The Flood

by Ian Rankin

In 1986, a small Scottish publishing firm released a first novel by a talented young writer. Only a few hundred copies were printed but it was a literary milestone nonetheless. The book was The Flood. The author was Ian Rankin...

Mary Miller had always been an outcast. As a young girl she had fallen into the hot burn - a torrent of warm chemical run-off from the local coal mine. Fished out white-haired and half-dead, sympathy for her quickly faded when the young man who pushed her in died in a mining accident just two days later. From then on she was regarded with a mixture of suspicion and fascination by her God-fearing community.

Now, years later she is hardly less alone. She is the mother of a bastard son, Sandy, and caught up in a faltering affair with a local teacher. Sandy, meanwhile, has fallen in love with a strange homeless girl. The search for happiness isn't easy. Both mother and son must face a dark secret from their past, in the growing knowledge that their small dramas are being played out against a much larger canvas, glimpsed only in symbols and flickering images - of decay and regrowth, of fire and water - of the flood.

The Flood is both a coming-of-age novel and an amazing portrait of a time and place. Proto-Rankin as it is, it's dark, atmospheric and powerful - a remarkable debut from a remarkable author.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Scotland, Novels, Murder Mystery

205 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

AKA Jack Harvey.

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987; the Rebus books are now translated into 22 languages and are bestsellers on several continents.

Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh.

A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ianrankin

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the very first published novel by the successful writer Ian Rankin.
The novel started fairly strongly and I was pretty confident I was going to enjoy it but unfortunately the second half of the book failed to live up to the promise. Many of the characters had a good strong base but were not fully developed leaving lots of unanswered questions in my head and a hint of disappointment.
The lead character Mary Miller is an outcast who during her youth had fallen into a chemical run-off from the local coal mine causing her hair to turn white. Any sympathy for her quickly faded when the man who pushed her in died in a mining accident just two days later. Following that day she was regarded suspiciously by the God-fearing community. Now an adult and a mother of illegitimate son Sandy, she is in love with the local teacher.
If you are comparing this to Ian Rankin's other novels then you will be sorely disappointed, the book is a decent first novel but not the work of a successful crime writer. Maybe should been left in the past rather than republished.
If you are new to Ian Rankin then keep clear of this one and concentrate on the highly acclaimed Rebus series.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Flood is a simple story, simply told, with a mystery at its core that only exists (and barely at that) through omission.

Sandy is a bastard who could be the incestuous product of his Uncle and Mother, or maybe the offspring of a rape perpetrated by a family friend, or the incestuous Grandson/Son of his Mother's Father. The answer is the mystery, and it remains something of a mystery even after the last page. Rankin leaves the decision up to us.

Actually, Rankin leaves everything up to us, which is to the detriment of his story. I can't believe I am saying this since I usually love stories with few answers, but it's true. I wanted to know more about Rian and Robbie and what comes of them. I wanted to know more about George Patterson's suicide and what it would mean for those left behind. I wanted to see what Pastor Darroch's obsession with Mary, Sandy's beautiful, alienated mother, would mean for her. I wanted to understand the connection between Tom and Andy, the seemingly unrelated men who most loved Mary. I wanted to see how the beatings of Matt Duncan Sr. and Belly Martin would scar Sandy and influence his future. I didn't need it all tied up neatly, but I did need more. I needed to feel like I'd finished reading a novel rather than the skeletal notes of a talented author rushing through an idea so that he could move on to something he cared more about.

And I really needed the titular flood to be more than a series of puddles and saturated ground in Carsden. The Flood is not much of a flood, but maybe that's intentional, a perfect reflection of the shallow stories Rankin was writing.

I hope his Rebus books are better.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Ian Rankin's first published book. What I was expecting was a watered down version of Rebus or something of its ilk . Got that very wrong.
This is a coming of age story. It also takes a good look at the life and times for the working classes in Scotland around the middle of the 20th century.
I was a kid growing up in Edinburgh at the precise time in history as the book. So inevitably, reading this book was a walk down memory lane for me. I Remember all the hopes and aspirations along with the disappointments and, at times, the desperation felt by the characters in the book. Small houses and large families, shared beds and the struggle to put food on the table food. It's no wonder that there is not a corner of the world where the Scots can't be found.
Fair to say I was spellbound by this book.
This is a first published book and as a result there are a few holes in the plot. The characters are all very believable, believe me, I could have been one of them.
When the end came I could have kicked myself. Because, at the halfway mark, I had it all figured out only to discover I didn't.
There's a line near the beginning of the book that sum up so much of the story.

Mary's father was drinking quite heavily, though her mother tried to hide the the fact from everyone and succeeded only in hiding the truth from herself.
This comes highly recommended but if you are a Rebus fan you won't find him here.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Rankin’s first novel. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the story of Mary with her illegitimate son Sandy supposedly from an incestuous relationship with her brother. The reality much darker. Sweet shop owner and drunken father who behaved abhorrently.

The story is about coming of age, hatred, teenager angst, fitting in as well as the judgement of ill informed people and how reality is what some people avoid.

Rian manipulating Sandy. Him trying to fit in. The one thing that baffled me was Andy impersonating Tom with letters to Mary. Anyone know why? I am also curious about Rian and how she is in a Rebus story. Hide and Seek. What role did she play? I cannot remember although I believe the plot revolved around rich people being nasty and using Harvey Weinstein as a role model.

I did like the abrupt ending and also the setting of Fife and Kirkcaldy.

[Νατάσσα · Rating 3 out of 5]

Έχει πάντα ενδιαφέρον να βλέπεις πώς ξεκίνησε ένας συγγραφέας που ήδη αγαπάς. Μ' αυτό το σκεπτικό είναι αξιοδιάβαστο το πρώτο βιβλίο του Ράνκιν. Όχι αριστούργημα, σαφώς όχι από τα καλύτερά του, αλλά ακόμα και σ' αυτό είναι φανερές οι αρετές που μας έκαναν να τον αγαπάμε. Επιπλέον υπάρχει μια κατατοπιστική εισαγωγή, που εξηγεί τις συνθήκες και την εποχή που το έγραψε.

[Mark Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flood is the first novel Ian Rankin wrote. The story's main characters - a mother and son in the Fife village of Carsden - are so well written that they maintained my interest throughout. Rankin understands small-town prejudices and superstitions; that shines through in his writing. The plot touches on witchcraft's deeply ingrained place in Scottish culture. I wish Rankin had made more of that facet of the story, as it is during these mysterious interludes that his prose truly sparkles. The dialogue isn't always realistic: it's too clean for any Scottish town, least of all a mining community. (We're told that Sandy is a streetwise kid of seventeen, yet he talks like an eight-year-old teacher's pet.) That said, The Flood is a well-crafted story with flourishes of originality, but it's held back somewhat by lacklustre dialogue and a half-hearted ending that fails to tie up the loose ends of a plot which could have achieved more.

3.5 to 4.0 stars

[J. Kent Messum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dig Ian Rankin big time, and to be fair, this was the guy's first published novel. The Flood was a good story, not always terribly exciting or gripping at times, but thoughtful and insightful. What weak spots and pacing problems it had were atypical of an author's first time out, and the novel more than got the job done in the end.

One of the things to remember too, is that this book is a lot different from what Rankin's fans have grown accustomed to. This is not a crime novel, or a detective story. No Rebus or Fox on the case here. This is a small coming of age tale set in a little Scottish town with a few twists towards the twisted. What this book certainly did was offer more than a few glimpses at the brilliance that was to come from Rankin. I highly recommend it for aspiring writers to see where a now famous man started his literary career.

[Tracey Gill · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is Ian Rankin's first published book and as is the case with so many writers I'm afraid it's just not up to the standard we expect from his Rebus novels. It's a very different type of book for a start, melodramatic with a tale of a young girl who the town believes to be a witch. I felt it left questions unanswered and at all the end of reading I was left with a dissatisfied feeling in general.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale that gets your attention - set in a dying 'coal' town in Fife… following the lives of a single mum and her son as the son reaches manhood. Compared to his other standalones this has more heart, focusing more on the characters that the actions they take and/or cause to happen. 6 out of 12.

[Paula Dembeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was Rankin’s first novel written in the 1980s while he was a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh and published in 1986. It is a very different book than his well-known Rebus novels, written in a different style but contains some of the familiar underlying themes he included in his later work. This is not a thriller or a crime story although it includes a mystery, secrets and revelations as it tells the story of a young boy growing up in a small rural village in Scotland.

The story is set in Carsden, a small fictional coal mining village in Fife. It begins as ten year old Mary Miller watches her brother play when suddenly some older boys grab her beloved doll Missie Lizzie and run off with it. Mary runs after them trying to retrieve her precious treasure when Matty Duncan one of the boys, pushes her into “the hot burn”, the chemical laden waste water that drains the area’s coal mines. Mary almost drowns but surfaces from the ugly sludge and returns home where she is comforted by her parents. Her Dad tells her Matty Duncan is to start work at the coal mine and he will be sure to give him a “good thumping” to teach him a lesson for what he has done. Mary wakes from sleep the next morning devastated to see her hair has turned silver. Her mother takes her to the doctor who says it is not unusual for something like this to happen after a bad shock and her hair’s normal color may or may not return. It never does.

On Matty’s first day at the coal mine, Hugh Miller carries out the promise he made to his daughter and beats Matty Duncan unconscious. Matty expected it, thinking that would be the end of it. But the next day as he descends the mine’s tunnels, an accident occurs and he is killed in a fiery explosion. After Matty’s death, the townspeople begin to gossip about Mary and start connecting her with witchcraft.

The town of Carsden began to change when the coal pits became less productive. What was left after years of mining were fragmented seams, too difficult and expensive to extract so the mines closed and life changed irrevocably for the men and their families. The mining of coal had always been the main source of employment for the villagers but suddenly the miners lost their jobs and the young coming out of school did not have the ready employment that had always been available. Many left Carsden for nearby towns in search of work, but found them lonely places without the community and friends they had been surrounded by most of their lives. Others chose to stay at home knowing they lacked the education or skills for any new emerging jobs. They applied for the dole, bitter about the way life has treated them. Mary’s brother Tom decides to immigrate to Canada to try to make a life for himself. Two months later Mary tells her mother she is pregnant.

When Mary is fifteen she has a baby boy she calls Sandy but never reveals the identity of the father even to her parents. Her father, without work since the mine closed, sits in his chair most of the day and begins drinking heavily. He is often seen out at night drinking and wandering the streets with his friend George Patterson who owns the sweets store, shouting and hurling invectives at the treachery of the National Coal Board. On one of those nights, he is hit by a car and killed. The rumour among the villagers is that he was so ashamed by his daughter's illegitimate pregnancy he committed suicide by jumping in front of a car.

Once more the townspeople begin connecting Mary with bad luck and the belief she may be a witch. Matty’s father believes the events have nothing to do with bad luck and fuels rumours that Mary holds some mysterious power over people. Sandy grows up among those allegations, becomes known as the son of a witch and is taunted and bullied at school where he has few friends. But as time passes, the boys gradually let him become one of them and he develops some friendships. He takes school seriously, likes English and writing stories for which he gets good marks, studies and tries hard at his exams. The villagers often ask him about the identity of his father. Sandy knows all the rumours , but feels it is a personal and unnecessary question. He doesn’t know, has never asked his mother and never intends to.

After the death of her mother, Marry raises her son on her own. She had always resented being shunned by her neighbours, but the whispers, snide remarks and jokes gradually die down over time.

When Sandy is fifteen he meets a gypsy named Robbie and his sister Rian who have set themselves up in a huge, run down, deserted mansion on the edge of town. At different times it had been a TB hospital, a home for shell shocked veterans and eventually the home of the local pit managers. Its windows are now boarded up and it is in a bad state of repair, but Robbie and Rian have made it their home. Robbie is five years older than Sandy and says he has been looking after his sister since he was six years old and sees himself as her protector. Sandy finds Rian intriguing and falls in love with her, seeing her as an outsider much like himself. She tells him not to trust her brother who harbours a deep simmering anger over having to watch out for her all these years. Sandy doesn’t trust Robbie, feels sorry for Rian and wants to protect her from what he believes is her brother’s predatory behavior. He visits the mansion on a regular basis, always trying to see Rian without Robbie present. They have a strange queasy relationship and Sandy dreams of running off with this strange unusual young girl.

The story is well written, the characters vividly portrayed and sympathetic. Rankin describes the universal torment of adolescence as Sandy grows up with the emotional trauma of being gossiped about and marginalized in a small, religious tight-knit community. He also excels in his description of the decline of the small, one-company towns that flourished and provided a good living for its residents until the time when the resource dried up, the company shut down and there was nothing to replace it.

Those who are familiar with Rankin’s career and his writing may be interested in this novel. Although set in a small rural area rather than the busy urban streets of Edinburgh, the setting of the John Rebus novels, readers may already recognize the themes that continue in Rankin's present work. He has long been interested in folklore and often brings old Scottish tales and myths into his novels. The downtrodden classes of long ago often used witches as convenient scapegoats for bad fortune. They provided a ready excuse to avoid looking at their own failings and an easy target for their anger and bitterness. Rankin also explores the pernicious power of the church in small religious communities as well as important social and political issues, themes he continues to include in his Rebus novels, although he does so in a much more subtle way through his characters.

The novel serves as an example of his early work and while those who have immersed themselves in his later work may not find it anything more than a simple story, what is special is the quality of his writing and his ability to draw believable and sympathetic characters so early in his career while still a graduate student. It is also interesting to note that by the time this book was published, Rankin already had the idea for his next novel, Knots and Crosses, the first in the John Rebus series, the one that was to propel his writing on to the bestselling lists.

[Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flood is a beautifully written tale about depressed people in depressed times. It is about people with little futures in towns that barely sustain those who remain. This is more of a character study than a novel relying on plot and, as such, is a beautiful triumph. The protagonists are three dimensional and quite believable. For me, it is 15 year old Sandy who is the center of the story. His mother is reviled as a witch but he is accepted and this dilemma leads him to his own errors and torment. This is one of those novels in which you can say little about the plot without giving it away. However, it is Rankin's sparse but tense style that is the highlight. The only thing that keeps it from being five stars is an abrupt ending. But the trip there is outstanding.

[Gael Impiazzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is my first Ian Rankin...

I was quite surprised at how clunky the writing is in this novel. I know many people who love Rankin, so I was expecting something pretty good...but this was his first novel, written when he was in his early 20s, and it shows. There are some very odd similes, and odd uses of adjectives (more than you would expect from a PhD student), but maybe that's a Scottish thing. Having said that, the story kept me interested, so it wasn't all bad.
I'll have to read one of his later works, to see how his writing has developed.

[Louise Armstrong · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so bad a book - his first. It's the kind of writing that makes me want to reach for Cold Comfort Farm again. I laughed out loud at his aunt's comment on his style (which fair play to Ranking he quotes in the introduction): 'all soiled knickers and fag-ends'.

The chief charm of this book for me, as a person who also writes books which are not as good as I would like, is the fact that he went on from this to write good books.

[Eugenia O'Neal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read and loved a lot of his other books and I'm a big Rebus fan. This one just wasn't in the same category. The writing and the characters didn't hold my interest. If you want to try a Rankin, I suggest you start with The Falls or Resurrection Men.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an abosolute joy to read, the quickest book I have read this year. Had I realised that it was Rankin of Rebus fame I would never picked it up. This was his first published novel, he had written novels before though.

This novel tracks the decay of a Scottish mining town, based on the town that Rankin grew up in. Combining folk lore and superstition we are shown how ordinary individuals can become labeled as witches, the degrading of women who are seen to display promiscuity and the double standards of the male characters. This really captures small town life and the rotten existance that can bring cruelty upon people with no good reason.

The characters with their raw language and behaviour are the gem in this read, I've known people like these characters which make this rotting community real, reminds me of home. The tracking of the outcasts, how they live their lives and what matters to them, how they interact with general society. The main characters are the mother Mary Miller and her illegitimate child Sandy, the child goes through his teenage years and gains ligitimacy in the town, but never the mother, she is always seen as soiled. There is a great balance of focus, its amazing how Rankin introduces so many characters in such a short book, they all develop depth and bring something to the story.

Some poeple may ask but what is it about? well there is a start a middle and an end, its just not Rebus. There is turmoil which builds up right at the end, and I was counting the pages and could not see how Rankin could possibly complete a satisfying conclusion in a few pages, but he pulled it off. Yes some can say that they guessed the ending and the mystery, but its really not that kind of book, its not a crime novel, its an investigation into society and how small town life can bring a harsh life to a few people without good reason. And for Rankin fans it reflects his own upbringing and the kind of characters that affected his development from child to author.

The mysticism is investigated here, Rankin demonstrates his knowledge of Scottish witch hunts and compares this behaviour to current times, essentially saying that nothing has changed. We have a girl falling into a hot stream of waste from a local mine, her hair leached its colour - leading to locals branding her as a witch. Rankin stands on the side of science rather than mysticism but there is some ambiguity.

One plot point is the father of Sandy, we find out quite conclusively the answer to this, but there is some doubt over the developing relationship between Andy the teacher and Mary, and a niggle is that we dont see where this rather strange relationship goes and how Tom fits into the equation, its almost as if Rankin has gone down one story line and then given up on it, or got the the point where he was wrapping up the ending and couldnt rewind this into a suitable ending. But it doesnt blemish a book brimming with interesting characters, genuine Scottish life and the way that Rankin has taken what some may see as the mundane and brought a great page turning piece of literature.

[Павел Атанасов · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know that in life (just like in the history books) there is no "what if", but "The Flood" makes me ask myself what if Ian Rankin continued writing novels like this one and not like the Rebus stories (don't get me wrong I love them) or at least tried to balance between the two worlds. I am pretty sure I would have loved that.

"The Flood" is a promising novel by a 24 year old writer showing what potential he has and promising a bright future. A novel that talks simply about important matters; matters sounding like trivial everyday stuff that sometimes we do not even notice but stuff that turns out life shaping when you think about it. The general style reminds me of Graham Swift and that is nice for me.

[Gill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is early Rankin so not a classic. After a promising start it took an age for anything much to happen, and the "mystery/secret" of Mary Miller and her son Sandy was pretty obvious from early on.

[Rob Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad and depressing … but an exceedingly well written and intriguing story.

[Amanda Carver · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story on itself was good, the ending didn't really end, I'm confused its as if dome one has ripped the last few pages out of my book. Does Mary live? Does Sandy find out who his father is, Does he resolve things with Rhian, Does the vicar speak to Mary, why did Andy end things with Mary? What a shame, one more chapter and things could be better....

[Darragh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early pre-Rebus Rankin and it's definitely better than the first couple of novels from that series. And I'm a real expert cos' I've read all 25+ Rebus novels. Thanks Covid!

[Janie Gibson]

I found it interesting and well written. Set in Scotland it depicted a believable situation of a small dying town and its underlying tensions, especially towards those who were vulnerable.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flawless. Can't remember the last time I read something this immersive

[Carolyn Gerk · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Flood is an odd little portrait of a town and a time and a handful of characters. The description on the book's back cover gives a more compelling suggestion of story than what really exists here. As a whole, this novel is without shock and awe and mystery, but it holds an allure in it's smooth, fluid writing and its honesty.

The Flood follows Mary, a young girl who suffers an unusual near drowning accident, and is proclaimed, rather indirectly, a witch. We are introduced to Mary's family and Mary's town, a struggling community surviving on the economy provided by the coal industry, which rests on the verge of collapse. We go along with Mary through an unplanned and uncomfortable pregnancy into a future as she raises her teenage son in a community that still views her as an outcast and a pariah. Sandy feels an outcast himself and surrounds himself with a duo of unwanted gypsies.

As I've mentioned, it's an odd little story, but the writing draws you in, so long as you're prepared for a detailed portrait rather than a swiftly moving story. There's no question of Rankin's talent as a writer, and this first novel reflects that, though certainly comes off as a bit of a stumbling first attempt. I enjoyed the detail and the subtlety with which Rankin paints a picture, and I found some of his characters to be compelling. There is something to be noted of Rankin's clear theme of things left unsaid. This entire novel flows in the vein of what we don't say and how it affects those around us.

There unfortunately remains a sense of the author's greenness and perhaps unprofessionalism at the time of this novel, it feels underdeveloped at times, and overwrought at other. The pacing at the story's end feels jolted and off tempo, while other sections are sluggish and drawling. I suppose I must remind myself that this is a first novel, and it does hold it's merit, though I don't expect myself to pick it up again.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me immensely happy. I can't say why, because it was quite dark but it just did. It struck a chord and it made me happy, maybe it was because of the sheer familiarity of the area it was set in, Carsden being blatantly based Cardenden which is where my dad [and Rankin:] grew up, and myself having lived in Glenrothes for 2 years.

I think it was silly things, like in the first section there was mentions of 'buses to Kirkaldy and Glenrothes ran on the hour' or something, and this was set in 1968-ish and when I lived in Fife, the buses ran the same from the aforementioned places, Cardenden hadn't CHANGED any in 40 years. Which I found hilarious.

Onto the plot of the book - I found it engaging. It was, undeniably, a page turner and a book I simply couldn't put down for the love nor money of it. I've always been one of these people who love folklore and myths and legends etc. so this book was most certainly a pleasure to read.

The characters felt so real to me at times. Sandy was just amazing and so good at heart, that it was hard not to love him. Mary was just intriguing. And their struggle to keep up their pride and not let themselves get swamped down by rumours was almost inspiring - almost.

The only thing I felt was missing, the reason I didn't give this 5 stars, was an ending. I felt it just stopped. There were still ending needing tied and things I wanted to know. Yet, I still loved it. Undoubtedly. And it's a book I'd readily read again...

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't fault any part of the writing in this book. The characters are haunting, the writing beautiful, but it's a rather strange story. Strange how? I'm not sure I can explain it. The only reason I didn't give a full five stars is because the ending was kind of disappointing for me. I like a full resolution in a novel-length story. Shorts or flash fiction, I don't mind a bit of ambiguity, but I like more of a payoff for reading more than 100 pages. This felt...not quite over. Perhaps that was his intention. As a reader, it fell flat for me.

However, I'm eager to read another book by Rankin. As I said, the writing is beautiful. I fell into the style and voice almost immediately. It was like wrapping up in a favorite old blanket or sinking your feet into a perfectly worn-in pair of shoes. I haven't felt that immediate comfort with an author's writing in a long time.

Do I recommend this book? Yes and no. I'm betting if you start with a later novel, you'll be blown away. This is one of his first published works if what I've read is correct.

Anyway, I have another waiting for me right now, so I'll just dive in again.

[Renee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was absolutely lost on me, it told many stories but rarely explained a thing, I continually found myself searching for the mystery that surrounded Mary and Sandy’s life or more so Mary’s past, surely there must be something more than the fact that Sandy is a bastard child right – wrong. I’d considered closing this book many times but persisted knowing that this was not only my first Rankin novel but also Rankins first novel but when I got to the end I wondered if the book I had was missing pages because it ended so abruptly. I felt there was so much more that could be offered from this novel and I am still at a loss to know why the front cover of my version states that it’s a number one best seller?

I'm not certain I will be in any great hurry to read any of his other works, not just yet anyway.

[Regina Andreassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find difficult to think of this book without feeling heartache. The subject is not atypical. The story is crude, gripping, and touching. The issues that the story deals with are out there, they are discussed in newspapers, magazines,internet and all type of media.Such issues are controversial,sad, painful but are real and we all know it. It is the way in which Rankin unfolds the story what catches the reader's attention. The writing, nonetheless, is simple. As someone mentioned, it is diffuse and at times we don't really know what is Rankin's purpose.Is there a meaning behind or just another sad story told differently?

The Flood is not a thriller, itt is a drama...a drama filled with mystery and misery. A worthy reading, although not an oustanding one.

[Jan C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Being a big fan of the Inspector Rebus stories, I have to say I think it was a mistake (as I generaaly do) to re-issue his first novel, especially after getting everyone hooked on Inspector Rebus.

Even knowing that this was not a Rebus story I still felt as though the writing would pick up. Unfortunately, I can't wait that long. OK, I really didn't give this one that much of a chance - I only read to page 28. But they were 28 of the longest pages I have ever read.

And maybe it just takes a couple of years before he starts doing Rebus and his writing has improved.

I'm certainly willing to look forward to other stories of his now this it looks like he has finished the Rebus series.

[Colin Rodgers · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had read "The Flood" years ago, instead of after reading all the Rebus books published so far, I might have enjoyed it more. Having said that, it is a very easy book to read, and I was never tempted to discard it; I wanted to know the answers. When I was reading the first few chapters, I was reminded of "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides, which is one of my all-time favourite books.
The book is interesting in a historical context, as the first novel from a firmly established writer who ranks at the top of his field

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first encounter with Ian Rankin. My brother in law has read many of his books and passed them on to me. So this was one of Ian Rankins first entries into the writing game and isn't one of his murder mysteries..... just as I was getting into the story, it ended. Full stop. So now I have since entered into his Detective Rebus novels. I'll let you know what I think of them when I have finished.