Complaints (Hardcover)

'Like all good crime novels, it takes you to places that you did not know existed - and, even if you did, would not wish to visit. Fox, brave and kind beneath his world-weary exterior, makes for an excellent guide. Rankin's legion of fans will have no grounds for complaints' -- Mark Sanderson EVENING STANDARD 'Getting to know this man [Fox], an intriguing mix of apathy and action, is almost like a courtship - each new situation reveals something that makes the reader want to know yet more' -- Rebecca Armstrong THE INDEPENDENT 'Rankin delivers, without the help of Rebus, an excellent cop novel full of action, good dialogue, well-crafted characters and an authentic backdrop' -- Marcel Berlins THE TIMES 'Rankin's touch for literary elements outwith genre expectations continues to be excellent. Even a brief paragraph about Fox's childhood contains as much nostagic fizz as a bubble of Irn Bru caught in a spluttering kid's nostril' -- Alan Morrison SUNDAY HERALD GLASGOW 'Rankin's trademark pace and descriptive eye are as sharp as ever, while the post-banking collapse setting, full of worried property developers and dodgy money men, gives the book a strong contemporary feel. It's a gripping police thriller' -- Aaron Lavery METRO 'It may be heresy to say so, but I was never very excited by Inspector Rebus. I am much more interested in Rankin's new addition to the list of Edinburgh policemen-heroes...An interesting insight into human behaviour, not to mention a welcome tour of both the Edinburgh that visitors see and the parts they aren't shown' -- Jessica Mann LITERARY REVIEW 'Rankin explores both public and private morality in this well-plotted story' -- Carla McKay DAILY MAIL 'The Complaints conclusively demonstrates that its author has still got it, and can put together an ample, satisfyingly complex detective novel without a Rolling Stones-loving, ex-SAS sleuth at its centre' -- John Dugdale SUNDAY TIMES 'The Complaints is very, very good indeeed and will be greedily devoured by anyone suffering from Rebus-withdrawal symptoms...I will be dismayed if this turns out to be a one-off, as the ensemble cast and the police procedural set-up, not to mention the Rankin/Edinburgh synergy and his eagle-eyed observation, simply cry out for a series' -- Mike Ripley SHOTS 'The action that follows writhes and twists ilke a bucketful of worms and Rankin handles them with his customary aplomb' -- David Connett SUNDAY EXPRESS 'On the evidence of The Complaints it looks as if Fox will be just as sure-footed a guide to the city as his grizzled predecessor' -- Barry Forshaw DAILY EXPRESS 'Reliably readable as ever, Ranin truly rocks' -- Paul Blezzard THE LADY 'This is an archetypal Rankin novel - a meaty mystery as well as a forensic investigation of how the consciences of ordinary, decent people react to extreme stress' -- Mat Coward MORNING STAR 'As is usually the case with Rankin, the plot is more layered than a tiramisu and here offers a depth that incorpoates teh impact of the credit crunch and the subsequent collapse of property values in Scotland' -- Declan Burke IRISH TIMES 'Rankin is a master at what, for me, is one of the important aspects of a crime novel: the integration of setting, plot, characters and a theme which, for Rankin, is the moral dimension never far from his writing. Here it is unambiguously stated on the cover of The Complaints: wh decides right from wrong?' -- PD James THE GUARDIAN 'Rankin displays his customary droll humour and uses Edinburgh as a character in its own right: it's a city in gridlock, thanks to the owrk installing a new tram system, with new housing projects blighted by the credit crunch' -- Peter Gutteridge THE OBSERVER 'By half way through - if I even stopped to think - my only quibble would be whether this is as good as Rebus at his best or whether it's the best he's ever written. It's a close call but I think it's the best' THE BOOK BAG 'As much a state-of-Scotland novel as a conventional thriller' -- John Williams MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Gordon Brown, who knows a thing or two about what it's like to live up to the memory of a charismatic predecessor, ought to give Fox his endorsement straight away' -- Jake Kerridge DAILY TELEGRAPH 'The precisely rendered police procedure is impressive, but it is what lies beneath - the heartbeat of Midlothian, the quiet cunning of Malcolm Fox - that resonates. Rankin's strength resides in a kind of fingertip search of the urban scene, exposing the underbelly of a city scarred by violence' -- Willy Maley TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'It's a must for Rankin fans and new reader alike' SHORTLIST 'a substantial and satisfying novel with the skillfully orchestrated narrative that Rankin does so well' -- Andrew Taylor THE SPECTATOR 'Rankin's social and political eye is as acute as ever' reviewing the evidence.com 'This book is a terrific read, a true page turner - Read, savour and enjoy!' JOURNAL OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND

'Mustn't complain' - but people always do...Nobody likes The Complaints - they're the cops who investigate other cops. Complaints and Conduct Department, to give them their full title, but known colloquially as 'The Dark Side', or simply 'The Complaints'. It's where Malcolm Fox works. He's just had a result, and should be feeling good about himself. But he's a man with problems of his own. He has an increasingly frail father in a care home and a sister who persists in an abusive relationship - something which Malcolm cannot seem to do anything about. But, in the midst of an aggressive Edinburgh winter, the reluctant Fox is given a new task. There's a cop called Jamie Breck, and he's dirty. The problem is, no one can prove it. But as Fox takes on the job, he learns that there's more to Breck than anyone thinks. This knowledge will prove dangerous, especially when a vicious murder intervenes far too close to home for Fox's liking.