Perhaps if he stopped praying, God would take the hint and stop being such a bastard to one of his few believers on this near-godforsaken planet. The mystery wasn't really solveable but I think Knots and Crosses was more of a setup book than anything else. Though not as polished as the later books in the series, it is still immensely readable, and gives us a great background to Rebus, and an insight into his personality. Gallery images of our book boxes show an example of what may be included – treat and gift content may differ.

I will admit to wanting to read this book in part because I heard the author on NPR about a year ago and he is Scottish and I have a big weakness for Scottish accents. This edition of the book was given out as part of a subscription, one of a series of 'Banned Books' produced exclusively for the Independent newspaper and is book 20 in the series done to try and promote reading. It lingered for days, splashing up from puddles by the roadside, breaking up marriages, chilling, killing, omnipresent.Just pop a note in the checkout and we will be sure to include tasty treats and beverages that suit your needs. Es un detective a lo Harry Bosch, lo cual en mi caso hace que me sienta inmediatamente atraído hacia sus vivencias.

I don't need (or want) to learn those details which don't add to the story-line and certainly don't help make Rebus a more likable or even more sympathetic character. Now John has a new set of nightmares added to his dreams, as if the SAS memories weren't foul enough. Granted Rebus has a clouded memory due to his SAS training, but getting weird letters in the midst of a murder spree should ring a bell in ANY detective's mind. And, most of all, there's Rebus' past, the years in the army and SAS that he won't -- or can't -- talk about.

It also starts off overly slowly but starts zipping along once Rebus gets into the thick of the investigation. And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses – taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve. After sharing a quote from the novel, a friend from the UK responded it seemed I was identifying with John Rebus.

Something is troubling this very affluent baby brother but the truth may tear them apart or bring them closer than ever. I believe Rankin didn't initially intend for Inspector Rebus to turn into a series so everything wraps up nicely here but I'll definitely carry on reading the adventures of everyone's favourite drunken wildcard Scottish policeman. Hyde into then-modern Edinburgh, with Rebus as the Jekyll figure (the book implies for a while that Rebus himself is unwittingly the killer) and he put Rebus in the same road, Arden Street, that he himself was living in. But as the ghoulish killings mount and the tabloid headlines scream, Rebus cannot stop the feverish shrieks from within his own mind.When a serial killer starts murdering young girls in Edinburgh, Rebus is drafted onto the team investigating the deaths.