- This edition read as an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
- #1 in Rebus series
- Originally published 1987
- ASIN : B002UPVVVU
- Publisher : Orion
- Publication date : September 18, 2008
- Print length : 227 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-1409107712
Synopsis (Amazon)
Discover how it all began in the very first Rebus novel from 'Britain's No.1 crime writer' Daily Mirror
'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.
My Take
I'm not sure that I've ever read this novel, the first in the Rebus series, in fact Ian Rankin's first published novel. I have read it to discuss with my U3A Crime Fiction reading group. Ian Rankin is the author we are focussing on next month.
One of the great features of this edition is the foreword by the author in which he gives us some insight into how he came to write crime fiction.
I think this is an amazing effort for a debut novel. It is well polished, although the character of Rebus will develop of the years. Although Rankin says he did not set out to create a crime fiction novel, and didn't envisage a series, Rebus almost feels as if he appeared fully formed.
You can see from the list below that I have read many of the later novels, but now I wish I had read them all in order. Maybe it is not too late to catch up?
My rating: 4.5
I've also read
- THE COMPLAINTS
- DOORS OPEN
- HIDE & SEEK
- 4.4, BEGGARS BANQUET
- 4.4, WITCH HUNT - writing as Jack Harvey
- 4.5, THE FALLS
- 4.7, THE IMPOSSIBLE DEAD
- 4.8, STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN'S GRAVE #18
- 4.7, SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE #19
- 4.5, EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD # 20
- 4.5, RATHER BE THE DEVIL #21
- 5.0, IN A HOUSE OF LIES #22
- 4.8, A SONG FOR DARK TIMES #23
- 4.4, THE DARK REMAINS, William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin
