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31st out of 576 books
—
520 voters
Resurrection Men (Inspector Rebus #13)
by
Ian Rankin
The Barnes & Noble Review
Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus books have brought him worldwide acclaim for their vividly drawn characterizations and intricate, compelling plots. In this installment, the rebellious Rebus has gone too far -- flinging a mug of tea at a superior's head lands him in Tulliallan, a police college, for retraining. There he's assigned to a group of "re...more
Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus books have brought him worldwide acclaim for their vividly drawn characterizations and intricate, compelling plots. In this installment, the rebellious Rebus has gone too far -- flinging a mug of tea at a superior's head lands him in Tulliallan, a police college, for retraining. There he's assigned to a group of "re...more
Paperback, 528 pages
Published
January 1st 2004
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published January 1st 2002)
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13th in a series and an excellent read. It must be a bit frustrating for the author though. He is in the groove and keeps knocking out relatively complex tales of a drunken anti hero with edinburgh as the back drop and the constant ability to keep name checking places and whiskies.
Not that this is a major problem,
This one starts at the deep end and we see rebus thrown off a case of a murdered art dealer for throwing a mug of tea at DI Templer.
This, it turns out after some time, is a rouse to get...more
Not that this is a major problem,
This one starts at the deep end and we see rebus thrown off a case of a murdered art dealer for throwing a mug of tea at DI Templer.
This, it turns out after some time, is a rouse to get...more
Sadly disappointing....somehow, this book never lived up to its brilliant premise: Rebus, a walking nightmare of an employee, throws a mug of tea at his female boss and ex-lover and gets sent to a combination boot camp for recruits/rehab center for cops on their last chance. But really he's there undercover, trying to secretly investigate a ring of dirty cops....without revealing his own secrets about a cold case they've been assigned by surprise. Or is his boss trying to get rid of Rebus once a...more
I have read other books in this series and really enjoyed them. This one for me was much less enjoyable than the others because it had so many characters that it was difficult to keep them all straight (it even had a 3 page list at the start of the book explaining who all the main characters were!). It also had more than one case that was being solved at a time in multiple police stations all with different staff. All this coupled with the fact that the book was so long (almost 450 pages) made i...more
This the 13th in the addictive John Rebus series featuring the addicted cop who has become a favorite read for many. The book won an Edgar as best mystery in 2004 and I can’t really say why I hadn’t read it before this.
When he’s not boozing or smoking, Rebus is generally up to his neck in trouble. This novel is no exception. It begins with the detective throwing a tea mug at his supervisor, which gets him sent to Tulliallan, the Scottish police college, for retraining. We soon discover he has be...more
When he’s not boozing or smoking, Rebus is generally up to his neck in trouble. This novel is no exception. It begins with the detective throwing a tea mug at his supervisor, which gets him sent to Tulliallan, the Scottish police college, for retraining. We soon discover he has be...more
It is practically impossible to write a review of one of Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus novels without using the word ‘gritty’, so I may as well just get it over with. For anybody who has not met him before, Inspector Rebus is the classic bad boy of the Scottish police, a hard drinking maverick guaranteed to annoy his boss and get his man (or woman). The difference is that Ian Rankin does it so well and Resurrection Men is one of the best of the series.
Appropriately number thirteen of the series,...more
Appropriately number thirteen of the series,...more
This Edgar Award winning novel is the tale of several murders, a generous handful of bad guys, and John Rebus as the primary good guy working against them, along with colleague Siobhan Clarke in the Edinburgh, Scotland police force. Rebus is a maverick cop, one whose temper-tantrum throwing of a tea cup at the superior officer who is leading a meeting gets Rebus sent to Tulliallan Police College for remedial teamwork instruction. There he’s joined by a group of law-enforcement miscreants to solv...more
I've made a pact with the Devil, he thought as his hands gripped the edge of the breakfast table. Resurrection would only come to those that deserved it; Rebus knew he was not among them. He could find a church and pray all he liked, or offer up his confession to Strathern. Neither would make a jot of difference. This was how the jobs get done: with a tainted conscience, guilty deals, and complicity. With grubby motives and a spirit grown corrupt. His steps were so shallow as he walked towards t...more
Resurrection Men, by Ian Rankin. A.
This is more of a thriller than some of Rankin’s books are. In this book, John Rhebus loses it in a meeting of police officers and throws a mug of tea at the lieutenant in charge, Jill Templar. For this, and for other reasons, he is shipped off to a place where policemen are sent for training, for re-training, or for rehabilitation, to give them a last chance to shape up. They are expected to work as a team, something that the men who are sent there for rehabil...more
This is more of a thriller than some of Rankin’s books are. In this book, John Rhebus loses it in a meeting of police officers and throws a mug of tea at the lieutenant in charge, Jill Templar. For this, and for other reasons, he is shipped off to a place where policemen are sent for training, for re-training, or for rehabilitation, to give them a last chance to shape up. They are expected to work as a team, something that the men who are sent there for rehabil...more
Rebus is sent to Tuliallan, the police academy, ostensibly for re-training after hurling a mug of tea across the room at his commanding officer. His group consists of a number of last-chancers, in that this is the last chance they'll have to shape up before they're shipped out... of the force. But there's more in play than meets the eye, because at least one of these men is a bent copper... one who's willing to commit murder to keep his secrets buried.
Back at St. Leonard's, newly promoted Detect...more
Back at St. Leonard's, newly promoted Detect...more
This is the second book featuring Rebus I've ever read, and last time, I was a bit underwhelmed. The ending was too neat, and it was just a little bit unsatisfying. The second time round, I've had a bit of a chance to get to know Rebus, and Siobhan, and the recurring supporting cast, and I have to say I think Rankin is one of my new favourites. It was brilliant. I can see why this won awards - it's a very good story, very well told, with marvellous characters.
It was just really satisfying. And a...more
It was just really satisfying. And a...more
This is only my third Inspector Rebus novel (in addition to The Falls and Exit Music), and is easily my favorite. In addition to the superbly dark character of John Rebus, we have a host of other characters (some familiar, some new), and enough plot twists to keep you pretzel like for days. Anyone who has been avoiding Rankin for fear of "just another detective mystery series" should run to the nearest bookstore and stock up: there is so much more to Rankin's lovingly crafted descriptions of his...more
DI John Rebus, for his sins, is taking a course at Tulliallan Police College to learn how to work as part of a team – his last chance to save his career. He's off the Marber murder investigation…but the practice case he and his fellow sufferers work on turns out to be an unsolved murder from his past. And to top it all off, Rebus is actually undercover, trying to find out whether three of his classmates ripped off a drug dealer a few years before. Rebus is at his crotchety best here, Siobhan Cla...more
An art dealer is brutally murdered in Edinburgh, while Rebus is sent on a disciplinary course where he and a bunch of malcontent officers have to look at a cold case – one which Rebus has a connection to.
In the past I’ve been ambivalent the Rebus novels, but the way the disparate elements come together to make a whole in this book is brilliant. For optimum enjoyment you probably need to have followed the series until this point, but Rankin makes it easy enough for the new reader to pick up the e...more
In the past I’ve been ambivalent the Rebus novels, but the way the disparate elements come together to make a whole in this book is brilliant. For optimum enjoyment you probably need to have followed the series until this point, but Rankin makes it easy enough for the new reader to pick up the e...more
Inspector John Rebus is an interesting character. He is very charismatic and has a big heart. I found Ian Rankin very detailed as a novelist. He has great depth and power. I found the colloquial language kind of hard to decipher at times, but it added color and authenticity to the detective from Scotland. If you like the Bosch series from Michael Connelly you will like Ian Rankin. John has a great sidekick in DS Siobhan Clarke (prounced "Shiv-awn"). Who does not like a powerful woman detective w...more
Oct 16, 2008
Genevieve Andrews
added it
Good Scottish mystery, makees you really want to go to the pub
This is one of the best books in the Inspector Rebus' series, in my opinion.
I love that Rebus isn't perfect, how he dances on the line between good and bad and how he circles around what is allowed as a cop and what is not. However, i never doubt that his intentions are good.
In this book, he meets a couple of cops in a resurrection class who struggle with the same issues, but might have already overstept the border. When they are appointed to an old case, some of Rebus' ghosts come alive. Litera...more
I love that Rebus isn't perfect, how he dances on the line between good and bad and how he circles around what is allowed as a cop and what is not. However, i never doubt that his intentions are good.
In this book, he meets a couple of cops in a resurrection class who struggle with the same issues, but might have already overstept the border. When they are appointed to an old case, some of Rebus' ghosts come alive. Litera...more
Rebus is in hot water with the top brass yet again! So, off he goes for 're-training' with a similar bunch of mavericks and unsavoury borderline coppers. Rankin delivers another top Rebus episode, delivering razor sharp characters (I particulary liked the Glasgow based 'Rebus' whose name I shall withhold for the sake of the plot) and multi layered plot with gritty realism.
Rebus' nemesis, Cafferty features heavily in this book (never a bad thing) and, incidentally, this is DS Clarkes debut who is...more
Rebus' nemesis, Cafferty features heavily in this book (never a bad thing) and, incidentally, this is DS Clarkes debut who is...more
I listened to an Audible recording of this book. 17 hours. Because it was a recording I kept a list of characters, a note for each one, and a list of places.
For me, there were too many characters, most of which seemed to add nothing to the story and added confusion (not in a good way) and annoyance to me as a reader.
The story itself had too much detail, too many words with little but surface meaning, false trails, and logic that got uinteresting after the 8th hour.
In summary, the book was co...more
For me, there were too many characters, most of which seemed to add nothing to the story and added confusion (not in a good way) and annoyance to me as a reader.
The story itself had too much detail, too many words with little but surface meaning, false trails, and logic that got uinteresting after the 8th hour.
In summary, the book was co...more
The conclusion to this left me wondering.... Rebus finds a solitary place, accepts his lot in life, wipes his hands and gets back on with life. Siobhan finds a listening female ear, begins to offload her burdens but decides eating chocolate is the better way to deal with the stress. A wry observation about the sexes perhaps?
These books have become a favourite companion for me at work (minerals processing research). There seems to be something familar about Rebus dogged investigation of fleeting...more
These books have become a favourite companion for me at work (minerals processing research). There seems to be something familar about Rebus dogged investigation of fleeting...more
The rebellious bad boy of Lothian and Borders Police has finally gone too far. In a staff meeting, John Rebus' frustration with the current murder investigation boiled over and he hurled a mug at his boss' head. That was too much even for his long-suffering superiors and so, for his sins, he has been sentenced to return to police college for retraining on how to work as a team member. The other members of his training class are similar "bad boys".
Now, long-time readers of the Rebus saga will imm...more
Now, long-time readers of the Rebus saga will imm...more
Scottish Inspector John Rebus has always had a problem with authority, but he gets particularly exorcised one morning and hurls a cup of tea at his supervisor. For this, he is assigned to a stint at Tulliallan, a police academy where problem officers are sent for retraining and to see if their careers can be resurrected.
The approach is to take an old case and assign it to the "resurrection men" working under the close supervision of an instructor who will teach them the teamwork necessary to goo...more
The approach is to take an old case and assign it to the "resurrection men" working under the close supervision of an instructor who will teach them the teamwork necessary to goo...more
A particularly good novel in the Rebus series, and the only Rankin book to have won the Edgar Award. Rebus is put onto a training course as punishment for throwing a cup of tea at his boss, and the dead case resurrected for him and his fellow retrainees turns out to be intimately connected both with the case he has just been taken off, and with the real reason for his throwing the tea. A very intricate plot which actually made sense at the end (which is violent and shocking), with a detailed bac...more
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Awesome book! The only reason, I don't give 5/5 is because the plot is so complicated, that it's hard keeping track of everyone involved. There is a who's who at the beginning of the book, but I refuse to use those things — I believe that if a book needs an index of characters, it's probably too complex. In this case it wasn't so bad, and I was never tempted to look anyone up. And it certainly didn't affect the positives.
DI John Rebus has to be one of the baddest bad-asses in contemporary crime...more
DI John Rebus has to be one of the baddest bad-asses in contemporary crime...more
Although it was well written and I was drawn in at the end, I am a bit tired of men behaving badly and getting away with it because they are brilliant at their jobs. Yes, Rebus recognizes that he messed up his previous relationships and life due to his love of policing and drink, but it doesn't stop him from getting drunk and having a new girlfriend. Why do we excuse him and keep reading? Who knows, maybe because the writing is good enough to hook you in.
I can't help comparing this series to Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series and I always feel that the Rebus series doesn't quite match up to the Banks. As the series has progressed Siobhan has definitely developed as a character though I don't believe she's reached the level of Annie Cabot. Rebus is more unorthodox than Banks and this setting exploited that trait. A couple of plots intertwined nicely making for an entertaining reading experience.
I love this series and learned that John Rebus is coming back in an upcoming book, so wanted to reread a few of the older books, I had gotten Resurrection Men originally on a trip to Ireland, had been excited to purchase before available in US, but when read initially was a bit disappointed, but now in rereading totally loved, think sometimes can build a book up to much, better on rereading!
My first of the Rebus series of Ian Rankin. And it's my first time also to read a mystery book and not rush it. I don't seem have that burning desire to solve er..no, to see the case solved. Maybe it's because the main character, Rebus. The bitter and harden detective Rebus might have his share in the case and I hate it if I were to find him guilty so I keep postponing to finish the book.
This Rebus novel refers back to prior cases several years back. Rebus is sent back to school for remediation. Siobhan is working on a murder that, of course, has tangential connections to the case study that Rebus and other "bad boys" are working on in their course. Cafferty reappears which makes the novel fun. A bit of a stretch at the end, but amusing. Maybe a 4.5 even. It was a fun read.
A great mystery with so many twists and turns - better than any tv drama - the scottish accents are more easily read than heard to be understood!
Rankin is a master at this, and Rebus is sent to boot camp for police for being a very naughty boy....supposedly. Is he being st up to pay for past mistakes, or is he on the trail of some particularly nasty cops?
Rankin is a master at this, and Rebus is sent to boot camp for police for being a very naughty boy....supposedly. Is he being st up to pay for past mistakes, or is he on the trail of some particularly nasty cops?
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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.
Ian Rankin has be...more
More about Ian Rankin...
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.
Ian Rankin has be...more
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Apr 06, 2013 06:23am