Knots and Crosses (Inspector Rebus, #1) (Inspector Rebus Mysteries) (A Rebus Novel)

by Ian Rankin

A crime story set in Edinburgh where a murderer is on the loose. The victims are young girls and Detective John Rebus is also being plagued by anonymous letters accompanied by pieces of knotted string and little matchstick crosses. To cap it all his wife has deserted him. Ian Rankin's first novel is entitled "The Flood".

• ISBN10: 0370310578
• ISBN13: 9780370310572
• Publish Date: 19 March 1987
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 10 August 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• Imprint: The Bodley Head Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 169
• Language: English

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

I have been reading a lot non-fiction lately; my plan was to devote the entire November to non-fiction. However I got a little run down and found myself in need of some mindless fiction. I picked up Knots and Crosses, the first book in the Inspector Rebus by Ian Rankin. While writing my review of Dexter is Dead, I felt the need to find a new crime series to read through, but I have particular taste; I want something with an interesting protagonist and an overarching story arc. I have heard some good things about the Inspector Rebus series, so I thought I would check it out.

Knots and Crosses starts off telling a lot of the backstory of John Rebus, former member of Britain’s elite S.A.S. suffering from PTSD. Using his connections he got out of the army and joined the police force. However Edinburgh is being terrorised by a serial killer who is taking teenage girls and someone is sending Rebus mysterious notes.

There is something very different about Knots and Crosses to the normal bestselling crime novels, it deals with developing the main character and the mystery seems to be back story. I enjoyed the way Ian Rankin did this but I am unsure about the series; I might have to attempt another book first. I found the mystery completely obvious but that did not bother me much, I was more interested in the characters more than the plot.

I am not sure if there is an overarching story arc in this series but there were a few threads left, so hopefully this means book two will continue on. Unfortunately the crime is not dark and gritty, like I normally enjoy but the character development made up for that. I am not sure how this will fit in throughout the series but I am curious enough to find out. If you know of a crime series that you think I might like, please let me know.

This review originally appeared on my blog; http://www.knowledgelost.org/book-reviews/genre/mystery/knots-and-crosses-by-ian-rankin/