Impossible Dead (Malcolm Fox)

A cover blurb by P.D. James for this excellent crime novel sums up Rankin's writing in general as "the integration of setting, plot, characters and a theme...the moral dimension never far from his writing." A good overall judgement of "The Impossible Dead" which is the second installment of the author's new, post-Rebus series with protagonist Inspector Malcolm Fox and colleagues Tony Kate and Joe Naysmith of an police internal affairs unit, known as The Complaints. The story begins as a probe into possible police coverup of misbehavior by a local Kirkcaldy cop and eventually widens into an investigation of 30-year old murder involving student activism and possible terrorist acts in support of Scottish Nationalism. Author Rankin sets up a fairly standard police procedural to drive the plot forward, and it works very well. As impressive are the very well-sketched and strong characters that populate the story. The Complaints trio themselves are well-matched, their interactions enjoyable for the reader. The secondary characters are credible and give heft and zing to the plot. Much as I enjoyed Rankin's Rebus books, I have to say that it's a relief to encounter the less complicated protagonist Malcolm Fox. To be sure, he has a few personal problems--a seriously ill father in "The Impossible Dead". But in this book, those problems don't distract from the main story line as they could (my opinion) in the Rebus books. You can easily fall "in like" with Fox and identify with him as a normal person, issues and all. This is a fine, intelligent read with few false notes. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book, I think it's worth reading. Looking through Ian Rankin's bibliography I realise I have read all but two of his books, one of them being the first Malcolm Fox Novel. Some Authors stick to one character and I like Rebus but Rankin has created several quite different and convincing characters and so it is with Malcolm Fox. The plot is topical; undercover police getting 'close' to their subject of investigation, Scottish Independance and the success of Terrorism. The only 'complaint' I have is that like a few of Rankin's later books, they don't have the imagination or originality and end up reading a little as if they are intended to eventually reach the US movie scene. Is Rankin sacrificing his art for the sake of big bucks? If true, who can blame him? The book is still better than lots of others on the shelves. 4 Stars When are you going write something hard hitting and insightful about the oil industry in your neck of the woods Mr Rankin?

The book was classic Ian Rankin, with 2 veiled references to John Rebus. I cheered, laughed, then nearly had tears when I read those references. If you haven't read the John Rebus series you will not catch the references. I miss Rebus!!! Who would have thought that the complaints dept. would be so interesting. This dective is so squeaky clean compared to Rebus,I kept waitng for him to have a fault, but he is a hard worker. It's only 9 months till Ian's next book is out. I can't wait The only downside is this book was written in American, not Scottish-English. I miss the Scottish euphenisms(?) If you've fortunate enough to get a Rebus book printed in the UK you know what I mean. Don't worry Amazon, I'll buy it from Amazon.co.uk.

Not his best book but still a great read. I was a big Rebus fan and I was very sceptical about the decision to replace the hard drinking Rebus with the tea-total Malcolm Fox. Despite this, the ability of Rankin to continue to combine an intriguing plot with an excellent sense of the ambience of Edinburgh and its surrounds has convinced me. If you like the Rebus novels you'll like the Malcolm Fox novels - partly due to the fact that Ian Rankin's Edinburgh is itself a common character of the two sets of novels.

This book was written with great skill. The central character is Inspector Malcolm Fox, attached to "The Complaints," based in Edinburgh. The Complaints, known as Internal Affairs in many U.S. jurisdictions, investigates criminal activity within the police force itself. Fox and his colleagues must deal with the contempt of officers who view The Complaints as pests who undermine the morale of "real" officers who fight "real" crime. In this novel, Fox investigates an officer who is accused of using his authority to obtain sexual favors. Fox soon finds it likely that the accused officer's friends tried to thwart the investigation. As Fox meticulously pursues leads, missing nothing, he uncovers murderous plots that have roots going back to the eighties involving Scottish terrorists. It seems that as the decades passed some of those involved in violent acts have attained great power in the government, and they don't want Fox sniffing around.(Pun not really intended.) I found myself cheering for Fox and hoping it would all end well. In addition to Inspector Fox, there are several other vividly portrayed characters, including Fox's aging father and Fox's sister, Jude. Jude could win Scotland's Ingrate of the Year Award.

DI Malcolm Fox and his team of Edinburgh’s Complaints officers are called to investigate several police officers in Fife who are alleged to have helped cover up the illegal behaviour of another officer there, an officer who had been charged and convicted of several crimes. While interviewing the uncle of the convicted cop, who had actually filed the original complaints against his nephew, Fox learns of a long-buried possible political cover-up, one stretching back to the 1980s and Scottish Nationalist groups. But the information he uncovers has repercussions in the present day, up to and including murder…. I think this series by Ian Rankin is much less well-known than his Inspector Rebus books, but they contain a certain grim grittiness that works very well in the setting of Edinburgh. Fox is a complicated character, both as a cop and as a human being, with various family dramas in addition to the work that he does, work that is generally unthanked given that his fellow police officers despise his work. This is only the second book in the series and a reader could start here without too much difficulty, but I think it has more resonance if one reads the first (“The Complaints”) novel before tackling this one, if only to have a better understanding of the familial and work relationships involved; recommended, but not for the squeamish!

When I first started reading, I thought I was going to be disappointed enough in this book to return it. Boy, am I glad I stuck with it. Once again Rankin worked his magic, only with Malcolm Fox this time instead of John Rebus. It is my impression that some readers don't like Fox. Maybe because he's not hard-boiled and goes by the book? Yes, he's a bit of a boy scout--he doesn't drink, has a moral compass, tries to be a good son and brother: And I would think it would be damned hard to be a good brother to a sister who's one of the more annoying, unpleasant characters I've encountered for some time. It might help if Rankin explained how she turned out to be such a miserable loser. Fox is also smart and tenacious. Once he smells a "rat" he sinks his teeth in and won't let it go. I found this to be an especially intriguing plot. Fox goes back to find out who killed a prominent fixture in the radical '80s. I learned a great deal about the political climate in the Scotland of the 80's; and how that has impacted the Scotland of today. All of it told in Rankin's engaging way so that you're never bored with it. This book was published in 2011. Since then Rankin has taken Fox out of Complaints and put him in CID with Rebus and Clarke. In some ways I wish he had given Fox more of his own books where he can really shine. He tends to get lost when in their company. In my opinion, he deserves better.

The plot of this book follows a well trodden path. The hero is a ‘Good Guy’ facing intense opposition and the dislike of his peers, especially the shady ones! He triumphs in the end because in fiction good does triumph over evil. But for me he is too good. Ian Rankin’s other crime investigator Rebus, has a dark side that makes him seem real to the reader, Malcolm Fox is a bit of a superhero: - fearless, faster, stronger, sharper. I admire him, but I find it all a bit too………. This book is set in the UK, which is ironic, because the sort of police corruption portrayed in this story is much more familiar to readers in the USA or in my case in Australia. It is one of the real nightmares of a society, when the people we elect to enforce the law are themselves working outside it. So on one level this story is comforting to the reader. The bad guys are caught and the good guys win. It is a gripping read, not least because the tension is maintained right from page one and you have to keep your wits about you to keep up with the action. On another level it all seems like a morality play, a story about good and evil, about darkness and light. In the case of Inspector Rebus the darkness is internal; it is contained within the mind of the man, whereas with Inspector Fox the darkness is all external. But unlike the medieval theatre this story does not show the presence of God. Instead I feel the presence of Mammon, Ian Rankin pursuing a new and profitable line of writing. John Tracy