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The Black Book

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The Black Book

By: Ian Rankin
Narrated by: James Macpherson
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About this listen

When a close colleague is brutally attacked, Inspector John Rebus is drawn into a case involving a hotel fire, an unidentified body, and a long forgotten night of terror and murder. Pursued by dangerous ghosts and tormented by the coded secrets of his colleague's notebook, Rebus must piece together the most complex and confusing of jigsaws. But not everyone wants the puzzle solved - perhaps not even Rebus himself.

©2011 Orion Publishing Group Limited (P)2008 Ian Rankin Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Thriller Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant  
heard this over quite a few weeks due to holidays and other commitments, but the telling kept me on track very quickly. great narrator.

good story and fast moving

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Love Rebus, an enjoyable read but the book was a tad complicated in sections, though.

The black book

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I'm working my way through all the Rebus books, so my statement might change haha

The best Rebus book so far.

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MacPherson didn't do his basic research on how to say these place names...
Which for these two, the stress for the first should be the second syllable, that of the second the third.
Like this.
ballINGry and cardenDEN...
for a book written by a Fife author, that's close to unforgivable and I'd guess that Ian wasn't delighted when he first heard these, if he ever did, that is.
If there was only a single mention it'd maybe get overlooked but the second keeps getting said, several times. Grating each and every.....

Ballingry and Cardenden

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Perhaps the greatest strength of The Black Book is the development of Rebus as a rounded character with a complicated personal life. He has relationship problems - both he and his girlfriend Patience Aitken spend more time working than they do with each other. And Rebus’s black sheep brother is out of jail, where he was serving time for drug-dealing. Meanwhile, the foundations are laid for the enduring partnership of Siobhan - ‘Shiv’ - and Rebus. The story itself is an ambitious blend of disparate strands - with Rebus’s nemesis Ger Cafferty at its centre. There are new leads on an old hotel fire where an unidentified corpse was discovered; one of Rebus’s colleagues is attacked and hospitalised; an undercover surveillance operation aims to take down organised crime rackets; in short, we’re knee-deep in Edinburgh low-life. Overall the rating should probably be 3.5 rather than 4 stars. The story is a bit too sprawling and a little too tangled. It was hard to care about any individual aspect of it. That said, the resolutions are neat, clever and unexpected. But it does hold your attention, and it’s Rebus - stoical, determined, wise-cracking, undaunted - who somehow makes it all work. The narration is as ever clear and well-paced, though Cafferty’s rasping voice is arguably overdone, and Shiv’s English accent is none too convincing. The Rebus series is beginning to find its feet here as the protagonists are fleshed out and we get to know more about Rebus’s often chaotic personal life. But the novel is saddled with a middling plot that quickly becomes fairly tiresome, and quite confusing…

Old sins unearthed in a tangled tale of secrets and lies

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A great listen. This book has all my favourite characters: Big Ger, Farmer Watson, Holmes and Clarke. McPherson as always great with the interpretation. If you known Edinburgh then you'll be looking out for all the haunts.

Classic Rebus

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Probably a bit too twisty to listen to while doing something else - think I missed a few bits here and there and had to do some rewinding occasionally - but a good listen.

Solid Ian Rankin

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Rebus is a great character who is supported by other interesting and enjoyable characters. Super story with good plot lines and a few twists.

One of my favourites so far

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I'm a big fan of Rebus. Loved this story, well told perfect for a cold winters day.

Wonderful book.

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Story felt a bit complex at times (lots of characters and names) but good yarn. Ending is a bit abrupt - poor editing.

Rebus chases bad guys

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