Resurrection Men

DI John Rebus has been sent for remedial training at the Scottish police academy after he throws a cup of tea at his superior; it’s his last chance to remain on the force before receiving more severe disciplinary action. At the academy, he is grouped with several other officers also in trouble for not being “team players,” and they are assigned the job of forming a team themselves and taking another look at an unsolved murder from six years earlier. But not everything is as it seems with this arrangement, and Rebus’s strengths and weaknesses will be tested to their utmost before the assignment is over…. This is the 13th book in the Rebus series, winning the Edgar Award for best novel - as well it should, as this particular show more entry into the series is both complex, with several intertwining stories, and nail-biting in terms of its suspense. I say that reflexively, though, as I am reading the book decades after its initial publication and I know that there are a dozen or more Rebus books still to come, so the “will he survive this?” element is somewhat blunted for me. Nevertheless, the tensions are palpable throughout the book, and Mr. Rankin ratchets it up superbly. I also liked the sub-story featuring more of DS Siobhan Clarke; I admit to some bias because my middle name is Siobhan (and I would have “shivved” anybody who tried to call me “Shiv,” too!), but really she is becoming a more interesting character, both in terms of her work as a woman in a very sexist working world and with respect to her non-existent (or is it?) private life. I alternate between enjoying and being exasperated with Rebus - how anyone who drinks as much as he does is still alive and not comatose is beyond me - but in this one, I’m much more on the pro-Rebus side; highly recommended, but read the series from the beginning, please! show less

Another solid outing for everyone's favourite slightly rumpled, dissolute & clever DI. Rebus is sent back to the academy for retraining. It's the last stop on the career ladder for officers who have attitude problems or don't play well with others. Normally, he'd fit right in but this time he's a plant. Several of his classmates are suspected of helping themselves to the spoils of a drug war but the higher-ups have never been able to find the evidence they need. Many have long suspected Rebus of being in the pocket of Big Ger Cafferty & the brass is hoping his reputation will allow him to get close to the bent cops.
Back in Edinburgh, new DS Siobhan Clarke has a murder case on her hands. A local art dealer has met his maker & due to his show more lifestyle, the threads of the investigation stretch out in all directions. She has to take a hard look at sauna houses, galleries, artists, taxi companies & Big Ger, himself. The pressure is on & having a new junior partner, the return of an old colleague & no Rebus aren't helping. And soon there are more bodies.
Rebus allows her to think he's actually been sent for "resurrection". As they compare notes, common names start to pop up in both investigations & it's clear they're each dealing with different parts of one big mess. As for playing well with others, well...in the end, they only trust each other & Rebus pays a high price.
If you're a fan of this series you don't need this review. You'll pick it up because it's Rebus. He has become one of the most popular & venerated fictional characters for a reason. Reading these books by Rankin is one of the few sure bets out there. He's just that good. The characters he creates always feel like they're flesh & blood & following the reoccurring ones make each book required reading. You get invested in these people & their lives are never static. Their relationships, positions & jobs are always evolving, mirroring real life. The dialogue is tight, witty & each character has a distinctive voice.
The plot is intricate & impossible to guess 'til it clicks into place in the final few pages. As usual, it's not only about the current cases but ghosts from previous ones reappear to complicate things. We know Rebus has always coloured outside the lines & some of his past actions threaten to come to light, actions that would not only skupper his undercover work but result in criminal charges. He has to wonder who they're trying to get the dirt on...him or the cops they sicced him on. If he didn't know better, he'd worry about being paranoid. It's a good thing, he jokes to a colleague, that not only does he know where all the bodies are buried but has the photos to prove it.
But that's Rebus. Not the most strictly ethical man you'll ever meet but one you'd want in our corner. Typically well plotted, paced & intriguing, this is compulsive reading & you'll resent having to put it down. show less

This absorbing entry in Ian Rankin's series of Rebus detective novels rings true on every level. After biffing a mug of tea at his chief, DCS Gill Templar, John Rebus has been sent to the Tulliallan Police College for some remedial instruction in teamwork. At Tulliallan he is teamed with a group of officers of similar rank and experience who have also committed various infractions or lost the knack of playing nice with others. Early on, however, we learn that Rebus is actually working undercover, his assignment: to obtain incriminating evidence against some cops suspected of being dirty. But along the way Rebus begins to suspect that he is walking into a trap, and that the real object of the investigation are his own morally show more questionable past actions. The plot of Resurrection Men is labyrinthine, filled with danger, seedy characters, betrayal, narrow passageways, dark corners and late-night encounters. As we've come to expect, Edinburgh and environs play a major role in the story. Ian Rankin excels in using the ancient city to set tone and establish atmosphere. The 13th in the series, Resurrection Men delivers everything we've come to expect from Ian Rankin and does it in gripping fashion. A hugely satisfying reading experience. show less

Rebus has crossed the line one time too many. This time, he's chucked a mug of tea at his DCS during an inquiry briefing and has been sent to a refresher course at Tulliallan, the police college, along with several other cops who need shaping up or shipping out. The cops are tasked with working together as a team on an unsolved case... but instead of the standard case that Tulliallan uses for this type of group, the case is one in which two of the participants were directly involved. What's up with that? Is there something more sinister afoot? Will Rebus be able to resurrect his career?

It took me a while to get into this one, possibly because the copy I had out from the library was rather beat-up and felt a little grimy. But once I had show more buckled down to read it (helped by someone placing a hold on it, meaning I couldn't renew it), it sucked me right in. In addition to the Rebus thread, I found the parts with Siobhan, Templer and a Dundee cop named Heatherington very interesting, because they showed how women at different levels of the force dealt with the job. show less

You know that a book is a good read when you find yourself slowing down as the denouement approaches. Part of me wished to race to the end of this super tome, whilst another part ached with disappointment as the number of pages remaining was gradually reducing.
For me, Rankin gets his books right: the stories are far fetched, the coincidences too numerous and tenuous for words but, the characters are eminently believable. This far into the series, I know John Rebus, Siobhan Clarke et al. Just like real people, they can surprise me, but when you think about their character, everything they do is consistent. Rankin is amongst the best authors that I have discovered in respect of character growth. Each figure evolves at their own rate show more through the series.
In this book, we see Siobhan newly promoted to DS and beginning to question the role of Watson to Rebus' Holmes. So many authors would have handled this in a cack handed style with stand up fights and the two becoming deadly enemies. Rankin simply lets them grow; still admiring each other, but particularly in Clarke's case, growing into an individual.
The story gets last place in this review because, whilst it never seems strained whilst in the reading, I know that my précis will sound unrealistic. The resurrection Men, of the title, are last chancers - sent to a retraining course to try to make them 'team players'. Rebus, always a lost cause in this respect, is sent there for throwing a cup of tea at DCS Gill Templer but, he has been asked to do so by the Chief Constable who suspects police corruption: but, is it the group of officers with whom Rebus is retraining, or himself that is under investigation? show less

Rebus has misbehaved and been sent away for "retraining." Or is the retraining for another purpose altogether? And is anyone ever going to let Rebus know what is actually going on? Rankin's dialogue is usually top-notch, but it really shines in this installment of the series - the police banter might as well be verbatim quotes from actual cops and "the boys" sometimes had me in stitches, even though the subject matter was quite serious. Great mystery, great descriptions, great characters - quite possibly my favorite of the series.

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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 backdrop which includes many flawed human beings and bitter insights into Scotland's history and society.

I have picked up on one stylistic trick of Rankin's: when he starts going into lyrical descriptive show more prose about circumstantial detail, it always means that Something is about to Happen. However, one can never be sure of what that is; and anyway, it is a perfectly accurate representation of human experience, where suddenly we do become much more aware of details at moments of stress.

Despite its strong links to previous books in the series, Resurrection Men works well as a standalone novel and would probably be a good place to start Rankin if you want to try. show less