Sign in/joinLanguage: English [ others ]
Over forty million books on members' bookshelves.
Hide this

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Black and Blue by Ian Rankin
Loading...

Black and Blue

by Ian Rankin

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
802104,636 (3.87)6
Loading...
won't like will probably not like will probably like will like will love

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

English (9)  Swedish (1)  All languages (10)
Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)
This series just keeps improving - this is the best I have read so far. Rebus is an inspired creation. ( )
riverwillow | Jun 9, 2009 |  
Rebus, in trouble again, juggles two new cases whilst dealing with the fact that his mentor was probably corrupt and has committed suicide leaving Rebus to carry the can when a TV programme reopens an old murder case. If this weren't enough for our hero, he also faces up to, and tries to deal with, his drink dependency: something has got to give....
This book, as one comes to expect with Ian Rankin, drives on from page one to the last sentence. Excellent! ( )
the.ken.petersen | May 1, 2009 |  
Another grimy, gritty book, with much more of the Scots language in it making it difficult to follow at times.

The plot is complex, involving a current serial killer who is copycatting a never-caught one of 25 years previous (the latter based on a real serial killer, Bible John). Rebus becomes obsessed with both. Yet at the same time, he is investigating the murder of an offshore oil rig worker. Along with carrying out these investigations, which take him from Ediburg to Glasgow to Aberdeen and the North Sea oil fields, Rebus is under investigation for the possible framing years before of a criminal by Rebus' mentor, whom Rebus assisted.

A complicated plot, at times hard to follow due to the bewildering cast of both major and minor characters, whom Rankin just manages to keep distinct. Interesting information on the economics of off-shore oil and the working of the fields, well integrated into the plot so as not to become either annoying or distracting. ( )
Joycepa | Sep 15, 2007 |  
I've enjoyed nearly all of Rankin's books, and this one was no exception. It's been a few years, so I have a hard time remembering which was which now from the titels, but Rebus is a fantastic character, and the action in and around Edinburgh (one of my favorite cities; I lived near there when I read this) is always interesting. ( )
herebedragons | Feb 3, 2007 |  
Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)
0.093 seconds to build listing
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Book description

Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0312966776, Mass Market Paperback)

Bible John killed three women, and took three souvenirs. Johnny Bible killed to steal his namesake's glory. Oilman Allan Mitchelson died for his principles. And convict Lenny Spaven died just to prove a point. "Bible John" terrorized Glasgow in the sixties and seventies, murdering three women he met in a local ballroom--and he was never caught. Now a copycat is at work. Nicknamed "Bible Johnny" by the media, he is a new menace with violent ambitions.

The Bible Johnny case would be perfect for Inspector John Rebus, but after a run-in with a crooked senior officer, he's been shunted aside to one of Edinburgh's toughest suburbs, where he investigates the murder of an off-duty oilman. His investigation takes him north to the oil rigs of Aberdeen, where he meets the Bible Johnny media circus head-on. Suddenly caught in the glare of the television cameras and in the middle of more than one investigation, Rebus must proceed wiht caution: One mistake could mean an unpleasant and not particularly speedy death, or, worse still, losing his job.

Written with Ian Rankin's signature wit, style and intricacy, Black and Blue is a novel of uncommon and unforgettable intrigue.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:56 -0400)

(see all 2 descriptions)

The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.

Popular covers

 

Help/FAQs | About | Privacy/Terms | Blog | Contact | LibraryThing.com | APIs | WikiThing | Common Knowledge | 41,225,360 books!