I will admit to wanting to read this book in part because I heard the author on NPR about a year ago and he is Scottish and I have a big weakness for Scottish accents. But! In my defense, I was actually intrigued by what he said (and not just how he said it!). Having finally read the book, I have to say, it was a great read. I realized about a third of the way through that it has been a long time since I've read both an apt and original metaphor and this was chock full of them. Being his first n...

Wonderful to go back and discover the beginnings of John Rebus. I was incredibly impressed with Ian Rankin's writings, particularly given that he was only 25 years old when he wrote Knots and Crosses. The plotting is a little clumsy and Rankin has become much more sophisticated in this area. Here, he was learning. He became a master.

'Knots and Crosses' is an entertaining psychological/police procedural. It also is book one, first published in 1987, in the long-running Inspector Rebus series. I highly recommend it.Detective Sergeant John Rebus works in Edinburgh, Scotland with a love/hate obsession for his job with the police. Rebus wants to quit drinking and smoking, too, but so far he has failed in those goals. He certainly is a man of faults, and some might think him becoming burned out. But one thing he still possesses -...

I first sampled the Rebus series at book 12 (The Falls) and have subsequently read books 8 to 19 (Rankin’s latest) in random order. This hasn’t been a problem, there is a background thread that runs through the series – an army career, a failed marriage and a daughter – but it’s really just background noise to whatever is happening in the current book. This time I decided to go back to the start, to book 1. The first thing that struck me was how different the style is. The later stories resound

Many detective stories start out with a bang. Something dramatic happens. "Knots and Crosses," Rankin's first Rebus novel, and maybe his first novel altogether, is not that way. After 50+ pages, still not much had happened.Most detective novels alternate scenes of tension and scenes of relief. Not this one. When the tension finally starts to build, it continues on an unrelenting screaming frightening path to the end of the story.I guess you can tell I enjoyed the read. That's all I'm going to sa...

Knots and Crosses (Inspector Rebus, #1) by Ian Rankin.This was my first taste of Inspector Rebus, but it most definitely won't be my last!Rebus is not an unusual character. He has his strong points which I found to be in enduring until the case is solved. At the same time he's a vulnerable person with weak points. Weak points caused by something in the past he's trying desperately to forget or at least cram into a closet and lock it shut forever. The first little girl goes missing and later is f...

Love the troubled Inspector Rebus... Great series. Read this in 2011, wow!

I first read this book many years ago, along with many others in the series, then lost touch with them, so I decided to revisit it from the start. In this novel we are introduced to the then DS Rebus, a flawed, very human character, who readers can instantly relate to, which is probably the main reason for the popularity of this series. Though not as polished as the later books in the series, it is still immensely readable, and gives us a great background to Rebus, and an insight into his person...

Girls are being kidnapped and murdered around Edinburgh and John Rebus is on the case. But what, if anything, do the disappearances have to do with bizarre letters Rebus has been getting in the post?The mother-in-law of the owner of my favorite used bookstore has been on my ass for years to give the Inspector Rebus books a shot. When this one turned up during one of my semi-weekly visits, I decided it was time.This slim volume packs quite a punch. As the first book in a mystery series, it has a

"These tourists spent so much time photographing things that they never actually saw anything, unlike the young people milling around, who were too busy enjoying life to be bothered capturing false impressions of it." At the moment my TV viewing is mainly made up of watching detective thrillers. Sherlock, True Detective, Midsomer Murders, Father Brown, etc... When I really enjoy watching a series I sometimes decide to check out the books to see how close they are to what I've viewed and because

Inspector Rebus mystery No. 1: I'd been toying with Rankin's other crime fiction work, but then it was time to read the real thing. The first Rebus novel. A captivating and at times consuming tale; there's a serial killer of young girls; and Rebus' brother appears to be involved in drugs, and Rebus himself without a clue about either matter. Claustrophobic at times, stuck in the greasy, dark and cold world of Rebus, but has there ever been a more realistic portrayal of a detective getting on, do...

Detective Sergeant John Rebus joined the Edinburgh police force 15 years ago, after leaving the special forces unit of the British Army (SAS). Rebus is a solid cop, respected (if not quite liked) by his superiors. As the story unfolds we learn that Rebus's brutal SAS training left him profoundly troubled, so that he drinks too much, has a failed marriage behind him, and has a somewhat distant relationship with his young teenage daughter Samantha. When a serial killer starts murdering young girls...

I had low expectations going into this. Being a big fan of Scottish lit, I've always kept Rankin at arms length, thinking that he'd be too pulpy and pop culturey to be worth reading. I'm comfortable enough to own my snobbery. Lately, though, I've felt Rankin's pull, especially since Henning Mankell's Wallander books reignited my interest in crime fiction. I have a thing for those damaged, brooding, middle aged, drink-too-much detectives, whose world view is so beaten and jaded by what they've se...

I was a little disappointed by this book. Ian Rankin's Rebus novels have been widely praised as literary detective fiction. In the introduction to my edition he acknowledges some surprise at this and I agree with him. This was an uncomplicated, character-driven noir with a protagonist that I couldn't care less about.Perhaps the author's writing improves with later books but here I felt like I was being kept very much at arms length from the narrative. When the plot's so simple (in one of the ear...

The first problem with this book is the unlikable main character. Rebus is supposed to be suffering from PTSD because of trauma he experienced during his Special Services training. That's right. He was so damaged during TRAINING that he never actually served in Special Services, but he gets all kinds of respect from his fellow cops because of his Special Services background - which is pretty weird since the symptoms of his PTSD makes him a pretty lousy cop. And, oh yeah, another symptom is that

Set in Edinburgh Scotland less a police procedural more a therapy session. Written in 1987, typewriters and post-its. No internet or cell phones.Book #1 Inspector Rebus, #23 came out this year.We are introduced to John Rebus a detective with a whole lotta baggage. This was more about Rebus's PTSD and his personal life.The dialogue was awkward at times just like John Rebus is with women. 'He would awake crying some nights, and sometimes would weep as he made love.' -JohnLike i said awkward.A good...

Knots and Crosses: John Rebus and the Book of Job “Job, actually. I read it once a long time ago. It seems more frightening now though. The man who begins to doubt, who shouts out against his God, looking for a response, and who gets one. ‘God gave the world to the wicked,’ he says at one point, and ‘Why should I bother?’ at another.” “It sounds interesting. But he goes on bothering?”“Yes, that’s the incredible thing.”Conversation between Detective Sergeant John Rebus and Detective Inspector G...

"Knots and Crosses" was first published in 1987 and is a crime novel. It is the first of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was written while Rankin was a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh.This edition of the book was given out as part of a subscription, one of a series of 'Banned Books' produced exclusively for the Independent newspaper and is book 20 in the series done to try and promote reading.

This is my first time reading a book by Ian Rankin. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it definitely delivered. It’s not so much a police procedural as it is a character study.John Rebus is a Detective Sergeant in Edinburgh. He is a complex character, and the book provides an in-depth portrayal of him. We see how he fits into his environment at home and at work, how he relates to family, friends, and co-workers, and how his past haunts him. There is a period of time that Rebus keeps stored in a b...