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Author | Ian Rankin |
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Country | Scotland |
Language | English |
Series | Inspector Rebus |
Genre | Detective fiction |
Publisher | Orion Books |
Publication date | 2002 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 440 pp |
ISBN | 0-7528-2131-8 |
OCLC | 50215352 |
Preceded by | The Falls |
Followed by | A Question of Blood |
Resurrection Men is a 2002 novel by Ian Rankin. It is the thirteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2004. [1]
Detective Inspector John Rebus has been sent to Tulliallan, the Scottish Police College for 'retraining' as part of a small group of senior officers who have become undisciplined; they are "the Resurrection Men," whose careers need to be resuscitated long enough for them to earn their pensions. Rebus was sent to Tulliallan for throwing a cup of tea at DCS Gill Templer, but in fact he is working undercover on behalf of the Chief Constable to learn about a possible 1994 theft by a group of the senior officers attending the course. To complicate things further, the officers in the course are assigned the unsolved 1995 case of the murder of a Glasgow gangster, a case originally investigated by one of them and about which Rebus knows all too much. While investigating his fellow officers for a past crime, he now has to fear that they will expose his own secrets.
Back at St Leonard's police station, DS Siobhan Clarke and the other officers are pursuing a murder inquiry, the brutal death of an Edinburgh art dealer named Marber. Clues involve a stolen painting by Jack Vettriano, a large disbursement to a painter who had been claiming Marber was cheating artists and clients, and a young prostitute for whom Marber was providing a home. DS Clarke suspects Edinburgh gangster 'Big Ger' Cafferty of owning the spa where the prostitute works, the cab company that Marber used on the night of his death, and possibly a mysterious stash of paintings purchased from Marber a few years earlier. When the stolen painting turns up in one suspect's garden shed, he is arrested, but she remains skeptical and continues to pursue other avenues of inquiry.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency asks Rebus to act as a go-between with the Weasel, Big Ger's right-hand man. Rebus does not try too hard to persuade the Weasel to turn Cafferty over. However, he gets an idea about planning a heist of a secret trove of SDEA drugs; by involving the suspected police officers, he hopes to provoke them to reveal their earlier exploit.
While Clarke turns out to be on the wrong track, and Rebus makes a mess of his undercover mission, they work as partners to discover Marber's murderer and his connection with the 1994 theft by the police officers.
The title, besides the explanation in the book itself, is a reference to the body-snatchers of the 19th century, who were known as 'resurrectionists' or 'resurrection men'. Rebus himself, in the preceding novel, The Falls , was preoccupied with Burke and Hare who posed as grave-robbers and are often carelessly identified as 'resurrection men.' [2]
Resurrection Men was the first episode in the fourth Rebus television series, starring Ken Stott, airing in 2007.
Detective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in the Inspector Rebus series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Sir Ian Rankin, ten of which have so far been televised as Rebus. The novels are mostly set in and around Edinburgh. Rebus has been portrayed by John Hannah, Ken Stott and Richard Rankin for television, with Ron Donachie playing the character for the BBC Radio dramatisations.
The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Sir Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh. They are considered an important contribution to 'Tartan Noir'.
The Black Book is a 1993 crime novel by Ian Rankin, the fifth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It is the first book to feature Siobhan Clarke and Morris Gerald Cafferty appears as a main character. It is also the first book where Rebus is based at St Leonards police station.
Mortal Causes is a 1994 novel by Ian Rankin. It is the sixth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the fourth episode in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2004.
Black & Blue is a 1997 crime novel by Ian Rankin. The eighth of the Inspector Rebus novels, it was the first to be adapted in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2000.
The Hanging Garden is a 1998 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the ninth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the second episode in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2001.
Set in Darkness is a 2000 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the eleventh of the Inspector Rebus novels. It won the 2005 Grand Prix du Roman Policier (France) under the title Du fond des ténèbres.
A Question of Blood is a 2003 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the fourteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels.
The Falls is a 2001 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the twelfth of the Inspector Rebus novels.
The Naming of the Dead is a crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the sixteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It is set in Edinburgh in July 2005, in the week of the G8 summit in Gleneagles.
Exit Music is the seventeenth crime novel in the internationally bestselling Inspector Rebus series, written by Ian Rankin. It was published on 6 September 2007. The book is named after the Radiohead song "Exit Music ".
The Complaints is a novel by Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin. It was published in the United Kingdom on 3 September 2009.
"Resurrection Men" is a 2007 episode of STV's Rebus television series. It was the first episode broadcast in the show's fourth season, and starred Ken Stott in the title role. The episode was based on the Ian Rankin novel of the same name.
Resurrectionists were body snatchers who were commonly employed by anatomists in the United Kingdom during the 18th and 19th centuries to exhume the bodies of the recently dead. Between 1506 and 1752 only a very few cadavers were available each year for anatomical research. The supply was increased when, in an attempt to intensify the deterrent effect of the death penalty, Parliament passed the Murder Act 1752. By allowing judges to substitute the public display of executed criminals with dissection, the new law significantly increased the number of bodies anatomists could legally access. This proved insufficient to meet the needs of the hospitals and teaching centres that opened during the 18th century. Corpses and their component parts became a commodity, but although the practice of disinterment was hated by the general public, bodies were not legally anyone's property. The resurrectionists therefore operated in a legal grey area.
Standing in Another Man's Grave is the eighteenth instalment in the bestselling Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in 2012. The title of the book is a mondegreen, Rankin having misheard the Scottish singer songwriter Jackie Leven singing "Standing in Another Man's Rain", which mistake he gives to Rebus. Excerpts from Leven's songs appear with each division of the book.
Even Dogs in the Wild is the twentieth instalment in the bestselling Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in 2015. The novel takes its name from the song of the same name by the Scottish band The Associates from their album The Affectionate Punch.
Rather Be the Devil is the 21st instalment in the Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in November 2016. Rather Be the Devil topped the bestseller charts for hardback fiction. The title was inspired by a John Martyn song from his 1973 album Solid Air.
A Song for the Dark Times is the 23rd installment in the Inspector Rebus series written by Ian Rankin. The phrase "dark times" was meant to refer to the era of Brexit, autocratic leaders, and so on, as of 2019, but the book was published in 2020, in a period of COVID-19 lockdowns. The title is from one of the book’s epigraphs, Bertolt Brecht on “singing in/about the dark times”; also, “Songs for the Dark Times” is the title Siobhan Clarke gives to a CD compilation she has burned for John Rebus, which he plays while driving north in his car.
A Heart Full of Headstones is the 24th installment in the Inspector Rebus series written by Ian Rankin. The title comes from the song "Single Father" by Jackie Leven, four lines of which are quoted on the last page of the novel. The novel is set during the period when COVID-19 is a threat but lockdown has ended, probably in 2022.