Fleshmarket Close

Much of the book is dominated by two new settings--a sink estate divided between racist thugs and refugees, and a small town whose economy is dominated by an internment camp for those about to be deported; this is one of Rankin's preachier thrillers, but it is never less than intelligent and evocative in its descriptions of a contemporary squalor that spreads beyond the inner city. These are never quite orthodox police procedurals--Rebus' method is a little too like the standard private eye's way of wandering around being rude to people until something comes loose--but they have a deep seriousness about the way we live now that transcends mere noir moodiness.--Roz Kaveney

Reader Reviews:

Another good Ian Rankin novel (0/0 people found this helpful)

"Fleshmarket Close" is an enjoyable enough Ian Rankin thriller featuring the kind of labyrinthine plotting that is so characteristic of his novels. This offering contains a series of plot strands that are all connected ,tenuously at times. They include the murder of a Turkish refugee, the disappearance of a teenage girl, the murder of a convicted rapist and the discovery of two skeletons in a pub cellar. This is all set against a backdrop of an illegal immigration scam and a detention centre for asylum seekers. Rankin highlights the plight of these unfortunates extensively in this novel. Gerard Cafferty also makes an important cameo appearance. "Fleshmarket Close" is an absorbing read and draws the reader into an intriguing subterranean Edinburgh landscape cleverly , however perhaps the novel is slightly overlong on this occasion (475 pages) while the final denouement ,by contrast, is all a bit sudden and frenetic.

Totally hooked (0/1 people found this helpful)

Having just read this, my first Ian Rankin novel, I am totally hooked on Rebus and cannot wait for more. Being Edinburgh born and bred certainly adds to the interest. An excellent read.

differnt (1/2 people found this helpful)

It is very difficult to rate a rankin novel. It's not that usual thriller but it is more of a Columbo style, but the character Rebus is even more daft. There are no superheroes, no hi tech methods and you really believe you are in scotland facing a truth of a problem. I know because I've been there and the dialogue is written so as you inadvertidly pick up the accent. I have never felt bored and I enjoyed the read though the criminology was slow, but it was a great read.
It really is something cosy and different, I think I will hang on for a while on Rankin's line. The title is but a small issue of the novel but it eventually conects. It's like real life.
Highly recommended to those who want to give it some thought.
The prose is not easy but flows like a soft breeze.
I believe I went through an exceptional experience.
Note of warning, this is my very special opinion and alot may disagree, you have to try it to know.

Urban myth.... (2/11 people found this helpful)

Oh dear. Has there ever been an author as overrated as Ian Rankin? Let's look at the urban myths about the Edinburgh self-publicist.
Rebus is a great character - er, no, Rebus is a bit-part character from every episode of Taggart you've ever seen. He has no development arc - i.e. he doesn't grow or move on. He does the same things in every book - turns up, grunts, gets drunk, goes home. Yawn.
The plots are great - the plots are, in many ways incidental. This would be fine if Rankin was offering a book of profound social insight, but he isn't. See below. No, Rankin purports to be selling a police procedural, and as such, fails dismally. See Graham Hurley, or Stuart Macbride, for how it ought to be done.
Rankin tackles profound social issues - oh, please. This is the worst error of all. Take this book - "it's all about immigration, you know." Well, aside from the fact that the "insights" could be gleaned from any national newspaper on any given week, the immigration aspect is a mere sideline, swamped by Rebus' drinking and scratchy relationships with others. Rankin has nothing new to say, and nothing new to impart. Presumably, he plays up this side of his work, because the police procedural side of his books is so amateurish.
This book will interest anyone who sincerely believes that Edinburgh is full of kilt-wearing bagpipers and shortbread. Any normal sane person who thinks Edinburgh is just a modern British city, will find it excruciating.

Well plotted, some nice twists and hangs together nicely (4/5 people found this helpful)

Forget the murder, the real point about this story is to examine attitudes towards immigration policy, using Rebus as the magnifying lense. For all that, it is an interesting book and the way the strands come together is satisfying (as you would expect from an author of Rankin's skill).

There are some niggles - Caro Quinn, an artist who keeps a vigil outside the Whitemire Detention Centre and who is concerned about the plight of the immigrants inside is a strangely flat character. I think that Rankin is in two minds as to what to do with her - on the one hand she is set up as a potential love interest for Rebus, on the other she represents the borderline naive left-wing liberals who refuse to accept any opinion on asylum and immigration that does not tie in with theirs. As a result, I found her rather irritating and failed to see what Rebus could possibly be attracted to within her. Mo Dirwan, the immigration lawyer who keeps popping up is much more interesting, possibly because you are never quite sure whether he is genuinely interested in the immigrant community or whether he has his own political agenda. In fact, I would be interested to see this character again, just to see what he does in future.

We see the return of Rebus's nemesis, Big Ger Cafferty and in a way, I really wish we didn't because as soon as he emerges on the page you get a feel for what's really going on and as such, it's a little disappointing to be proved right. Fortunately, he's not in the book for very long so you don't have the same old taunting that we've seen in previous books, but it would still be nice for another Big Villain to come along to give some variety to Edinburgh's underworld.

Like I said, Rankin keeps the two strands of his plot moving along nicely and keeps them intertwined in an intelligent way when he needs to. I did find myself less emotionally involved in Siobhan's case (probably because I didn't feel any connection with the parents or even really get into Siobhan's motivation for getting involved), and I thought that the pay-off was more than a little pat, but there were no loose ends and every question was answered. Rebus's case is handled in a more satisfying way (although I did guess the twist) and as compared with some of the earlier Rebus stories, he does actually solve this, rather than get lucky and find himself stumbling into the finale.

Ian Rankin

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