Why Crime Fiction Is Good For You

In Ian Rankin's piece "Why Crime Fiction Is Good Ior You", he outlines a number of important points to consider when writing or reading crime fiction. Most importantly, he states that the main ingredients of crime fiction are violence, sudden reversals, mystery, deception, and moral dilemma, among others. He also makes clear that crime fiction is not meant to be real life. For example, Ranking claims that crime fiction death "never happens without a reason and the causes of death never goes unpunished," whereas with real life death, "we never know what killed off our happiness". He also says that crime fiction is the perfect tool for the dissection of society, allowing writers to tackle darker issues, such as corruption, exploitation, child abuse, violence, murder, jealousy, and revenge. "It enters into dangerous territory ... and so stirs up emotional responses we might not otherwise feel." Rankin believes that the true spirit of the crime novel, whether or not the reader realizes it, is anarchic, and fits the definition of satire as well.
Relating what Rankin has just said about crime writing to some of his own works, we find that he most definitely adheres to his own principles. In his short story, "The Hanged Man", Rankin includes multiple sudden reversals, as well as mystery, deception, moral dilemma, and violence.
The violence comes in the protagonists description of his past murders, rather than an account of the on he has just been sent to carry out.
The first sudden reversal occurs when Mort gives up control of the conversation with Gypsy Rosa. She then has some power over him. Another come when Mort finds out Gypsy Rosa is his mother. Not only does it reverse his feelings towards her, but it reverses his feelings towards his father/boss. Mort says "I'll kill him," meaning that he'll kill the opposite person than he was supposed to.
Mystery is brought into the story in a number of ways. We never get to know the protagonists real name, as well as the relationship he has with his father and recently-discovered mother. We don't learn much about the father either, apart from the fact that he is someone everybody fears, and that he raped Mort's mother. It is kept from us that Mort is actually Gypsy Rosa's son, right till the end.
Mort's father deceived him by trying to trick him into killing his mother, but the plan backfired. Now Mort is facing a moral dilemma, as to whether or not kill his mother and/or his father. He was tasked to kill his mother, but the "tasker" was his father, while his mother has just revealed to him his true past, and he is reeling in the truth of the moment.