The Hanging Garden

Inspector Rebus, Book 9

By: Ian Rankin

Narrated by: Michael Page

Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Drugs. Extortion. Slavery. Organized crime is fighting for a hold on John Rebus's peaceful Scotland. And when Rebus rescues a young Bosnian girl forced into prostitution, he breaks a policeman's golden rule to never get personally involved in a case. Add to that the hunt for an elderly Nazi accused of slaughtering an entire French village, and Rebus wonders just how evil humans can be - until his own daughter is mortally injured as a gangland warning for him to back off. Then even a dedicated cop like Rebus might make a deal with the devil to find the culprit. Not for justice. For revenge.

©1998 Ian Rankin (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

another interesting book in the series

take some twists and turns and the author uses world war II gang influence in Scotland to take some of the idyllic image of Scotland away. the main character loses a big part of his life with close people suffering serious injury and one person losing their life.

A favorite author

The stories are complex and a great read. dI Rebus is always both interesting and thought provoking. If I go to Edinburgh again I will probably spend a lot of time looking up his favorite haunts

Exciting and interestingly dark.

I have listen to about 5 or 6 Ian Rankin books. They tend to emotionally hard subjects but very compelling to listen to. The books rivet me to them while listening.
I also love to envision the City of Edinburgh, the Highlands, Inverness at all there peoples, The Scottish accent, it all makes for great sojourn from one present reality.
Excellent stories, you will not be disappointed.

Interesting Storyline

I really enjoy the Author’s information of the history he pulled from to create the Rebus Stories. Plus to all of the folks not enjoying Michael Page’s narrative: Click the speed up to 1.5 X or more.

Best yet

These books just keep getting better. This is my favorite to date.

Rankin's style and command of the language are brilliant. The flashbacks were well done. The narration by Michael Page was good.

Always delivers

The ongoing development of Rebus as a character is second to none. You feel like your are experiencing every one of his emotions along side him.

An average Ranking

The book was entertaining but nothing more. Nothing I will remember and it will not win any litterature prizes.

Way too Long and Convoluted.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The author attempted too many topics from local gangsters, to ex Nazi criminals to senior citizens importing drugs to east European sex slaves to Japanese Yakusa gangs; too much going on.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Cut it down in subject matter. Rebus has always been enjoyable.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Michael Page?

Most anybody else. The main accent for Rebus was ok, but the narrator trying other characters was grating to the ear.

Was The Hanging Garden worth the listening time?

Just barely.

Pleasantly Surprised

I had just finished listening to a Dean Kontz book, and I was so disappointed that I needed to find a new listen that wasn't painful to finish, and boy, did I!
Ian Rankin’s The Hanging Tree was written in 1998 and is a five-star listen from the first minutes to the last minutes. If you enjoy cop mysteries, this book once finished will be one of your favorites, guaranteed
HA

John Rebus,what can I say?

The writing is good, the narrator's good, Rebus is, well, Rebus--even when he's trying to give up alcohol.