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''Resurrection Men'' is a 2002
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
by
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel ...
. It is the thirteenth of the
Inspector Rebus The ''Inspector Rebus'' books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin, Sir Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on Inspector#United Kingdom, Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh. They ...
novels. It won the
Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...
for Best Novel in 2004.


Plot summary

Detective Inspector John Rebus 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. ...
has been sent to
Tulliallan Tulliallan (Gaelic ''tulach-aluinn'', 'Beautiful knoll') was an estate in Perthshire, Scotland, near to Kincardine-on-Forth, Kincardine, and a Civil parishes in Scotland, parish. The Clan Blackadder, Blackadder lairds of Tulliallan, a branch of ...
, the
Scottish Police College The Scottish Police College is based at Tulliallan Castle, in Kincardine. Since 1 April 2013, the college has been under the control of Police Scotland. In addition to probationer training, the college provides training in various specialist ...
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 has officially been 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 suspected 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 their number, and about which Rebus knows all too much. While investigating his fellow officers for a past crime, he now fears 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 Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
art dealer named Marber. Clues involve a stolen painting by
Jack Vettriano Jack Vettriano (born Jack Hoggan, 17 November 1951 – 1 March 2025) was a Scottish painter, known for his distinctive figurative style, often depicting scenes of romance, mystery, and nostalgia. Largely self-taught, Vettriano gained internatio ...
, and a large disbursement to a painter who had been claiming Marber was cheating artists and clients. The case also involves a young prostitute for whom Marber was providing a home. DS Clarke suspects Edinburgh gangster
'Big Ger' Cafferty This is a list of characters from the ''Inspector Rebus'' series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Ian Rankin. They are all fictional characters that have appeared in more than one novel in the series. A number of the characters appea ...
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 Clarke remains skeptical and continues to pursue other avenues of inquiry. Meanwhile, the
Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) was a special police force of Scotland responsible for disrupting and dismantling serious organised crime groups. The Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) was established on 1 April 2001 ...
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 activities. 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 The Falls may refer to: * ''The Falls'' (Oates novel), 2004 novel by Joyce Carol Oates * ''The Falls'' (Rankin novel), 2001 crime novel by Ian Rankin * The Falls (mall), an open-air shopping mall in Kendall, Florida * The Falls, Nova Scotia, a ...
'', was preoccupied with
Burke and Hare The Burke and Hare murders were a series of sixteen murders committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses to Robert Knox for dissection ...
, who posed as grave-robbers and are often identified as 'resurrection men.'


Reception

The novel was a bestseller and won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2004. It received positive reviews, though ''The Guardian'' compared it somewhat unfavourably with earlier novels, saying: "the rapid movement of the plot leaves little time for development of character," and implying that the franchise was getting tired. ''Publishers Weekly'' considered it too lengthy, but said: "This isn't one of Rankin's top efforts, but even coasting, he leaves most police procedurals at the gate."


TV adaptation

''Resurrection Men'' was the first episode in the fourth ''
Rebus A rebus ( ) is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "been" might be depicted by a rebus showing an illustrated bumblebee next to a plus sign (+ ...
'' television series, starring
Ken Stott Kenneth Campbell Stott (born 19 October 1954) is a Scottish stage, television and film actor who won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1995 in the play ''Broken Glass (play), Broken Glass'' at Royal National Thea ...
, airing in 2007.


References

{{Reflist 2002 British novels Inspector Rebus novels Novels set in Edinburgh Edgar Award–winning works Orion Books books Sequel novels