Synopses & Reviews
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon... The hanging of four French villagers in World War II... The hanging of an old man in a Scottish cemetary... Seemingly random facts linked to one man...
Detective Inspector John Rebus is buried under a pile of paperwork generated by his investigations into a suspected war criminal, and his immediate supervisors are more than happy to have him tucked away in a quiet backwater for several months. However, the escalating dispute between upstart Tommy Telford and Big Ger Cafferty's gang soon gives Rebus an escape clause. Telford is known to have close ties to a man nicknamed Mr. Pink Eyes, a brutal gangster running a lucrative business bringing Chechen refugees into Britain to work as prostitutes. And when Rebus takes under his wing a distraught Bosnian call girl, it gives him a personal reason to make sure Telford takes the high road out of town. Within days, Rebus's daughter is the victim of an all-too-professional hit-and-run, and Rebus knows that there's nothing he won't do to bring down prime suspect Tommy Telford--even if it means cutting a deal with the devil.
A chilling glimpse into the darkest extremes of human cruelty, a page-turning literary thriller, this ninth entry in Ian Rankin's award-winning series confirms his reputation as a writer of rare and lasting gifts.
Review
"Rebus, a puzzle to himself and an enigma to everyone else ... remains one of the most charismatic heroes in contemporary crime fiction."--
Kirkus Reviews "The two cases [Rebus] is investigating here are complex, like one of those fiendishly difficult double-sided jigsaws. The skill with which Rankin fits them together is formidable."
--Sunday Telegraph "Rankin's handling of the gangland plot, culminating in a sting designed to entrap the multi-national mobsters as they raid a huge drug-making plant is masterly."
--Sunday Times "Rankin uses his laconic prose as a literary paint stripper, scouring away pretensions to reveal the unwholesome reality beneath."
--Independent
Synopsis
Ian Rankin is emerging as one of crime fiction's most exciting authors. His latest novel, Black and Blue, was awarded England's Gold Dagger and is an Edgar nominee for Best Novel. His newest novel only confirms his remarkable talent. Detective Inspector Rebus is caught in the middle of two investigations, one involving a suspected Nazi war criminal, the other a dispute between two rival and brutal gangs. When his daughter is nearly killed, Rebus knows there's nothing he won't do to punish the men responsible -- even if it means making a deal with the devil himself.
Synopsis
Drugs. Extortion. Slavery. Organized crime is fighting for a hold on John Rebus's peaceful Scotland. And when Rebus rescues a young Bosnian girl forced into prostitution, he breaks a policeman's golden rule to never get personally involved in a case. Add to that the hunt for an elderly Nazi accused of slaughtering an entire French village, and Rebus wonders just how evil humans can be. Until his own daughter is mortally injured as a gangland warning for him to back off. Then even a dedicated cop like Rebus might make a deal with the devil to find the culprit. Not for justice. For revenge. A chilling glimpse into the darkest extremes of human cruelty, The Hanging Garden is a page-turning literary thriller. This ninth entry in Ian Rankin's award-winning series confirms his reputation as a writer of rare and lasting gifts.
Synopsis
Drugs. Extortion. Slavery. Organized crime is fighting for a hold on John Rebus's peaceful Scotland. And when Rebus rescues a young Bosnian girl forced into prostitution, he breaks a policeman's golden rule to never get personally involved in a case. Add to that the hunt for an elderly Nazi accused of slaughtering an entire French village, and Rebus wonders just how evil humans can be. Until his own daughter is mortally injured as a gangland warning for him to back off. Then even a dedicated cop like Rebus might make a deal with the devil to find the culprit. Not for justice. For revenge. A chilling glimpse into the darkest extremes of human cruelty, The Hanging Garden is a page-turning literary thriller. This ninth entry in Ian Rankin's award-winning series confirms his reputation as a writer of rare and lasting gifts.
About the Author
Ian Rankin is the worldwide #1 bestselling writer of the Inspector Rebus mysteries, including Knots and Crosses, Hide and Seek, Let It Bleed, Black and Blue, Set in Darkness, Resurrection Men, A Question of Blood, The Falls and Exit Music. He has won an Edgar Award, a Gold Dagger for fiction, a Diamond Dagger for career excellence, and the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to literature. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their two sons.