A really good read. This novel delves into Rebus' past life when a friend from the past devastates the present. A killer is loose and the police cannot get a lead on his motive or how he is choosing his victims. This killer wants more than revenge - he wants Rebus and his family to suffer. ( )

Finally…
At long last I have read my first Ian Rankin Rebus novel – and although it wasn’t at all what I expected (whatever that was) it certainly didn’t disappoint. And, as the beginning of a long series, Knots & Crosses, although written over twenty years ago, is quite relevant today and is an absorbing opening to, what many have remarked to me as, a much-anticipated set of books.

With little preamble Detective-Sergeant John Rebus, of the Great London Road police station, Edinburgh, is introduced, along with all his frailties. Separated from his wife and daughter, and thus a mediocre father, who smokes and drinks too much, he lives a solitary, unsatisfactory existence, maintaining a fleeting contact with his only brother; his past, reluctantly surfacing with recurrent lurid visions, is as much an impasse to himself, as to the reader. But when Rebus is assigned to the seemingly random abduction / murders of young girls - a crime consuming all of Edinburgh - his much-vaunted skills neglect to connect a rash of persistent, personal crank letters with the case. And despite a niggling, subconscious belief, that the knot of string, or the cross, with the cryptic note inserted into each envelope is pertinent to the ongoing investigation, it is not until almost too late that Rebus grasps the personal aspect of the murders; only by confronting and uncovering the agonising memories he has deliberately suppressed from his previous life, can he solve this most distressing situation.

From the very first page of this book, there is a tone, and an atmosphere, Ian Rankin extols concerning the life of John Rebus – a study of a character gone almost awry – which consequently reveals the fragility beneath an outer core of hard-won strength, plus the basis, the inner beliefs, of this most intriguing protagonist. And from the very first page I was hooked, did not want to stop reading; though exactly why is hard to pigeonhole - there is an innate skill with Ian Rankin’s writing craft which is at once pleasing, and which effortlessly cajoles the reader into a decided commitment, an unyielding investment in the tale. Conversely, this accent on Rebus: his disposition, his temperament, his underlying nature was unforeseen; pure speculation on my part contends many readers would have initially expected, indeed preferred, a story somewhat more plot-driven in nature.

In point of fact, I am unsure this novel was originally intended as a fit for the crime genre, yet regardless of this unexpected emphasis - on personality rather than action - a solid foundation is now established for the remainder of this series. A well-written, rapid read, this chronicle introduces a fascinating and formidable individual; and notwithstanding a persistent, purposely contrived, overall feeling of slight imbalance, I have a belief that the events exposed in this first instalment will resurface habitually, and not too far in the future; the inner turmoil of John Rebus underpinning forthcoming plot-devices. That alone is enough to furnish, in me, a strong desire to read the next of these books.

(May 3, 2009) ( )

I have read many of the Rebus novels, thanks to the public lending library but, this is the first time that I have been in at the beginning of the great defective detective.
The story is excellent and, ironically, answers questions that I have always harboured whilst reading the rest of the canon.
Rebus is one of the best detectives that I have had the pleasure of devouring - sorry Mr. Rankin, but I put you second to Reg Hill, but head and shoulders above the rest! ( )

Like Edinburgh itself. John Rebus is very much a child of Edinburgh and the mystic highlands. This is the first book in the John Rebus series, and it's a good one. We get a good introduction to John Rebus, and the dark side of his character. I have seen some of these done on television, and I was really looking forward to beginning this series. It did not disappoint. It is easy to see why Rankin won the Gold Dagger and the Edgar prizes with this book. There is a lot of power in his writing, and he builds a good plot too. I am looking forward to reading more of John Rebus, and I will be prepared for more dark and brooding prose. ( )

As the voice of reason and humility on Newsnight Review I've grown fond of Rankin, and believe he's a big fan of Pynchon, so I decided to finally read of his novels. I must say I was disappointed at how badly written it was... Half the novel is taken up with building the character of Rebus, and the at times it seems like the other 1/2 is all cliché. And the ending is solved rather unsatisfactorily. But its his first novel, and the first in a series, so it'd be a bit harsh to expect anything else. I still like him, and I finished it in a single sitting - would more can you ask for from a crime novel? - so it can't be all bad. I'd read another if I came across one. ( )