgh,Scotland so Ian is preaching to the converted with me. Like his style like his observations in and around Edinburgh. Also like the pace and the twists you think you see coming but don't.

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Aug 09, 2012 Stuart rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery, scottish

A nice collection of Rebus short stories, with a some interesting sidenotes on his marriage and his Army history. Good stories, neatly solved. Excellent for a plane ride, which is where i read most of them.

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Mar 03, 2012 Sharon Lucas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As with all of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus books, this one does not disappoint. This is a collection of short stories, which makes it amazingly easy to pick up and put down if you're trying to read it while doing other things that might interrupt or distract you. Some stories, of course, are better than others; but none of them are boring or bad.

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Dec 07, 2011 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Twelve tales giving a good flavour of Edinburgh but a better one of Rebus. The plot resolutions are not be all they might be but the emerging characters of the city and the policeman make the read well worthwhile.

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Aug 31, 2011 Stuart Lutzenhiser rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

A collection of Rebus short stories. I like the fuller novels better as I enjoy the many tangents that occur during the story. The short stories are just, well, too short. Great book, though.

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About Ian Rankin

AKA Jack Harvey.

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into twenty-two languages and are bestsellers on several continents.

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A Good Hanging and Other Stories (Inspector Rebus Short stories)

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