Knots and Crosses (Inspector Rebus)
Registered by gypsysmom of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on 9/17/2010
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I had some time to kill this morning between appointments and I was in the downtown area so I went to the Neighbourhood Bookstore and Cafe in the Wolseley area. They made me a wonderful latte and after I finished that (licking the last of the froth out of the bowl with my finger) I perused the bookshelves. At last I spied the mystery section and found this book. I've been trying to read all the back volumes in the John Rebus mysteries since Rankin decided Rebus should retire. This is the very first Rebus mystery so I'm thrilled to get it.
This is the first in the Inspector Rebus series which was published in 1987. Here we are almost 30 years later and Rankin is still producing top notch detective novels and the Rebus canon has hit 20. This first book reveals a lot about John Rebus and explains quite a bit about how his life turned out.
Rebus has been on the force 15 years and is in his forties. His wife has left him and he only sees his daughter, Samantha, once a week. He is smoking and drinking too much. He is estranged from his only blood relative, his brother Michael, who followed their father into a career as a hypnotist. Prior to joining the police force Rebus was in the army. He was a good soldier and he volunteered to join the SAS. He excelled there and should have gone on to big things but something happened and he left. Rebus doesn’t remember, at least not consciously, what happened but he occasionally has flashbacks.
The Edinburgh police are dealing with two kidnappings of young girls and Rebus has been assigned to the task force. Then the bodies of the girls are discovered and it looks as though there is a serial killer. At the same time Rebus is receiving anonymous letters. Some of the letters contain a piece of string with a knot and some contain two matches tied together in a cross.
The press liaison officer for the task force is Gill Templar. Gill and Rebus meet at a party and spend the night together. As the task force heats up there is no time for a repeat but they are certainly both interested.
As a reader of all of the Rebus books since number 13, The Falls, I find it fascinating to learn some of the basics about Rebus. One thing that surprised me was that Rebus is portrayed in this book as someone who believes in God although he has not joined a particular church. I don’t recall that there is any discussion of faith in the later books. I’ll be interested to see how this develops.
Rebus has been on the force 15 years and is in his forties. His wife has left him and he only sees his daughter, Samantha, once a week. He is smoking and drinking too much. He is estranged from his only blood relative, his brother Michael, who followed their father into a career as a hypnotist. Prior to joining the police force Rebus was in the army. He was a good soldier and he volunteered to join the SAS. He excelled there and should have gone on to big things but something happened and he left. Rebus doesn’t remember, at least not consciously, what happened but he occasionally has flashbacks.
The Edinburgh police are dealing with two kidnappings of young girls and Rebus has been assigned to the task force. Then the bodies of the girls are discovered and it looks as though there is a serial killer. At the same time Rebus is receiving anonymous letters. Some of the letters contain a piece of string with a knot and some contain two matches tied together in a cross.
The press liaison officer for the task force is Gill Templar. Gill and Rebus meet at a party and spend the night together. As the task force heats up there is no time for a repeat but they are certainly both interested.
As a reader of all of the Rebus books since number 13, The Falls, I find it fascinating to learn some of the basics about Rebus. One thing that surprised me was that Rebus is portrayed in this book as someone who believes in God although he has not joined a particular church. I don’t recall that there is any discussion of faith in the later books. I’ll be interested to see how this develops.
After experiencing a spring snow storm while travelling through Wyoming on April 15 we were happy that the roads had cleared this morning and we could be on our way. To celebrate I left this book in the waiting area of the Rest Area building. This release is for the 2015 52 Towns in 52 Weeks release challenge - Town #27.
