The Complaints by Ian Rankin audiobook

The Complaints

By Ian Rankin
Read by Peter Forbes

Hachette Book Group

The Malcolm Fox Series: Book 1

Unabridged

Format : Library CD (In Stock)
  • 1 Format: Library CD

  • ISBN: 9781609416546

Runtime: 12.25 Hours
Category: Fiction/Mystery & Detective
Audience: Adult
Language: English
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Summary

Summary

Mustn't complain—but people always do.

Nobody likes The Complaints. They're the cops who investigate other cops. They are the Complaints and Conduct Department, to give them their full title, but known colloquially as The Dark Side, or simply The Complaints. It is where Malcolm Fox works. He's just had a result and should be feeling good about himself, but he's a man with problems of his own. He has an increasingly frail father in a care home and a sister who persists in an abusive relationship, something which Malcolm cannot seem to do anything about.

But, in the midst of an aggressive Edinburgh winter, the reluctant Fox is given a new task. There's a cop called Jamie Breck, and he's dirty. The problem is that no one can prove it. But as Fox takes on the job, he learns that there is more to Breck than anyone thinks. This knowledge will prove dangerous, especially when a vicious murder intervenes far too close to home for Fox's liking.

Editorial Reviews

Editorial Reviews

“The author disappointed many of his fans when he retired the beloved John Rebus. But I predict the grumbling will be short lived once Rankin’s readers meet Inspector Malcolm Fox in The Complaints.” —John M. Wills, New York Journal of Books
“Intoxicating…The voice is so dynamic that Rankin’s characters leap off the page.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
“The Complaints is superb on every level and begging for a follow-up.” —BookPage
“Rankin has picked a most unlikely new hero. Edinburgh cop Malcolm Fox…The strange-bedfellows angle drives the interpersonal dynamics here—and augurs well for future installments—as Fox, working off the books, investigates the murder of someone very close to home and attempts to turn the frame-up on its end. Some crime writers keep writing the same series with different characters, but Rankin deserves credit for going another way altogether. Fox is a good and quiet citizen compared to Rebus (he doesn’t drink and listens to birdsong on the radio, not classic rock), but Rankin doesn’t hold any of that against his new hero, proving that you can build complex, highly textured, series-worthy characters from the most unlikely of raw materials.” —Booklist (starred review)
“[A] work that again brings to life the mean streets of Edinburgh…Fox is a complex character with a strong moral sense. This sense sometimes is flawed; his trust is betrayed, and sorting out the villains is a bittersweet victory. Verdict: Rankin, an Edgar and Diamond Dagger winner, is back in top form here. Few authors equal his character-driven crime fiction that pulls the reader into such vividly drawn place and plot. Highly recommended.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“If the point of crime fiction is to make you think while entertaining you—and I believe it is—then Ian Rankin definitely does it better than most.” —Globe and Mail (Canada)
“An excellent cop novel full of action, good dialogue, well-crafted characters, and an authentic backdrop.” —Times (London)
“With its Edinburgh setting, suave crime lords, and renegade officers, The Complaints will be familiar territory to Rebus fans—even if its hero isn’t. Getting to know this man, an intriguing mix of apathy and action, is almost like a courtship—each new situation reveals something that makes the reader want to know yet more.” —Independent (London)
“Rankin is a master at what, for me, is one of the important aspects of a crime novel: the integration of setting, plot, characters, and a theme which, for Rankin, is the moral dimension never far from his writing…Fox is so fully realized and interesting a character, his job in ‘the complaints’ so fraught with fascinating possibilities, that we can surely hope to meet him again.” —Guardian (London)
“As performed by Scottish actor Peter Forbes, cosmopolitan Edinburgh comes alive as a city with a gritty underside. While some Rankin fans may miss Inspector Rebus, most will want to become better acquainted with the equally complex Fox. Of particular interest to fans of Denise Mina and Michael Robotham; a great choice for all mystery lovers.” —Library Journal (audio review)
“It’s often said that the main character in Ian Rankin’s crime thrillers is the city of Edinburgh itself. Peter Forbes delivers the first in Rankin’s new series with all the charm, cunning, and grit that the great city possesses…Forbes flawlessly narrates the story with a complexity that matches the plot and the character of Rankin’s newest inspector.” —AudioFile

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Author

Author Bio: Ian Rankin

Author Bio: Ian Rankin

Ian Rankin, a New York Times bestselling author, is the recipient of an Edgar Award, a Gold Dagger for fiction, and a Chandler-Fulbright Fellowship.

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Details

Details

Available Formats : Library CD
Category: Fiction/Mystery & Detective
Runtime: 12.25
Audience: Adult
Language: English

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