''Doors Open'' is a 2008 novel by crime writer

Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a schoo ...

. It was his first stand-alone thriller in over 10 years. The story was originally published as a serial novel in ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

''.

Plot outline

Mike Mackenzie is a software entrepreneur who has sold his company for a substantial amount of money, but is now bored and looking for a new thrill. His new-found wealth has funded a genuine interest in art so when his friend Professor Robert Gissing presents him with a plan for the perfect crime, he willingly helps set that plan in motion. With a vast collection but limited wall space, the National Gallery (on the TV adaptation, a Scottish bank) has many more valuable works of art in storage than it could ever display. The plan is to stage a heist at the Granton storage depot on "Doors Open Day" during which a selected group of paintings will be "stolen". The gang will then give the appearance of having panicked and fled without the works of art, but will have switched the real paintings with high quality forgeries good enough to convince anyone investigating the matter that no theft has been committed. As they begin to flesh out the plan, it becomes clear that they need some "professional assistance" and a chance encounter with Chib Calloway, a local gangster who Mike went to school with, fulfils that need.

TV adaptation

A television film of the book has been produced, starring

Douglas Henshall Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall (born 19 November 1965) is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series '' Primeval'' (2007–2011) and Detective Inspect ...

as Mike Mackenzie, Ken Collard as Allan Cruickshank and

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

as Robert Gissing. Filming started in Edinburgh in April 2012, and the programme was aired on Boxing Day on ITV.

Related works

Rankin's 2002 collection of short stories, Beggars Banquet, includes a story "Herbert in Motion" (originally published 1996, 1997) whose plot is also concerned with the theft of undisplayed works of art from the storage facilities of a major gallery (the Tate Gallery) by a curator, and their replacement with high quality forgeries to mask the crime.

References

2008 British novels British novels adapted into films British novels adapted into television shows Novels by Ian Rankin Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in The New York Times Magazine Novels set in Edinburgh Orion Books books {{2000s-thriller-novel-stub