Product Description

July 2005, and the G8 leaders have gathered in Scotland. With daily marches, demonstrations, and scuffles, the police are at full stretch. Detective Inspector John Rebus, however, has been sidelined, until the apparent suicide of an MP coincides with clues that a serial killer may be on the loose. The authorities are keen to hush up both, for fear of overshadowing a meeting of global importance - but Rebus has never been one to stick to the rules, and when his colleague Siobhan Clarke finds herself hunting down the identity of the riot cop who assaulted her mother, it looks as though both Rebus and Clarke may be up pitted against both sides in the conflict. THE NAMING OF THE DEAD is a potent mix of action and politics, set against a backdrop of the most devastating week in recent British history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #608599 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-02
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

From Publishers Weekly
James Gale proves an excellent choice to narrate this latest entry to the long-running Inspector Rebus series. It's 2005 and Rebus is mourning the unexpected death of his brother. It is a death that will cause a lot of introspective musings for the detective as he sees his retirement edging over the horizon. But soon Rebus and his partner are after a possible serial killer who is doing in former sex offenders. Add to that the apparent suicide of an MP and the horror of the London subway bombings, and you have another first-rate Scottish mystery, that is only enhanced by Gale's performance. Gale's gruff, gravelly delivery brings just the right amount of world weariness to his characterization of Rebus. With the rich array of accents at his disposal, Gale is equally effective in his portrayal of Rankin's supporting characters, especially the smug amoral crime boss Cafferty, who comes across as a smirking, self-satisfied alley cat with fresh bird feathers in his whiskers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
James Gales Scottish brogue and intensity of emotion combine for a strong portrayal of Detective Inspector John Rebus, who is trying to solve the serial murders of recently released sex offenders and resolve his brothers death, all against the backdrop of the G8 summit being held outside Edinburgh. As if thats not bad enough, the G8 has the powers-that-be pulling rank and declaring that the death of the Assistant Minister of International Development is a suicide. Rebus doesnt agree and adds one more murder to his already full plate. Gale easily swings into a number of accents, leads listeners through the mlange of politics and suspense, and keeps the many characters sorted out, but listeners new to the series may struggle to keep up. S.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Rankin's U.S. publishers have been cashing in on the author's celebrity lately by reissuing his early work, originally published in the UK under a pseudonym, but now Rankin fans can get back to the really good stuff: a new John Rebus novel. Coming off what is arguably the best Rebus of all, Fleshmarket Alley (2005), Rankin faces a stern challenge, and while the new offering isn't quite among the series' elite, it's still a damn good book. It's July 2005, and Bush, Blair, and other international leaders are coming to Scotland for the G8 conference to be held outside Edinburgh. Anything but a company man, Detective Inspector Rebus finds himself relegated to the sidelines until he takes a call that lands him smack where he's not supposed to be: butting heads with conference organizers in an attempt to make sense of the apparent suicide of an attendee at a preconference dinner. The plot mushrooms out from there, of course, encompassing an ongoing serial-killer investigation and personal crises in the lives of both Rebus and his partner and protege, Siobhan Clarke. The focus on international events (including the London subway bombing) adds thematic heft to the novel but takes away a bit from the always-fascinating exploration of Rebus' melancholic heart of darkness. Still, Rankin continues to juggle his plot strains superbly and to add depth to the characterization of Clarke, whose multidimensionality nearly equals that of Rebus himself. Required reading for crime-fiction followers. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

One of the year's best
Anyone who likes Michael Connelly's Harry Borsch series should like Ian Rankin's Rebus series as well. This was the first Ian Rankin book I read. After completing it, I had to go out and buy all the earlier books in Rankin's "Rebus series". I am now in the middle of catching up on John Rebus's life. However, "The Naming of the Dead" is a good book to start with, even if you haven't read the others in the series.

A master of his genre at the top of his game
The Naming of the Dead is the lastest in a series of mystery novels by the great Scottish writer Ian Rankin. Rankin has once again returned to his tortured antihero Inspector Rebus. As always, Rebus is tilting at his own personal windmills, trying to get the better of his superior officers and trying to stay clear of his nemesis Ger Cafferty. Rankin's writing is taut and the murder plot moves along at a good clip. But it is the character of Rebus that makes Rankin's novels so compelling. It seems that his mantle of guilt and responsibility becomes heavier to bear with each book. Rankin's other recurring character Siobhan Clarke is also a great character study and with this novel she is moving perilously close to leading the kind of austere and driven life that Rebus endures with so much difficulty. Rankin is a real master of his genre and here he is at the top of his game.