The Complaints

I have to bow my head in shame as I admit that other than The Complaints, I had only read one other Ian Rankin book, Knots and Crosses, first book in his widely popular Inspector Rebus series. For that reason, I am not the best person to compare/contrast the Rebus and Fox characters. Based on a sampling of reviews I have skimmed, some reviewers categorize Malcolm Fox as an “anti-Rebus” character, in that Rebus and Fox “have little in common except integrity and a dogged determination to get the job done”. This distinction may be important to some readers. For me, The Complaints, with its complicated characters and plot web, brings to mind my recent reading forays into Tana French’s loosely connected Dublin Murder Squad series, show more a series I enjoy very much. The recession-suffering Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders area is captured with wonderful realism. Rankin characters – especially Fox and Jaime Breck – are credible and well developed. I really like how the interpersonal dynamics between these two characters come into play. As for the plot, I found it to be well-written, tightly woven and fast-paced, making full use of the complexities of the case Fox and Breck find themselves ensnared in.

Overall, a great character-driven crime fiction and a solid “first book in series” read that would probably appeal to Tana French fans. show less

Ian Rankin published The Complaints in 2009, and the action is set during that year, when the effects of a global economic downturn, known as the Great Recession, were felt throughout every sector of the UK economy, including the criminal sector. The Complaints introduces Malcolm Fox, who works in the Complaints and Conduct Department. They’re the cops who investigate other cops, so Fox, a non-drinker who lives alone, is accustomed to not being hugely popular among his peers and rarely socializes with anyone outside a small circle of colleagues in Complaints. Fox has just wrapped up an investigation into the activities of a cop named Glen Heaton. The evidence has been turned over to the procurator fiscal and is moving forward. But show more before he can savor this victory, he finds himself recruited into another case where he’s asked to investigate DS Jamie Breck, an associate of Heaton, who’s been linked to a kiddy porn website. His assignment is to develop a relationship with Breck and find proof of malfeasance. But then there’s a twist. A murder takes place that for Fox strikes close to home. The victim, who suffered a brutal beating before being killed, is Vince Faulkner, a construction worker who just so happens to be the boyfriend of Fox’s sister, Jude. Fox has never had much use for Vince, who Fox knows was an abuser (Jude’s latest injury is a broken arm). But Jude has always defended him, never pressed charges, and seems genuinely broken up over his death. To make matters even more intriguing, one of the detectives looking into the murder is Jamie Breck. With his own strong interest in finding Vince’s killer, for Jude’s sake if not his own, Fox teams up with Breck, seeing it as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. But in the process of working with and getting closer to Breck on a personal level—witnessing his honest work ethic and commitment to truth—Fox begins having doubts about the legitimacy of the allegations being made against him. The plot broadens when a local Edinburgh property developer whose business is suffering beneath the weight of debt, poor planning and bad luck goes missing in an apparent suicide, and in the process of investigating this case Fox uncovers links to Vince’s murder. The story Rankin tells grows in complexity as more characters are drawn into the web of Fox and Breck’s investigation, and as suspicion falls on just about everyone, including higher-ups in the police hierarchy.

Seasoned novelist that he is, Rankin keeps things moving while maintaining a firm grip on his characters’ motivations, the connections among them, and the action itself, which takes place very specifically from February 3-24, 2009. Malcolm Fox may not be a hard-boiled type like John Rebus, but he is every bit as compelling: more vulnerable perhaps, more thoughtful, but like Rebus willing to take his lumps, not afraid to piss off his superiors, and every bit as tenacious as he relies on a moral compass that never steers him wrong when it comes to navigating an intricate maze of corruption at the highest levels and damn the consequences. And, as usual with Rankin’s work, The Complaints makes stunning use of its Edinburgh setting, an atmospheric old-world city, vibrant in daylight, menacing at night, and in this novel scarred by economic catastrophe. Engrossing from start to finish, The Complaints will more than satisfy Rebus fans as well as casual readers looking for a sophisticated, twisty who-dun-it. show less

I love the Inspector Rebus series. I've read the first 8 so far, and wondered what Rankin's other books were like. I thought this was a stand-alone, but it is the first book in a series that Rankin started after he retired Rebus. The writing and the story are solid.

Malcolm Fox is the new Rebus, although he is the complete opposite of Rebus. He is a member of "The Complaints", a division of the police force that investigates other cops. We call them Internal Affairs here in the states. Fox is totally above board, doesn't drink, visits his dad in the nursing home, and his sister who is in an abusive relationship. His team is pretty much hated by the rest of the police force. At the beginning, Fox is asked to investigate a young cop show more expected of indulging in child pornography. In a turn of events, we find out that the young cop is investigating Fox. The story progresses and becomes one of corruption, the failure of the building boom, murder, and who can be trusted. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'll go back to reading Rebus before I read any more of this series, because I find out through blurbs that Rebus comes out of retirement and maybe teams up with Fox? That would be interesting. show less

Malcolm Fox is an Inspector in the Professional Standards Unit of Edinburgh Police Department’s Complaints and Conduct division, the unit that investigates police officers accused of misconduct. Not a beloved group of workers, given their brief, but it suits Malcolm and just now he’s basking in the afterglow of having amassed sufficient evidence against a dirty cop to have charges brought. Even before the dust has settled in that case, however, he is asked by the unit investigating pedophelia to look into the behaviour of another cop, DS Jamie Breck. At first eager, Malcolm soon learns that Jamie is, by all accounts, a good guy, but when Malcolm’s sister’s boyfriend is murdered and Jamie is assigned the case, it doesn’t take show more long for Malcolm to start crossing the line - a whole slew of them, in fact…. I have not yet begun to read Mr. Rankin’s best-known series, featuring Inspector Rebus (other than a few short stories), but when “The Complaints” appeared in my local book box, I thought it would be a good way to start familiarizing myself with Mr. Rankin’s style before plunging into the 20-odd Rebus books out there. I’m glad I did, because I like his writing, which I’d describe as conveying a lot of descriptive information in few words (“spare,” perhaps?), and I like Inspector Fox. One breath of fresh air here (slight spoiler) is that as a recovering alcoholic, Fox *does not* take an alcoholic drink at any point in the story, which I really appreciated because so many such characters *do* fall off the wagon that it’s now practically de rigeur to have a scene like that, which is annoying. There are a half-dozen more Malcolm Fox novels, in some of which he encounters Inspector Rebus, and I’m looking forward to finding them too; recommended! show less

Real quickly:

I held off on reading these because it seemed Rankin was starting a new series and Rebus has just ended for the first time. However, when Rebus came back from retirement I noticed that Malcolm Fox, the protagonist of this volume, was included. He was a jerk. Most recently, I received the new Rebus novel and noted that Fox was again involved in the new novel (haven't read it yet), so I thought, "Let's go ahead and read the two Complaints novels in case there's any connection.

Pleasantly surprised. In some ways, even, a more tightly written procedural than a few of the later Rebus novels.

If nothing else, this book reminds you of how important perspective is. Of course Fox was a jerk in the penultimate Rebus novel-- we're show more reading from Rebus' perspective and sympathetic to him. Anyone against him (and the Complaints always seem to be against him) would naturally be antagonistic, if not the antagonist.

But Rankin knows how to write more than one character. Fox is very different than Rebus, not least in his acknowledged alcoholism. It's interesting to see him struggle with drink, even though he manages to avoid it. Rebus tried, but there was never really the recognition from Rebus that there was a problem. Rebus, for good or ill, is a high-functioning alcoholic. One gets the impression that Fox is simply a drunk.

That's not to say that Fox is the same character as Rebus, just in a different department. He is uniquely himself. He has different relationships with his fellow officers: often good, sometimes strained, but usually professional. In that way, this novel sometimes had me feeling that I was in Aberdeen with MacRae and not Edinburgh. Another reason I sometimes forgot the location? Edinburgh is not a character in this novel as it is in the Rebus series. In fact, Fox seems at best indifferent to the city, and at times rather critical. The city is no living, breathing thing as it usually is in Rankin's writing, and I don't think this is a fault in the writing so much as a difference in characterization.

So, now I'll pick up the second solo Fox novel, in anticipation of reading Saints of the Sinner's Bible. I'm curious if Rankin's efforts to combine his two series characters will be more successful than Michael Connelly's. show less

I read this one "out of order" having read two of the more recent Inspector Rebus books first, so my first introduction to Inspector Malcolm Fox was as a foil (and then partner) with John Rebus. So I was curious to see how Rankin had introduced the character of Fox. As with all of Rankin's stories, the plot and characters were compelling. Fox appears at first to be the exact opposite of Rebus (straight-laced, not a smoker, nor a drinker), and as somebody who works in The Complaints (as a cop tracking down and arresting bad cops), Fox was very far removed from Rankin's previous protagonist. However, as the story goes along and Fox is pushed into a corner, many similarities between Fox and the former DI Rebus come to light. When pushed show more into a corner, Fox is willing to bend (and even break) as many rules as he can to get to the bottom of the events that are affecting his life. (This was something that I thought was missing in Fox's character in Standing in Another Man's Grave, as he was on Rebus like a terrier after a rat, but his own actions that had previously transpired in this book seemed to be conveniently forgotten by Fox. But that's a minor quibble on my part.) I thoroughly enjoyed this story and enjoy to character of Malcolm Fox. show less

Malcolm Fox is a cop who lives and polices in Edinburgh, but unlike Rankin's well-loved Rebus, Fox works in the Complaints and Conduct division, and his job is to investigate cases involving the men and women who are in the Edinburgh police force. Malcolm is a different breed of cat than John Rebus. They both are extremely canny coppers, but Fox uses his head more than his heart when working a case. Rebus, as those of us who know and love him, know that he is ruled by his heart as much as he tries to hide it with bluster and by bulldozing his way through all the nay-sayers and those cops and his superiors who only do everything "by the book". Fox's background encourages him to do things as they're supposed to be done, but when he gets show more pushed, as he does in this book, he is just as likely to take short cuts. Fox finds himself in a conspiracy that may wreck his career as a policeman. As the book progresses we see a more and more forceful policeman who isn't afraid to bend the rules to clear his name. As with all Ian Rankin books, the characters, both main and secondary, are very well drawn and realistic. There are lots of side stories that seem to all come together at the end as well. The pace throughout the book is relentless, and if I had any doubts about whether or not I'd enjoy a non-Rebus story, I found to my delight, that I loved this new character almost as much. show less