Bleeding Hearts

Bleeding Hearts is a 1994 crime novel by Ian Rankin, the second of his novels to be published under the pseudonym Jack Harvey.

Plot summary

Michael Weston is a professional assassin who suffers from haemophilia. The wealthy father of a girl he killed by mistake years ago has sworn vengeance, hiring a private detective to track him down.

Background

Rankin has said that he wrote this book under the influence of Martin Amis's novel Money and that Weston was influenced by that novel's protagonist, John Self.

Reception

The novel was not much reviewed on release, but gained more attention when re-released under the name of Ian Rankin in 2006. Publishers Weekly compared it negatively to the Rebus books, whilst praising the "nonstop action, copious violence and arcane details about weaponry and forensics."