Doors Open, Ian Rankin’s first stand-alone novel after putting John Rebus out to pasture in Exit Music, concerns a group of amateur art thieves who fall out with one another in the aftermath of a successful heist. In his late 30s, Mike McKenzie made a fortune from the sale of his software company but is finding the quiet life of leisure and luxury somewhat of a bore. This explains why he’s tempted when his friend, art professor Robert Gissing, describes a plan to “liberate” paintings from a storage facility where the Scottish National Gallery stashes surplus holdings. Gissing, who’s been obsessed with the idea for some time, has it all worked out. The upcoming Doors Open event—a showcase for the city of Edinburgh in which buildings normally closed to the public throw open their doors to all and sundry—includes the warehouse in question. Mike enlists his banker friend Allan, but the group needs talent of a less polite nature to pull off such a brazen theft. Enter gangster Chib Calloway, an old school acquaintance of Mike’s, brought on board to provide muscle and fire-power. Gissing enlists “Westie,” a student from the art college, to produce the forgeries that will replace the paintings they’re going to steal. On the day, everything apparently goes without a hitch. A diversionary tactic meant to fool police seems to have worked. Are they really in the clear? But it’s not long before cracks start forming. Mike had not accounted for the fact that Calloway, being a criminal and all, would be under police surveillance, and in the days after the theft, the dogged DI Ransome senses a connection between Calloway, his new art-loving friends, and the heist. Toss in a few complications—Calloway is up to his ears in debt to some very shady Scandinavians, Westie’s mouthy girlfriend Alice feels that her talented boyfriend’s been shortchanged—and things quickly start to unravel. Rankin serves up a complex, multi-layered and mightily entertaining plot. Mike McKenzie is an appealing anti-hero with plenty of smarts, a young man who acts rashly and gets what he deserves. But it turns out that, as the victim of a double cross he never saw coming, he’s not as smart as he thought he was. Undeniably fun, the novel lacks the moral heft of the author’s typical work. Still, Doors Open is a top-notch heist thriller by a seasoned writer who knows how to keep his reader guessing. ( )

Tres hombres sueñan con un atraco perfecto. Un magnate informático tan rico como aburrido, un irascible profesor de arte y un banquero palpablemente nervioso porque siente que la vida se le va de las manos. Mike, Allan y Robert, un trío de amantes de la pintura que encontrarán la ocasión perfecta para llevar a cabo el sueño de sus vidas: robar en la National Gallery of Scotland. Pero no sólo quieren hacerse con algunas de sus obras favoritas, sino que, además, pretenden que el mundo hable de su hazaña: darán el cambiazo con falsificaciones, copias que sólo tendrán un defecto, un elemento discordante, un emblema contemporáneo. Para su tarea, que pretenden ejecutar con guante blanco, se aliarán con un universitario provocador y un gánster de Edimburgo. No será tan fácil: las aguas turbulentas, la oscuridad de los bajos fondos, se interpondrán en su camino. Quizás las puertas ya no estén tan abiertas.

Abbandonate (momentaneamente?) le avventure di John Rebus, l'autore si cimenta in un thriller tutto azione.
Si legge volentieri (nonostante una traduzione a tratti un po'zoppicante) e si conclude con un finale convincente.
Potrebbe diventare la sceneggiatura di un film, chissà... ( )

mit Widmung des Autors!

What can I say? I love Rankin. Even tried Irn-Bru when we were in Scotland as an homage to Rebus. (Warning! Do not do this. It tastes AWFUL. No matter how much you love Rebus.) This book was a total waste. Such a disappointment. ( )