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Ein kaltes Herz

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Wenn die besten Absichten in eine tödliche Falle führen ...

Was tun, wenn der beste Freund mit einer Schussverletzung auftaucht und um Hilfe bittet? Für Gravy ist die Sache klar: Man tut alles, was man kann. Also wird er die Pistole verstecken, die Benyi ihm mit letzter Kraft überreicht hat. Und er wird versuchen, das Geld, das er in Benyis Wagen findet, seinem rechtmäßigen Besitzer zu übergeben. Ob es für die Frau bestimmt war, deren Name auf dem Zettel im Handschuhfach notiert ist? Gravy sieht nur eine Möglichkeit, dies herauszubekommen, und gerät dabei in tödliche Gefahr ...

125 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

92 people are currently reading
791 people want to read

About the author

Ian Rankin

424 books6,537 followers
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

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5 stars
258 (18%)
4 stars
422 (30%)
3 stars
515 (37%)
2 stars
142 (10%)
1 star
47 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
Profile Image for Berengaria.
961 reviews189 followers
April 20, 2024
3 stars

short review for busy readers: An addition to the Quick Reads series for adults with reading difficulties. Good, typical Rankin characters, plot and Scottish setting. Does its job fairly well.

in detail:
“Quick Reads” was a British series of short novels, or novellas, meant for people who have difficulties reading or who don’t like to read. Similar in idea to the groundbreaking Swedish ‘Lätt Läsa’ series, but with modern stories instead of classics.

For this reason, the novellas are kept relatively straightforward in plot and are quite fast paced. Same with this one.

Rankin serves up a decent story, but being that he’s more used to the novel and not novella length, the plot is somewhat too complex for the page count.

In addition, the familial connections between the characters is confusing and many of the ‘bad guys’ are referred to with different variations of their name - sometimes their last name, sometimes their first, sometimes their nickname and sometimes their full name – which make them very hard to keep straight.

If anything, I’d think this would encourage someone with reading difficulties to stop reading than gain an interest in it!

Otherwise, a fairly decent short Rankin with all the typical Rankin flourishes: Scottish gangsters, police, people who don't want to be found and a nice bag full of cash that doesn't belong to them.
Profile Image for Gary.
3,032 reviews426 followers
October 24, 2016
A stand alone novel by Ian Rankin that is in the quick reads series.
I found this book a very good quick read and enjoyed it so much I read it in one sitting. The pace of the story is fast as you would expect and full of strong characters, which is surprising given the length of the book.
The lead character in this novel goes by the name “Gravy”, a likeable man who has mental health issues. 'Gravy' works in a graveyard and lives a very simple life, that is until his friend Benjy turns up with bullet wounds and a bag of money and asks 'Gravy' to hide it for him.

After recently reading a disappointing Ian Rankin novel it was good to enjoy this one. The story is fairly simple but that is usually the case with quick reads.


Profile Image for David Highton.
3,749 reviews32 followers
November 27, 2017
a novella set in Glasgow, as Gravy, a simple trusting soul gets caught up in some heavy gangster robbery
Profile Image for Maddie.
672 reviews256 followers
June 26, 2025
Ian Rankin delivers a great story with interesting characters in his usual Scottish setting. For a novella length he managed to pack in quite a lot in here and for anyone who enjoys his writing it's definitely worth a read.
And Gravy? Well, I like Gravy. He's just so likeable and I'll have no bad words said about him.
Profile Image for Rue Baldry.
629 reviews9 followers
June 17, 2025
This is definitely the worst Ian Rankin book that I've ever read. Which still makes it perfectly readable and quite enjoyable.

The plot never really gets going, but the characters are well drawn in nice little sketches (if a little cliche) the man with Special Needs, the young female detective, the gangster etc. There were no real surprises, either, but some funny lines and some apt descriptions.

My one big gripe is that the chapter titles sound like something out of 'learn to read' books: eg 'Jane is in Edinburgh' and 'Bob Sanders has news for Jane'. There's no excuse for that but the rest of the failings can be put down to its being so short.
Profile Image for Gerhard.
75 reviews27 followers
October 10, 2019
I’ve never been tempted to jump aboard the crime fiction bandwagon. It is not a genre that has any appeal for me – excepting, of course, the more old-fashioned stalwarts like Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Wallace among others. I can handle most of the American hard-boiled classics by the likes of Dashiell Hammett, Ross Mcdonald and Mickey Spillane as well. I have spent many happy hours in the company of famous private dicks like Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Lew Archer and Mike Hammer. Even the odd police procedural, like Ed McBain’s series featuring the guys from the 87th precinct, has been known to get my blood flowing. And Brits like Joan Fleming, Michael Gilbert and Julian Symons have never failed to please me. BUT … the endless wave of current best-selling crime writers and their relentless Scandinavian counterparts leave me more than cold. I’m so tired of walking into a bookshop and being confronted with multiple volumes (with critical raves screaming from every bit of available space on front and back cover) by Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Val McDermid and Jo Nesbø, to mention only a very few major players in the current avalanche of crime writing.

So what business do I have reading Ian Rankin? Well, I chanced across this temptingly slim paperback published in the “Quick Reads” series – “Bite-sized books by bestselling writers … for people who want a short, fast-paced read”, according to the publisher. And I’m really ashamed to say it, but in a moment of weakness I decided to give the King of Scottish crime writers a chance. After all, I’ve never read a word by the man, and my sense of fair play demanded that I at least put my prejudices aside until I’d actually experienced one of his books first-hand.

Now that I’ve finished it, I can testify to the fact that I was mildly entertained by this tale of a robbery gone wrong and the ripple effect it has on some fairly interesting people standing on the side lines. And the character Gravy’s periodic first-person narration was authentic and believable. So my verdict, for what it’s worth, would be something like “Nicely done, but no great shakes”. I was ultimately not convinced to seek out any other novels by Mr. Rankin. And yes, I’m very well aware that this “Quick Read” outing is probably not remotely on a par with the Rebus novels or some of the other stand alones.
Profile Image for Susan Barnes.
Author 1 book68 followers
February 25, 2022
A Cool Head is part of the Quick Reads series and the first book by Ian Rankin that I have read. The story is about a simple soul nicked named, Gravy because he works in the local cemetery. Gravy is a conscientious worker but naive. His kindness is often taken advantage of. He unwittingly helps his friend, Benjy who is a thief. However, when Benjy gets involved in a robbery that goes wrong, there’s little Gravy can do but as usual, he does his best for his friends.

For a short book, there are quite a lot of characters and at times it was a bit hard to keep track of them, though most were underworld crime figures. For a book of this nature, it was a pleasant surprise there was little bad language, in fact, I can’t remember any. This may be because it was Gravy’s story, and he doesn’t like swearing or perhaps Rankin feels he can create context and tension without bad language, which is a great skill.

Overall an entertaining quick read.
Profile Image for Sarah Elizabeth.
5,002 reviews1,411 followers
February 20, 2023
This was okay, but I did get a little confused at points with all the different names and who they were, Don, and George, and Sam, Eddie, Bob, Stewart etc.
I also wasn't that biggest fan of the ending.
It all just seems a bit pointless 🤷🏻‍♀️
Profile Image for Kate.
258 reviews2 followers
December 22, 2023
A fabulous short story. The characters are very well drawn. The main character Gravy is marvellous. It felt like a full novel. Most unexepected.
Profile Image for Guillermo.
482 reviews23 followers
June 30, 2010
Maybe I should read Ian Rankin's short novella, A Cool Head, five times for good luck. One should know that's not entirely impossible either - a book spanning only 107 pages of large print shouldn't take more than an hour, depending on distractions and your speed.

The story starts off with Gravy, a thirty-something OCD guy, working at the graveyard when a BMW drives awkwardly up to him. From out of the car steps out a friend of Gravy's, a man called Benjy. Benjy's got a bag in one hand and a hole in his chest. Unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation, Gravy thinks this is just another visit from his friend. However, when Benjy's fate is finally met, Gravy feels the need to tell someone. Not to mention deliver the money he's found in the car.

Meanwhile, gangster Gorgeous George is having a little predicament of his own. Someone's taken his money. His right hand man, Don, has a little problem of his own. A deal that should've have been flawless has one man killed and another taking his BMW.

On the ride are a few detectives making an attempt to put two and two together and a woman who's running for her life.

How can such a short book deliver such a powerful storyline in only a few short pages? I don't know but I'm convince - this being the first time I've ever read one of his books - that Ian Rankin is a genius. I'm glad I decided to buy a book after he was mentioned in Yes Man.

A Cool Head is one part detective novel and one part humor, creating a read that's worth the time and money - this book only cost me $2.93, as it is a part of Quick Reads series - "bite-sized books by bestselling writers and well-known personalities for people who want a short, fast-paced read," and "are designed to be read and enjoyed by avid readers and by people who never had or who have lost the reading habit." This is a series and a writer I can get behind. Trust me, there will be more books from both purchased by me in the future.
6 reviews1 follower
May 29, 2019
This review is written by people with Aphasia.

This is a story about a robbery gone wrong. It is a murder crime book. The book is set in Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. There are a lot of characters, and many of them are villians.

The characters were given different names throughout the book (For example, George Renshaw was sometimes called Gorgeous George, and sometimes called George or just "Renshaw"). Some characters were barely spoken about - like Sam and Eddie. This was sometimes confusing.

The book was a good length for the Aphasia Group. The chapters were focused on different characters. This was interesting, but confused some people in our group. We had to go over the chapters several times to make sure we understood.

We liked the ending: It was left open. You could think what you wanted.

We would recommend the book to people who have aphasia, if they like crime books.
Profile Image for Anne.
558 reviews6 followers
September 6, 2011
"Quick Reads are bite-sized books [...:] for people who want a short, fast-paced read. They are designed to be read and enjoyed by avid readers and by people who never had or who have lost the reading habit."
Well, forget it...this is not the way to get people back into reading. Even the ending leaves a gap - there is nothing endearing about anything in this book including the characters and plot. It's too bad as Ian Rankin can be a blistering good read.
Profile Image for Erin.
Author 11 books2 followers
August 28, 2015
A quick, entertaining read, just as it was meant to be. Rankin's glimpse into the life of a "simple" young man called Gravy is touching and insightful. This novella also features a young, female detective for a nice change, although she is treated in a very procedural manner--we don't see any complexity in this brief look.
Profile Image for Nathan Hoban .
8 reviews1 follower
July 28, 2021
Nothing memorable happened, no emotions to feel, nothing to ponder after reading. It’s just nothingness, not particularly bad in any fashion.
Profile Image for Joel Duncan.
Author 1 book8 followers
December 2, 2019
I give this 3 and a half stars

It was a quick read and as a slow reader this always grabs at my curiosity. This was the first Ian Rankin book I've read and I have to say I am impressed.

What it did well: the characters were memorable (especially the main character), dialogue was often funny and ran smoothly and the descriptions I thought were well done not heavy but enough to get a good picture.

What could have been better: there was no twist, no shock at all in fact. Though it was still exciting, I don't feel like it had any underlying meaning or ground breaking plot.

Would I recommend?

Yeah! Despite all that was said, It was an entertaining read and can be read in a couple of hours. Also, it gave me a good insight into Ian's writing and I will probably give his longer novels a shot sometime in the near future.
Profile Image for Colleen.
799 reviews23 followers
August 19, 2024
Barely 100 pages of large print. Gravy finds himself with a nice car, bag full of money and Benjy's orders to hide him. The car doesn't belong in the graveyard so Gravy the groundskeeper takes it to the only address he can find in the glove compartment. He's not smart enough to remember Benjy's last name. - Road Trip!!! - Petty criminals. Car detailing. At least 2 bodies. Snitches and bent cops in towns around Edinburgh. You'll need a kinship diagram to keep the characters straight: Gravy (James Gray) friend of Benjy Flowers (works at the casino), Don Empson (Benjy's uncle), Celine Watts (Don's girlfriend), Jim Gardner (Benjy's best friend), Raymond Masters (garage owner), Gorgeous George Renshaw (scrapyard owner), Stewart Renshaw (brother, casino operator), Andrew Hanley (Councillor in charge of Planning), Sam and Eddie work for George Renshaw.
202 reviews1 follower
April 6, 2019
Wenn dieses Buch der Standardqualität eines Ian Rankin entspricht, - was ich nicht hoffe - war es für mich das letztes Werk von ihm, welches ich gelesen habe. Wobei ich ehrlicherweise gestehen muss, dass ich nur bis zur Mitte durchgehalten habe. Wenn ein Buch schon nur 120 Seiten umfasst, müsste in den ersten 60 Seiten für einen Thriller deutlich mehr Spannung aufkommen. Auch die Hauptfiguren haben mich nicht berührt, weshalb ich das Büchlein enttäuscht weglegte - und mit grossen Freuden das neueste Werk von ValMcDermid angefangen habe. Was für ein Unterschied!
Profile Image for Suzi.
Author 20 books10 followers
January 4, 2025
I didn't like this. Something about TV style thrillers that bore me, I don't know why.

Something(s) I liked:
✅the portrayal of Gravy's autism is pretty accurate and rang several bells with me. Although he's odd, he's not the butt of jokes or particularly shunned because of it and I liked that which is why I gave this story 2 stars instead of 1.
✅Its well written, I can see why lots of people like Rankin's stuff.

Something, not so much:
⭕A little boring, considering is a very short story, I was just waiting for it to end.
Profile Image for Jill.
1,182 reviews
November 7, 2020
This book features a young man called Gravy, who works in a graveyard in Glasgow. Gravy has mental health problems but is a very likable, honest character. He unfortunately gets caught up in a double-crossing, gangster robbery, which is way beyond his comprehension. Although this is a very short book, the characters are very well drawn, and the dialogue was humourous in some parts, making it seem even shorter.
Profile Image for Kieran McAndrew.
3,068 reviews20 followers
July 15, 2021
Gravy works in the graveyard, which is how he got his nickname. When his pal Benjy turns up dead in a car containing a gun and a bag full of money, Gravy must figure out what's going on and make sure everything is alright for everybody.

Rankin's "A Cool Head" is clever and his use of the rather innocent Gravy as the protagonist allows readers to look at a gangster story from an entirely new direction.
247 reviews1 follower
Read
August 2, 2021
RA

This story is something of a musical cars with a Celine Dion soundtrack. The character of Gravy is good. I enjoyed the chapters from his perspective, but it was obvious at times the author was using him for exposition above his mental ability. All the usual underworld crime tropes are there - even with such a small canvas - but delivered with great skill by Rankin. Very enjoyable.
Profile Image for Glenys.
457 reviews5 followers
July 15, 2023
Gravy was just doing his job in the graveyard when his friend Benjy turned up, Benjy had been shot and asked Gravy to hide a gun. Gravy went to the car Benjy arrived in and found a bag of money and looking through the glovebox found a woman's address. So he delivered the money to her and ended up with people looking for him and the money, and Benjy. Also the police were looking for Benjy, after reports of a shooting in a garage... What a tangled web.
Profile Image for EuniReads.
10 reviews
July 25, 2024
This is my first time reading a Quick Reads book, and I finished it in one sitting. I tried reading it before but got bored and stopped at chapter 3. When I decided to read it again, I thought "I'm just going to finish it and see." I'm a bit sad because I'm disappointed, though the story is quite good, especially the part when Benjy goes to the graveyard. I felt the excitement there, but the rest of the story felt a bit "mehh" until the end.
Profile Image for Amy Beth.
120 reviews38 followers
April 11, 2021
Quick reads indeed! 107 pages. Large print. Same day turn around. Not the best Rankin story I've read, but not the worst either. It really doesn't seem like I could hear Ian Rankin's "voice" much. Anyway, it's OK. I find these Quick Reads to be unsatisfying for the most part. I bought this one because I enjoy reading Rankin.
Profile Image for Russell George.
382 reviews12 followers
January 5, 2022
In a series called ‘Quick Reads’, but its brevity made it feel rushed, and unsatisfying as a result. None of the characters really come to life, and the plot felt quite sketchy. I remember reading a collection of Rankin’s short stories which were generally more rounded, and perhaps more representative of his work overall.
Profile Image for Plum-crazy.
2,468 reviews42 followers
December 30, 2017
I usually really enjoy these short reads but this was not a particulary inspiring on. I've only ever read one "Rebus" novel - & that was yonks agos - & this book hasn't done anything to encourage me to scour my TBR pile for more Rankin to read.
Profile Image for Shahrun.
1,374 reviews24 followers
April 4, 2018
Fab read! Each chapter has tantalising clues building on what we already know but still keeping us guessing where it’s all going and how it will all end! Clever writing! Random side note: didn’t realise this book was set in Scotland till almost the end. Will definitely look out for more from this author.
Profile Image for Emma Swan.
638 reviews
February 17, 2019
A novella in the quick reads series which is a good short story and read in one sitting. Despite feeling a lack of depth I really enjoyed the fast pace, drop feeding of information and the character Gravy.
Profile Image for Rabia Khan.
153 reviews2 followers
December 22, 2019
3.5 stars.

This was a really great quick read. The characters were developed really well in a short amount of time and the story was juicy and wild to follow. But the ending felt way too rushed and A LOT of things were left unanswered.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews

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