Ian Rankin's "Inspector Rebus" novels

This morning I found a three-for-£10 offer in a bookshop so picked up the first three Rebus novels by Ian Rankin:

1. Knots & Crosses
2. Hide & Seek
3. Tooth & Nail (previously published as Wolfman)

So I wondered if there were any other Rebus fans on AW? I've read the first two or three books but that was a few years ago and to refresh my memory I've decided to start again right from the very beginning and read them all in sequence. There must be about twenty by now.

I love the fact they're set in a city I know and love - Edinburgh - with easily recognisable landmarks, pubs, clubs, tourist attractions and so on. I even get a thrill when Rankin mentions a street name and think, "Ooh! I've been there!"

I also love watching the TV series and think Ken Stott LilLove makes a superior Rebus to John Hannah's, but as Ian Rankin has said, Rebus ages in real time, so even though readers have it in their head that he's in his 50s, when the books started out he was in his 30s - and so a younger actor would be needed for the first few stories.

Ken Stott's an older man and a bit beaten up and battered but I've got a thing for him and I don't know why!

Start at the beginning; I always recommend that with series. No plot spoilers that way. The earlier books are shorter so they'll be a quick read.

I notice on the UK print runs at least, they've started putting An Inspector Rebus Novel: 1 and so on, on the back. Very handy. Normally I avoid series because of the confusion of finding and reading all the books in the correct order, but...this is Ian Rankin, so he's worth it.

dolores haze said:

I loved them. Read about six or seven before the crush burned out. Series are very hard to keep going. I love the Edinburgh settings. Perfect city for murder, mayhem, and mystery. I've seen a Det. Rebus TV series with a younger actor. Didn't like it nearly as much as the books. The actor was a little too clean and fresh for Rebus IMO. Would like to catch the older fella in the role. Rankin's first published book, "The Flood", is next on my reading list. I've just got to knock off another thousand words before I get my reward.

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Have you heard the saying about Edinburgh - that it's "all fur coat and nae knickers"?

dolores haze said:

Nope - haven't heard that one. I've heard it's the junkie capital of Europe, and that Glasgow is the heart attack capital of the world, though. True?

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It's the AIDs capital of Britain, but Dundee (yay!) is the teen pregnancy capital of Britain and as for heart disease, Scotland as a whole whups the rest of Europe's arse.

I know Aberdeen has a major drugs problem. The public toilets there have blue lighting. I have an amusing story about this...

I was sitting in a cafe with my aunt, took a toilet break, came back and complained that I couldn't fix my makeup as the lights were blue so I couldn't tell if I was being too heavy-handed with the concealer and blusher. So she explained it's to stop junkies finding a vein.

Naturally, I had to go back and check that this was the case, so I rolled up my sleeve...and in walks the cleaner.

"I'm not a junkie - I'm just seeing if it's possible to find a ve-"

Oh, why didn't I just STFU?