The Complaints

The Complaints (2009) by Ian Rankin. In Scotland, the Internal Affairs department of the police is known as "the complaints." Malcolm Fox, the protagonist of this book, is a member of the complaints of Edinburgh. When his sister's abusive lover is killed, Fox becomes an object of suspicion himself. Rankin does a good job of mixing Fox's personal life with his professional life so that the reader has something to care about other than just the case. Unfortunately, although I found the book to be a pretty good read, the case Fox was investigating got a little too complicated; I lost interest in all the ins and outs of the case before the end of the book. Plus, I was thrown off now and again by the Scottish dialect, which occasionally became confusing. Still, readers who love a good police story with some personal life thrown in will enjoy this book. Grade: B+