Reviews

Doors Open by Ian Rankin

jpbarberis's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

vaishnavi_mlu's review

4.0

Didn't like it the first time I read it, mainly because I didn't understand what was going on in the book at that point in time, but reread it 1-2 times and liked it when I fully grasped what was happening

richard1510's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

hwbookworm's review against another edition

3.0

I am a huge fan of the Rebus series so I thought I would give another of Ian Rankin's books a try. Although the main characters lack the charm of Rebus and his colleagues, I found the story engaging. I was a little disappointed with the ending as I like the story to be fully resolved (not knowing who was knocking on his door is driving me crazy!). Overall, an interesting read but I was hoping for something more.

sarajoris's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

tracyjw66's review against another edition

3.0

A nice little caper. A few shades of Rebus thrown in (a younger gangster stands in for Big Ger). Good, quick read.

ridgewaygirl's review

3.0

I usually enjoy anything that Ian Rankin writes. His long-running series featuring Inspector Rebus has been consistently good and his new series, featuring an utterly un-Rebus-like detective, is even better. So I expected quite a bit from Doors Open, a stand-alone novel. Doors Open tells the story of Mike, self-made millionaire who, having sold his company, is bored. He's started collecting art, which is fun and has made him two friends, a soon-to-retire art professor and a banker who buys art for the bank he works for. They talk about the usual things people interested in art discuss and agree that art purchased for investment and stored in vaults is an abomination. From there, there is a leap to deciding that they would be more appreciative owners and, after not being able to come up with a way to rob a bank, they come up with a cunning plan to rob a museum.

This is where Rankin lost me for a while. Liberating artwork from the unappreciative mega-wealthy is one thing; stealing from the public in order to own a piece of art that can then never be shared is quite another. It turned the book from a fun crime romp into something less fun, for me, anyway. Rankin turns it around, but it took me awhile to see what he was doing. In any case, the final third of the book is brilliant in it's unraveling.

ellapaulina's review

adventurous dark informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

blairconrad's review

3.0

Less exciting than I'd like - knowing who committed the crime takes a bit of the edge off. The characters at least had some distinguishing characteristics, but I never really felt like I got to know any of them. A decent read, with a small twist, but nowhere near the whimsy of [b:The Hot Rock|596576|The Hot Rock|Donald E. Westlake|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176140861s/596576.jpg|980279], or the heart of the Rebus books.

caramay's review

2.0

Unrealistic and implausible