Knots and Crosses is the first of the Rebus novels, but it is not the first Rebus book I read (that was The Naming of the Dead last year).  So in some respects, while Rebus was new to Rankin as he wrote the book, to me he was more like a friend I’d met before and wanted to know more about.

John Rebus, at the start of our story, is a Detective Sergeant in the Lothian and Borders Police force, living and working in Edinburgh.  He has a troubled past, although the details initially are fuzzy we learn he was in the Army and the SAS before suffering a nervous breakdown of some sort, and eventually joining the Police.  His ex-wife lives with his young daughter, while his brother carries on their father’s profession of hypnotist.

A serial killer is lose in Edinburgh and Rebus is assigned to the case along with a large number of other officers.  Young girls are being abducted and killed, and it’s a race to the end to stop the killer before they manage to complete their dastardly plan.

To complicate matters, John’s brother is involved in something he shouldn’t be, Rebus himself is getting cryptic messages delivered and a reporter is sniffing about for a corrupt police story that might be the end of Rebus’ career.

Knots and Crosses is pretty short, certainly compared to some of the later Rebus novels, and while worth reading it does have some flaws.  I’m not sure we should expect anything else in the early stages of an authors work and it’s clear the flaws didn’t stop this book being well read and well loved, nor did they stop Rankin’s career taking off.

The pace is sometimes a little clumsy, with gaps where I would have liked more detail and too much detail in sections where we needed some more speed.  The underlying plot is a bit overcomplicated, but that’s an issue of personal taste and I’m sure some people loved the drama it brings.  What really sets this book apart and makes it worth reading is Rebus.  He’s utterly compelling even in the first book.  Not only is he compelling but for the most part he’s impressively real in texture.  His interactions with the other characters are always engaging, and the dialog is entertaining and solid.

It’s easy to get emotionally attached to the characters, and that helps with the rising tension towards the end of the story.  Some characters are a little cliche and probably don’t get the attention they deserve, but overall, the story is engaging, the writing compelling and the conclusion satisfying.

Well worth a read, at the very least because it’ll give you a good grounding in the Rebus character, which you’ll need when you pick up the much better later books in the series.  Better than average despite being a very early novel from Rankin.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

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It’s been a while since I read a good crime book, having lately been absorbed by paranormal romance and fantasy.  It’s the first time I’ve read anything by Kate Brady and having just finished One Scream Away, it will certainly not be the last.  Her writing is very smooth and easy to read, even the little bits of back-history that were inserted didn’t jerk me out of the story.  Some parts of the book were extremely harrowing and if I didn’t already find collectible porcelain dolls creepy, I certainly would now!

The pace built up gradually until it was rushing along and carrying me me breathlessly with it, and I really couldn’t see what the outcome would be.  I thought the plot was extremely clever, several layers going on at once until they were slowly stripped away to a single one by the end.    Empathy with the main characters of Neil and Beth built the same way as the pace of the book.  I didn’t really feel much for them at the start but by the end I loved them and really cared about what happened.  Even minor but key characters I didn’t come to know that well tugged at my heart in certain scenes.

Nailbitingly tense in the extreme.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

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