Ian Rankin books feature his Detective Inspector John Rebus character, most of which are set in or around Edinburgh. Doors Open is a stand alone novel about a heist in the local art world. Fast paced and intriguing, I thought I'd start with that.
Mike Mackenzie is a bored-with-life, self made computer mogul looking for excitement. He hangs around the local auction house with his banker friend Allan and pines for both the art he cannot purchase (as it is snapped up by corporations who will pack it away in storage) and the lovely auctioneer, Laura Stanton. Joining in is well known art professor Robert Gissing, who reveals his secret fantasy scenario about a daring art heist, which they joke about pulling off. Enter Chib Calloway, local gangster and old school pal of Mikes, who adds his two cents. Soon a serious plan is taking shape to rob the overstock warehouse of the National Gallery of Art on 'doors open' day, where the public can tour behind the scenes. This is a breezy world where art is discussed over cocktails and no one has heard that these thefts pulled by amateurs rarely work out, partners fold or turn on each other, and working with gangsters will get you killed, or worse.
Following all the plans and action is a disgruntled cop up for promotion but not 'officially' on this case. Will he be able to keep one step ahead of them and expose the whole thing?
It's to Ian Rankin's credit that this heist novel is as exciting and interesting as it is. I was quickly drawn in and though the action is transparent, I didn't mind at all. There weren't any real surprises and a minimum of violence considering they were all pursued by a Nordic Hells Angels henchman nicknamed 'Hate'. At the end I was surprisingly satisfied, even knowing how by-the-book the plot was.
It was made into a film for ITV in 2012 (with Stephen Fry as Gissing).
Witty and clever, I would recommend Doors Open to fans of Rankin and anyone looking for a good romp in the criminal underground.
2008 / Tradeback / 387 pages
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