The Complaints

By: Ian Rankin

Narrated by: Peter Forbes

Dirty cops, moral dilemmas, and personal turmoil set the stage for this brilliant crime novel about what happens when a murder takes place too close to home.

Nobody likes The Complaints—they're the cops who investigate other cops. It's a department known within the force as The Dark Side, and it's where Malcolm Fox works. He's a serious man with a father in a nursing home and a sister who persists in an abusive relationship, frustrating problems about which he cannot seem to do anything.

Then the reluctant Fox is given a new case. There's a cop named Jamie Breck, and he's dirty. The problem is, no one can prove it. As Fox takes on the job, he learns that there's more to Breck than anyone thinks—dangerous knowledge, especially when a vicious murder takes place far too close to home.

In The Complaints, Rankin proves again why he is one of the world's most beloved and bestselling crime writers, mixing unstoppable pacing with the deeper question of who decides right from wrong.

©2010 Ian Rankin (P)2011 Hachette

Rankin at his best

Any additional comments?

Five stars are not enough to rate this brilliant book. It's well-plotted and beautifully written, with a word-perfect reading.

Awesome

Loved it! The reader was great. Very expressive. Wonderful character development. One of Ian Rankin's best books.

Lots of puzzle pieces

This was a story that I liked because of the well written characters and excellent reading. The plot was a good one, but a bit overly complicated with so many players that at times it was hard to keep track. The one weakness that became a distraction for me was that the main character, Malcomb Fox, works for the police department that investigates other police for misconduct. Effort was made in the beginning of the story to explain how important it is for members of this team to at all times be above reproach in their conduct and adherence to the book. Then Malcomb spends the rest of the story essentially breaking all the rules with little hesitation and using all of the rationale other crooked cops use. He is not a bad person, in fact he is very likeable and easy to root for. But the ease with which he goes against everything he is supposed to stand for resulted in a disconnect that was a little hard to overlook.

This is not an action thriller, it is a police procedural in which the reader learns clues along with the investigators. It is very well written, the characters are vivid (but there are too many of them) and the wrap up made sense. It is not an emotional or exciting story. It was like a puzzle that you want to keep working at until you get it right, then you can put it away, satisfied that it is finished. Because I like puzzles, I will likely try the next in the series to see how it plays out.

I bit of a stretch

Two things bothered me about this book. #1 it had very little action. Almost the entire book was people talking and figuring out the mystery of this murder. Talk, talk, talk. #2 when the whole mystery is finally solved, it is a bit unbelievable. So many people and moving parts involved in this plot and cover up, it just would never be conceived in real life.

I did enjoy the Scottish humor and banter. Also the characters were likable and well developed.

Ian Rankin at his best

Great book brilliant writer. A great Scottish detective story up there with Rebus hopefully more of this detective to come.

Wished for More

Definitely worth checking out if you like the BBC and Masterpiece Mystery. Great writing, likable characters, good mystery.

Not sure why, but it works

I was trying to put my finger on what i liked here, and i'm still not sure. I just know the story had me pretty engaged and i enjoyed the listen. It moved right along, and the characters seemed like-able, and/or believe-able. I'd say the story was more like 3.5 stars, but not 4.

Not Rebus, but better than the last book

I can't imagine why Ian Rankin stopped writing about Rebus, his long running series character, as it was as though he had found his voice - so why toss it away? The first non-Rebus book was simply dreadful. But The Complaints is heading in the right direction. Not surprisingly, the main character has some Rebus-like characteristics, and perhaps that's what makes it a decent book. Good mystery, the reader is on target, and it had some characters I could see developing into people I would want to follow in future books. He (Rankin) will hopefully get his feet under him again, and we will have more years of Rankin audio books to enjoy. I have every one of the books available in audio, and find them fun to return to when I know I want a book I can rely on.

Excellent

I simply love Ian Rankin's work. After binge listening to the entire Rebus series, I needed more. Malcolm Fox is a great character in the later Rebus books so this was a great way to get to know him better.

As usual, Rankin tells a superb story with great villains and heroes.

Excellent narration.

Matthew Fox becomes 3 dimensional

The in depth growth of department characters from a different viewpoint than Rebus’s was a surprising thrill. I’m read for The Impossible Dead