Promotional Information

Malcolm Fox returns in the stunning second novel in Ian Rankin's series... Unabridged edition.

About the Author

Ian Rankin was born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960. In 1997 he was awarded the Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction for BLACK AND BLUE. His subsequent Rebus novels have all been international bestsellers. He lives with his wife and two sons in Edinburgh. In 2003, Ian received an OBE for his services to literature.

Reviews

"Fox works for me. Divorced and in his mid-40s, he's quieter than Rebus and warier of confrontation, but no less complex... So doubters be damned: this novel is taut, compulsive and hugely satisfying"
*GUARDIAN*

This is the second outing for Rankin's Inspector Malcolm Fox, who has the seemingly impossible job of rooting out corrupt colleagues
*DAILY MIRROR*

Proving there's life - and murder - after gloomy Rebus, Rankin pops up with a new cop here, DI Fox
*MAIL ON SUNDAY 'LIVE'*

Criminally good
*WOMAN AND HOME*

The plot, pacing and characterisation are all handled with impeccable skill, while Rankin infuses his story with subtle social commentary into the bargain. Fans may still mourn Rebus, but Fox is a worthy replacement
*BIG ISSUE*

No one writes dialogue that seethes with conflict as well as him
*EVENING STANDARD*

This is Rankin, so it's only to be expected that the plotting should be tight, the dialogue quick-fire, the crimes disturbingly believable, taking place as they do in a world that is so thoroughly and obviously our own, today. What the creator of Rebus also gives us in Fox - initially in the inspector's first outing, The Complaints, and again here is another complex, driven policeman: difficult, largely miserable and lonely, but utterly real'
*THE OBSERVER*

What is the most memorable here is the storyline about the deterioration of Fox's father, handled so sensitively as to make Henning Mankell's depiction of the decline of Wallander's father seem histrionic
*FINANCIAL TIMES*

Fox remains a worthy successor to Rebus, retaining his outsider status and incorruptibility but operating in a much more modern context
*SUNDAY TIMES*

Post-Rebus Rankin has lost none of his mastery of excitingly gripping storystelling
*THE TIMES*

masterful thriller that will have you gripped to the very last page
*CANDIS*

taut, compulsive and hugely satisfying, with plenty to say about the limits of memory and the dangers of historical idealism. If this is where Rankin is now, I'm not sure I'd want him to be anywhere else
*GUARDIAN*

He offers an account of personal and political alienation, the tactics needed to contain terrorism, and the desirability or otherwise of deceit
*TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT*

Could Ian Rankin ever follow his Rebus success? Happily for his fans, he proves he can
*SUNDAY EXPRESS*

Last of all, envy stops me from saying more about Ian Rankin's new novel, than that it's impossibly good
*THE SCOTSMAN*

Fox is an engaging character from the downtrodden-but-righteous-rozzer school, and Peter Forbes's attuned reading keeps the ever-complicating plot rattling along.
*THE SUNDAY TIMES*

"Fox works for me. Divorced and in his mid-40s, he's quieter than Rebus and warier of confrontation, but no less complex... So doubters be damned: this novel is taut, compulsive and hugely satisfying" -- John O'Connell * GUARDIAN *
This is the second outing for Rankin's Inspector Malcolm Fox, who has the seemingly impossible job of rooting out corrupt colleagues -- Henry Sutton * DAILY MIRROR *
Proving there's life - and murder - after gloomy Rebus, Rankin pops up with a new cop here, DI Fox * MAIL ON SUNDAY 'LIVE' *
Criminally good -- Fanny Blake * WOMAN AND HOME *
The plot, pacing and characterisation are all handled with impeccable skill, while Rankin infuses his story with subtle social commentary into the bargain. Fans may still mourn Rebus, but Fox is a worthy replacement * BIG ISSUE *
No one writes dialogue that seethes with conflict as well as him -- Mark Sanderson * EVENING STANDARD *
This is Rankin, so it's only to be expected that the plotting should be tight, the dialogue quick-fire, the crimes disturbingly believable, taking place as they do in a world that is so thoroughly and obviously our own, today. What the creator of Rebus also gives us in Fox - initially in the inspector's first outing, The Complaints, and again here is another complex, driven policeman: difficult, largely miserable and lonely, but utterly real' -- Alison Flood * THE OBSERVER *
What is the most memorable here is the storyline about the deterioration of Fox's father, handled so sensitively as to make Henning Mankell's depiction of the decline of Wallander's father seem histrionic -- Jake Kerridge * FINANCIAL TIMES *
Fox remains a worthy successor to Rebus, retaining his outsider status and incorruptibility but operating in a much more modern context -- Joan Smith * SUNDAY TIMES *
Post-Rebus Rankin has lost none of his mastery of excitingly gripping storystelling -- Marcel Berlins * THE TIMES *
masterful thriller that will have you gripped to the very last page * CANDIS *
taut, compulsive and hugely satisfying, with plenty to say about the limits of memory and the dangers of historical idealism. If this is where Rankin is now, I'm not sure I'd want him to be anywhere else -- John O'Connell * GUARDIAN *
He offers an account of personal and political alienation, the tactics needed to contain terrorism, and the desirability or otherwise of deceit -- Natasha Cooper * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *
Could Ian Rankin ever follow his Rebus success? Happily for his fans, he proves he can * SUNDAY EXPRESS *
Last of all, envy stops me from saying more about Ian Rankin's new novel, than that it's impossibly good -- Philip Kerr * THE SCOTSMAN *
Fox is an engaging character from the downtrodden-but-righteous-rozzer school, and Peter Forbes's attuned reading keeps the ever-complicating plot rattling along. -- Karen Robinson * THE SUNDAY TIMES *

Edinburgh cop Malcolm Fox, introduced in The Complaints, once again finds that what appears to be a simple case of police misconduct is a much more complicated mystery, one that reaches back nearly three decades to the events surrounding the Scottish National movement. As he did in his Inspector Rebus books, Rankin has created a protagonist who is flawed yet sympathetic, written a mystery that is complicated but compelling, and provided a deft send-up of the creaking wheels of justice as run by a bureaucracy. What sets Fox apart from John Rebus though are his teetotaler ways and his closer relationship with family members. The Fox books are also less gruesome in their crime-scene depictions, which should allow them to appeal to an even wider audience. Verdict Longtime Rankin readers will be pleased, as will new mystery readers. [See Prepub Alert, 5/16/11.]-Amy Watts, Univ. of Georgia Lib., Athens (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.