Fleshmarket Alley

I had never read an Ian Rankin novel before picking up Fleshmarket Close. Not knowing what to expect, the cover didn't entice me to start reading it any quicker than I had to. Luckily, I did force myself to pick it up, and discovered a wonderful treasure - yet another mystery author I absolutely can't put down! While Fleshmarket Close is definitely not a fast-paced page-turner, the action that takes place over the course of ten days definitely keeps the reader hooked until its conclusion. In this fifteenth volume of the John Rebus / Siobhan Clark series, the characters have become familiar (if you've read the rest of the series) and comfortable, and the pattern recognizable. The murder of a suspected asylum-seeker at Knoxland ties in to crimes of a much wider magnitude, and the deeper John and Siobhan dig, the more convoluted and confusing the mystery becomes. The story also provides a very informative look inside Scotland's immigration and refugee policies and procedures. Plot twist after plot twist, investigations aplenty, this book will not disappoint you.

Detective Inspector John Rebus and DS Siobhan Clark have been relocated from their old and familiar offices to Gayfield Square, which isn't all that far away. It's a well to do district, but close to Knoxland, which is one of Edinburgh's low rent housing development's. And it's in Knoxland that an illegal immigrant is found stabbed to death. While trying to solve the case Rebus is forced to think about the fact that the powers that be would like him to retire, however police work is his life, he has nothing outside of that, so he has no intention of being made redundant, not now, not ever. Knoxland is home to many immigrants, legal and otherwise and it's occupants have been the source of many racial attacks, so naturally it looks like a race crime. During his investigation Rebus learns much about the difficulties illegal aliens must face in Scotland. Including the legal ones, like the detention centers women and children are locked up in as they wait to find out if they are going to be allowed entry or if they're going to be deported. Also, as this case is developing, Siobhan is approached by the mother of a teenage girl who has disappeared. Siobhan worked the prior case of the missing girl's sister three years earlier. The girl had been raped and then killed herself, so even though the case is now out of her jurisdiction, Siobhan decides to work it anyway. And to make Rebus's and Siobhan's life even more complicated, they are called out to a bar in Fleshmarket Close (Fleshmarket Alley in the American version) where the remains of an infant and a woman have been discovered under the concrete floor during renovations. The genius of Ian Rankin is that he can connect the dots, make us believe that as impossible as it might seem, all these cases are connected, but of course, it takes Rebus and Siobhan a while to put it all together and that makes for just one very, very good story. Mr. Rankin has given us plenty of John Rebus books and they just keep getting better. Reviewed by Vesta Irene

I have been reading Ian Rankin's books since his first Rebus book was published.However, I visit Edinburgh every year and purchase his books there. "Fleshmarket Alley" is "Fleshmarket Close" in the books published in the UK and somehow the US versions lose something (at least to me). It is great to be able to relate to the places that are mentioned in the books.Edinburgh is a beautiful city and Rankin brings both the good and the not so good to life. I was lucky enough to purchase Fleshmarket Close when it hit Waterstone's books in Edinburgh. It is another great Rebus saga and Ian Rankin's fans in the US won't be disappointed---even though some words have been changed for the US.

Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series is now 15 books strong and probably stands at the top of the list of new releases that I look forward to each year. John Rebus is a CID detective with the Lothian and Borders Police in Edinburgh, Scotland. He's a driven, dedicated policeman who lives for his job and rarely rests until his case is solved. But for all his dedication he has always had a distinct disregard for his superiors with his unorthodox and preference for working in solitude regularly landing him in trouble. Faithful readers of the series will have noticed a gradual but definite change in John Rebus' personality (a necessity in the success of a long-running series). When we first met him in Knots and Crosses he was a tormented man who was trying to get over a failed marriage, invariably drinking himself to sleep, that is, when he could sleep at all, and seriously contemplating suicide. The overall mood was dark and depressing and worthy of the categorisation as Tartan Noir. A very notable change in Rebus came around 2 books ago in Resurrection Men and was continued in the Edgar Award winning A Question of Blood. He has become more open with his investigations, he has actually begun to socialise more often and is less inclined to drink himself into a stupor. As a matter of fact, at one point in Fleshmarket Alley he plays a practical joke on one of the junior police officers in the office, something that he would simply not have been capable of earlier in the series. One thing that has never changed has been Rebus' suspicion towards the people in power, be they his immediate superiors or politicians. His attitude is summed up in Fleshmarket Alley as he explains to another police officer: "I've got this theory, we spend most of our time chasing something called 'the underworld', but it's the overworld we should really be keeping an eye on." To open Fleshmarket Alley we are greeted with a development that seems about par for the course in the life of John Rebus. He and DS Siobhan Clarke have been unceremoniously relocated from their familiar offices at St Leonards CID and reassigned to the nearby station at Gayfield Square. In even more typical fashion, Rebus is left without a desk from which to work. Carrying on regardless out of his new Gayfield Square digs he is loaned out to yet another station at West End to assist on the scene of a stabbing murder of a possible illegal immigrant in an apartment in Knoxland. Knoxland is a low-rent, low-class housing development that predominantly accommodates immigrants and the occupants regularly bear the brunt of racist attacks and taunts. The immediate suspicion is the attack was fuelled by racial hatred. Little does Rebus know that this case is about to open his eyes to the plight of the illegal immigrants in Scotland, particularly the women and children who are locked up in detention centres while awaiting a decision on whether they will be allowed to stay. Meanwhile Siobhan is asked by t

This is the first time I've read anything by Ian Rankin, and based on this book I'd rate him right up there with my three other favorite British mystery writers: P.D. James, Elizabeth George, and, of course, Agatha Christie. And I needed a new mystery writer! Agatha hasn't written anything for quite some time (could be because she's dead), P.D. James hasn't had anything new (is she still writing?), and Elizabeth George is still working but I just couldn't wait any longer for her next book. So it was with a great deal of pleasure that I was given an advanced reading copy of Fleshmarket Alley to review. Why do I find British mystery writers so much better than their American counterparts? I know that a lot of people will take umbrage with this comment, but I always enjoy the British authors' writing styles compared to those in the States (if you agree with this sentiment, I have no doubt you'll enjoy this novel). I found the story's complexity, depth, and length (a comfortable 420 pages) a very satisfying read. I don't know much about detective Rebus, but this book makes me want to read all of Mr. Rankin's earlier novels based on this character (starting with Knots and Crosses). This is my favorite type of murder mystery; it's not important who did the dastardly deed, it's the road to discovery as to why the murder(s) took place that make it a rich reading experience. I also found this novel especially intriguing because of the political and sociological atmosphere (in Scotland) that surrounds the action and investigation-which gives you a lot to ponder, besides just the murders. I learned a great deal about the Scottish immigration and refugee problem, which made me more aware of issues outside of my own little world; it left me thinking about the book long after I'd finished reading. Isn't that what reading is all about? I hope his other books are as satisfying as this one-I plan to read more about detective Rebus. My only complaint is that I wish they'd included a glossary of British/Scottish slang terms. I was a little lost when phrases like "no cheap plonk" and others suddenly appeared. I was able to figure it out in context, but for the average American reader, I'm sure a glossary would be much appreciated. Even so, it added to the flavor of this author's British roots and his style of writing. Getting back to my earlier comment about British mystery writers over American mystery writers, the British authors don't seem to dumb-down their writing to appeal to the masses, while their American counterparts (you know . . . those "A", "B", "C", etc. murder mysteries) tend to be formulaic and repetitious after the third or fourth (or tenth!) book. If you want a satisfying read and you've run out of British authors (like I have), try discovering Ian Rankin. You won't be disappointed.