Ian Rankin

In Edinburgh, Detective Rebus must put together conflicting clues to find a psychopathic killer and finds his own life threatened

An Inspector Rebus Novel

Knots and Crosses

brie

3.5 stars! i love how easily this flowed. our first introduction to Inspector Rebus had me wanting to know more and more about him and his relationship with his ex-wife and his daughter after he got out of the SAS. the mystery is centered on a murderer who randomly kidnaps teenage girls in Edinburgh and kills them then sends clues to Rebus, who has no idea that there’s a connection between the clues and the kidnappings. i loved how the author executed the clues by imbuing the atmosphere in the setting with ultimate creepiness, especially during the murderer’s pov where we see them readying the clues to mail to Rebus and where we get a surface level insight into the murderer’s thoughts and motivation. 

the description of rebus’s trauma from his time in the SAS was really well done and felt very real and gritty. when i began this, i had already imagined how the story was going to be like and in which direction it was going to go so i’m pleasantly surprised it diverged from what i had in mind. 

i have a feeling the second book in the series is going to be even better than the first so i’ll definitely be picking that up!

Amanda Wells

Ok well! I've finally read Ian Rankin's Rebus. I liked the pacing, and the plot was interesting, but it could be rewritten now to be a lot tighter. We the reader knew well in advance of Rebus where the killer was, and it took an alarmingly long time for the connection to be made - and although it made sense in the end, Rebus' lack of self-awareness wasn't particularly endearing.

I'm told though that the Rebus books get better as they go, and so I'll persist, if only because I'm currently a sucker for crime novels, and there are just so many in this series that I can't resist!

Inspector John Rebus: His city is being terrorized by a baffling series of murders...and he's tied to a maniac by an invisible knot of blood. Once John Rebus served in Britain's elite SAS. Now he's an Edinburgh cop who hides from his memories, misses promotions and ignores a series of crank letters. But as the ghoulish killings mount and the tabloid headlines scream, Inspector Rebus cannot stop the feverish shrieks from within his own mind. Because he isn't just one cop trying to catch a killer, he's the man who's got all the pieces to the puzzle.... Knots and Crosses introduces gifted mystery novelist Ian Rankin, a fascinating locale and the most compellingly complex detective hero at work today.

Jan Jackson

Ben S

Leon Beckert

'And in Edinburgh of all places. I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you...?' 'That sort of thing' is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of many policemen hunting the killer. And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve.

Knots & Crosses

Mitesh Jobanputra

Adam Valentino

Sanjay Krishna 

Kayla Walters

Nimish

Danny Engström

Fanni Feher

Marjan Westbroek

Kathy Rodger 

Amanda Gilson

Jane McCullough

nicleo

Georgia Carr

Samantha Armstrong

Amy Bremner 

While investigating a series of gory killings of young, innocent girls, Edinburgh police detective John Rebus, a former member of Britain's elite SAS, discovers his own ties to the killer and is brought up against his own memories, which hold the key to unraveling the case. Reprint. 30,000 first printing.

Lisa Miller

Celia Adams

Lisa Haigh

Scott Herrington

Knots and Crosses An Inspector Rebus Novel

Reviews