I think the reason I like the Rebus novels so much stems from the fact that they have so much more in common with American noir fiction than they do with the classic British whodunit. Rankins frontman is a hardened (SAS trained), drinking man with sometimes dubious scruples but one who cares passionately about getting the job done - which for him entails tracking down the bad men. Theres a lot of Rankin in Rebus: they drink in the same pub (Edinburghs Oxford Bar), their music tastes seldom stray from progressive rock and their working class upbringing in Fife, just across the water from Edinburgh, has shaped both into the slightly cynical but sharp witted men they are.Rankin writes seriously about modern Scotland and has interesting views on topical (at the time of writing) events. Here he points his pen at Scottish oil but in other books hes covered homelessness and the plight of asylum seekers amongst a raft of topics hes turned his attention to. The city of Edinburgh is also a star of these books; seen by many as a posh and civilised enclave where crime barely registers, Rankin shows us the underbelly of the city. As Glaswegians like to say about their Eastern neighbours its aw fur coats an nae knickers.As the book opens, we see that John Rebus is in purgatory. Hes upset his bosses again and has been posted to Craigmillar station, the toughest in the city. Not that Rebus is likely to be tied down for any length of time its not long before hes wondering off on his own, well away from the public housing hotspots of this impoverished corner of the city. In fact, he travels far and wide as discovery of a tortured body leads to links with the oil industry and, in a secondary plotline, he is on the trail of an imitator of the real-life Glasgow murderer Bible John. And just to throw another problem into the mix, John is being investigated for his part in an arrest and subsequent conviction some years before. Time to get on the road and make yourself scarce, John.This book won Rankin the Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year (1997), awarded by the Crime Writers Association. Its big and quite complex and the scale is vast: lone wolf Rebus finds himself in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Shetland and the oil fields of the North Sea. Unpleasant characters abound. Its clever and wry and sometimes laugh out loud funny. Its all of this and more, but for me the beauty of the book is in the way the story is told more so than the in story itself: Rankin is a supreme wordsmith and a truly gifted literary writer. Add to this the fact that nobody writes dialogue better than he and you just know youre going to have fun when you pick up a Rebus novel. Is he the finest crime writer of his generation? Maybe. Id personally vote for James Lee Burke, but I think Rankin comes a very close second.

So far the best Rebus novel of the 8 I have read. In this novel, Rankin uses a story he heard from a friend and builds up a whole narrative which is amazing. John Rebus is mobile , he takes us all around Scotland in this book. From Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, to the Shetlands and the oil rigs in the Atlantic. There are four crimes in this 500 pages novel. Rankin's most ambitious so far - as I am reading the series one books at time. The four crimes connect the past to the present. A Bible John and his 'son' Johnny Bible.. Who is watching who and who is learning from who ? And why would someone jump in a chair from a third floor building ??? A prank or an assassination. Rebus is joined in this book with his friend from Knots and Crosses Jack Morton. This book is a wonderful example of Tartan Noir.

by Ian Rankin, published in 1997.This is the 8th Inspector Rebus novel from Ian Rankin and its a very good one. Rankin mixes a real life case of murder with his own twist on what may have really taken place.We see Rebus involved in several cases simultaneously in Black and Blue, and you never know just how each will tie in to the other until quite far into it. There is the old case of Bible John (the real killings) that Rebus just happened to be a sergeant on and has a dark secret about the case to keep covered up - but with Johnny Bible, another serial killer loose in the now, Rebuss old case and even Rebus himself are up for review.But as you would suspect Rebus is not taking this sitting down - which is kind of funny because at one point in the book Rebus is sitting down and getting a grilling just like a criminal - a high point of the novel.Something else I really liked about this one was the fact that Bible John had his own investigation going on about, what he calls his upstart in Johnny Bible who imitates his killings of years past. The paths of Rebus and Bible John cross and re-cross with both not sure who the other is - quite fun to read. And the ending was not what I expected - very satisfying and definitely no cop out (sorry for the pun . . .)And the references to music artists and lyrics abound in Black and Blue just as they do in most of Rankins Rubus novels (well the seven previous and this one anyhow). Its a fun puzzle to work through and even this Rebus book title Black and Blue is also an album title by The Rolling Stones which in itself is significant to this book since this album was their first studio album with the departure of guitarist Mick Taylor and the case of Bible John is Rebuss first killer case as a sergeant and his commanding inspector has just recently departed (yes in that sense) as he works on the Johnny Bible case in the here and now - nice tie in.But that is too much information which is what I find Rankin books to provide in spades. I probably miss about half of the implied or cryptic tie ins, but I can always read the series again later in life when Im wiser and smarter . . .We see Gill Templar back again as well and chatting up Rebus - okay she asks him out! Good to see Rebus looking again at a relationship, but he has so much going on in this novel he doesnt have time to tie his shoes. And I had to laugh at the evil Americans in this novel. Is this how Scotland sees America? Maybe I shouldnt laugh.All in all another great novel in the Rebus series (which now ends with Rankins last book titled Exit Music) and is the only one Im waiting for now to come out in paperback. I cant wait to finish the entire series, but it will have to wait a while. I have 9 novels left yet and many more others in-between to read.So, what are you waiting for. If you like mystery novels, dry humour, good story and intriguing characters - you are going to love Inspector Rebus. Read them all - you will not regret the time spent.