Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #142634 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-04
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

TIME OUT
'Just as Rebus keeps getting his man, Rankin keeps not only hitting his mark, but defining it'

Review
'Rankin's home provided him with a brilliant backdrop for a crime novel: Edinburgh during the crazy week in 2005 when the G8 came to town' (LITERARY REVIEW )

'Masterly...Ian Rankin's finest novel. It is more than a crime novel, or rather, Rankin's achievement is to show, convincingly, how crime permeates society' (THE SCOTSMAN )

'The Naming of the Dead is Ian Rankin's Exile on Main Street: dark, murky and less immediate than his other novels, but still zinging with wit and his inimitable gift for plot. His richest and most complex work to date, it comes close to trascending genre fiction' (SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY )

'Rebus's latest adventure is as gripping as ever' (THE LONDON PAPER )

'Rebus may seem to be running on something very near empty, but there is no sign that Rankin has lost any of the energy to continue this consistently impressive series' (SUNDAY TIMES )

'This may be Rankin's 19th Rebus book, but while there's still plenty of life in the old devil yet, Siobhan Clarke is proving that she is more than capable of taking up the baton' (DAILY MIRROR )

'Rankin deftly inserts Rebus into the true story of that week, culminating, as it did in the London bombings of July 7. An excellent performance, for a cop on the verge of extinction' (Marcel Berlins THE TIMES )

'combines the page-turning appeal of a modern police procedural with the moral complexity of a political novel' (John Boyne THE IRISH TIMES )

'Politics crashes head on into Inspector Rebus's usual interests (solving grisly murders and supping pints) in the latest of this award-winning series. The Naming of the Dead set against the 2005 G8 Summit, is yet another irresistable page-turner from the UK's best crime novelist' (MAIL ON SUNDAY )

'Not only an intriguing murder-mystery but an excellent piece of reportage. Ian Rankin, despite his dodgy musical tastes, has produced yet another class act' (Mark Sanderson EVENING STANDARD )

'This one with its heady mix of crime and current affairs, is staggering. He is now at the top of his game and has almost catapulted himself out of the more limited crime genre altogether' (DAILY MAIL )

'Rankin is on top form here, with a suitably scornful attitude to Bob Geldof and the wishy-washy Live8 endeavour. Excellent stuff' (DUBLIN EVENING HERALD )

'This is Rankin at his hard-bitten best' (METRO LONDON )

'Rankin is on top form: in a stellar career, this is the best Rebus yet' (SAGA )

'Classic Rankin, and if you're in love with the unchangeable Rebus, you'll relish it. It's page-turning, complicated crime' (Frances Fyfield THE INDEPEDENT )

'Classic Rebus' (SHE )

'Crime writing at its best' (WOMAN AND HOME )

'as much a political thriller as a crime mystery. His vivid descriptions of the so-called Battle of Princes Street are as good as any newspaper reports written at the time' (Allan Laing GLASGOW HERALD )

'The plot is another Rankin corker, complex yet convincing, and played out on this occasion over only nine days against the backdrop of last year's G8 summit at Gleneagles, with its retinue of concerts and marches against poverty...The best crime novel you'll read this year' (SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )

'Impeccably plotted, dripping with suspense and never afraid to get down and dirty this book is further proof a nation will weep when Rebus hangs up his cuffs' (Shari Low DAILY RECORD )

'Rankin brings his characters to life with precision, and handles the novel's complex thematic relationships with his usual skill' (TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT )

'Rankin's mischievous sense of humour is strongly evident too with an inspired Ann Summers/Basque separatists gag' (FQ )

'a big, sometimes elegiac, read' (Peter Gutteridge THE OBSERVER )

'Rankin just gets better. The topicality and eye for detail are awesome' (Jilly Cooper THE OBSERVER - Books of the Year )

'Ian Rankin is back on splendid form with The Naming of the Dead' (THE SPECTATOR )

'Just as Rebus keeps getting his man, Rankin keeps not only hitting his mark, but defining it' (TIME OUT )

'Rankin is on top form here, with a suitably scornful attitude to Bob Geldof and the wishy-washy live 8 endeavour. Excellent stuff' (EVENING HERALD DUBLIN )

RED
'Gripping stuff to keep brain cells turning on the beach'

Customer Reviews

Classic Rebus
You really sense here that something is ending. Rebus is reaching retirement and although there is anger here, just as in the previous books, it is tempered by melancholy and some regret. You feel that Rankin may be stepping it up a gear for Siobhan, as she gets much more stage time in this story.

Set against the background of the G8 summit this is really a story about the sacrifices we are prepared to make for family, and whether those sacrifices, so meaningful to us, mean anything to those we love, or indeed change anything in the wider world. A thoughtful story, but with flashes of the grit and rage that makes Rebus such an interesting character.

coincidence abounds
As usual a crafted and enjoyable Rebus story. However there are too many coincidences between the characters in the plot for my liking.

A Scottish Tale
A worthy addition to the Rebus series, not his best, but again you cannot fail to smile at some of the boozy inspector's antics and quotes. He's the anti-hero we'd all love to be (if we didn't have a mortgage to pay and kids to feed), preferring the company of the local gangster or barfly to his contemporaries in the force. Doing it his way and some.
The backdrop of the Scottish G8 and 7/7 London bombings gives this murder hunt a very up to the minute feel, but in some ways it is over-researched and contains too much detail on the former event. I enjoyed this book but did find it a tad over long and to be honest I'm still unsure why he gave Jacko a good kicking in the epilogue. If someone could enlighten me to save me re-reading parts I'd be most grateful!
Not highly recommended for the slightly convoluted plot, which almost seems secondary, but more so for the colourful characterization of the DI you'd like to share a pint with and his faithful sidekick DS Clarke, who starts falling into (his) bad ways. Will we soon see Siobhan get her own book one day...don't bet against it. Though "Clarke" doesn't have the same poetic edge does it!