The Impossible Dead: From the iconic #1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES (Malcolm Fox, #2)

by Ian Rankin

Malcolm Fox returns in the stunning second novel in Ian Rankin's series... 'Criminally good' WOMAN & HOME

From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES.

'Excitingly gripping storytelling' THE TIMES

Malcolm Fox and his team are back, investigating whether fellow cops covered up for Detective Paul Carter. Carter has been found guilty of misconduct, but what should be a simple job is soon complicated by a brutal murder and a weapon that should not even exist.

A trail of revelations leads Fox back to 1985, a year of desperate unrest when letter-bombs and poisonous spores were sent to government offices, and kidnappings and murders were plotted. But while the body count rises the clock starts ticking, and a dramatic turn of events sees Fox in mortal danger.

• ISBN10: 1409136299
• ISBN13: 9781409136293
• Publish Date: 24 May 2012 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
• Imprint: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[mackhazelwood]

Another great mystery novel by the great Scottish author Ian Rankin.

[Lianne]

This was my first Ian Rankin novel and I absolutely enjoyed it from start to finish. The case itself was a bit of a slow burn as Malcolm and his team were initially in the town due to investigate Detective Paul Carter, only to stumble onto a larger case with wider implications. Nationalist politics, radical movements, espionage and cover-ups, it really held my interest as you follow Malcolm trying to piece everything together and figure out what was really going on.

What I especially enjoyed about this novel was how as the story unfolds and the mystery deepens, I found myself learning more about Malcolm himself, like his character was also unfolding before my eyes. At first I thought he was a pretty straightforward cop–humourless, organised, to the book, the usual. But the more I read, the more I learn that there’s a lot to Malcolm Fox, his dedication and perseverance in a department that’s despised amongst police circles, his rather dry humour and his family life. His personal storyline regarding his father and his sister was just as interesting and a very telling inclusion about who Malcolm is as a character.

While the writing feels clinical at times, it sets the tone of the story perfectly. Fans of crime and mystery novels will enjoy this title.

You can read this review in its entirety over at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2013/12/06/review-the-impossible-dead/