The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories: From the iconic #1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES

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There is no detective like DI Rebus – brilliant, irascible and endlessly frustrating both to his friends and his long-suffering bosses. For over two decades he has walked through the dark places of Edinburgh . . . From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES The stage debut for the legendary detective John Rebus in this brand new,… If I died tonight, he thought, what would I bequeath to the world? Looking around, the answer was: nothing. The thought scared him, and most of all it made him want a drink, and not just one drink but a dozen". Richard Prather (I think) once said that every short story featuring a series character should make the reader want to buy the novels. In this, the book was a failure for me, as I'm not moved to go buy a novel.

I'm not sure I can explain.' There were words - community, history, memory - but Rebus didn't think they'd be enough." A collection of short stories, many involving Inspector Rebus, but others as well. The Rebus stories are interesting as there are no big involved cases, but just Rebus out and about doing the day-to-day policing in Edinburgh. an old story from his files "My Shopping Day" which was first published in "Herbert in Motion and Other Stories" (1997).The imagery of a normal Edinburgh neighbourhood perfectly balanced with the criminal setting is very well done, clearly pointing out Ian Rankin interest in writing about the city. This anthology brings together 31 short stories about Rebus that were written between 1990 and 2014. So we experience Rebus as a young police officer, getting older, right up to retirement. In dieser Anthologie sind 31 Kurzgeschichten über Rebus versammelt, die zwischen 1990 und 2014 entstanden sind. Wir erleben Rebus also als jungen Polizisten, älter werdend, bis hin zur Pension. Officers from other cities, people Rebus met from time to time, would remark how cushy he had it in Edinburgh. Such a beautiful place, and prosperous. So little crime. They thought a dangerous city had to look dangerous. Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh.

The final chapter Rankin on Rebus is a really interesting insight into how/where/why Rebus was created. The thought process behind the creative process. The link between Rebus (from (the Kingdom of) Fife) and Edinburgh. I lapped it up. As per the collection, I would never choose something like this to read. But since it is in the advent book box, I accepted the challenge. The worst part about the collection was that they were all so PREDICTABLE. Rankin writes in the same way for every story. I could predict when to stop and prepare a chapter update because, of course, detective Rebus solved every single case. Amazing. Hurrah. A round of applause. Or 29 rounds, one for every short story.The first book gifted to me in my Advent Book Calendar. I’m not quite sure how they work - as I to read a book per day in December? That would have been possible for me before my many commitments. But not any more. Not to mention my intolerable chronic pain that keeps tapping me on the shoulder. The stories include all kinds of mysteries, from shop-lifting to murder, and the occasional one is really more an observation of a particular aspect of Edinburgh life than a crime story. In total, they left me in no doubt that Rankin is just as much a master of the short story as the novel. I found this a completely satisfying collection, and one that I'm sure to dip in and out of many times again. What I like about Rankin's writing, is he has the ability to draw a picture of a character's flaws, without you thinking any the less of them. He describes human nature so well. This collection of short stories was just the tonic, and so easy to get comfortable with. Get snug, put my feet up, and peep over Rebus' shoulder. A favourite of mine is a story titled Sunday. My favourite day of the week. Yes - talk about synchronicity - today is Sunday. The day of rest, which even Rebus has off. Or does he?

First performed at Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre, the first stage play from the SUNDAY TIMES No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES…

The Beat Goes On is a collection of short stories concerning John Rebus-right from his time as DS to DI, with another story concerning him whilst he was retired but still going at it like a good ole Detective. There is no detective like Ian Rankin's Detective Inspector John Rebus, a man The New Yorker calls "the ideal sleuth."