Reviews for Rebus

The average rating for Rebus based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-07-29 00:00:00 Gregory Rak Strip Jack (Rebus #4): Strip Jack was a very interesting case for John Rebus, "Farmer" Watson, "Fart" Lauderdale and Brian Holmes. While this book involves a very large cast of characters, almost all of them with nicknames, Rankin manages to keep the story straight and IMO very clear for readers to keep straight as well. I really enjoyed the pace of the plot development and that Rankin is clever enough to write in character development for more minor characters as well as the protagonist. This book in particular really gives the reader the feeling that these are real "polis" in a real precinct which is fitting given that the cast moves into a real Edinburgh and a real precinct (St. Leonards) to start book 5. The Black Book (Rebus #5): The Black Book is a very interesting plot, and among the best of the first five books. Once again Rankin gets readers to engage with Rebus by making the crimes personal. With friends and family in danger Rebus must solve the case before there is irreparable damage done. Mortal Causes (Rebus #6): I have never known much about the Protestant vs. Catholic fighting in Northern Ireland. So it was new ground for me to read a crime novel focused on paramilitarism/terrorism in Scotland and Northern Ireland. This book has stoked my interest and will probably result in my reading some histories on the topic, if I can find the time. The story is one of Rankin's best so far in the Rebus series. Rankin has clearly settled in with strong ideas of who John Rebus is, and therefore can write clearer stories. It's also clear to me that Rankin is perfecting the art of being a crime novelists. The twists and turns are less predictable. The solution of the case is no longer a miraculous epiphany but involves real detective work and information that the reader can understand and piece together.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-01-13 00:00:00 Amber Arrington Picked this up from the Wetherspoons. Have to say was actually mildly underwhelmed: just good, competent, readable, engaging genre fiction. & I know apparently there's no such thing as genre fiction, but there is, and it speaks to the way that all psychology is knowingly-nod-and-a-wink cod-psychology, like the 'motivations' or 'drives' of the characters, not moving the plot forward, are a sort of necessary evil to which lip-service must be paid. I think this goes for the notion of 'sophistication' tout court. It's almost weird to read how flagrantly this is treated. "Oh, characters are meant to have dimensions? Well here's a dimension or two". Still fine serviceable reading material - I can see how for what it is it's among the best of what it is.