I’ve enjoyed “Knots And Crosses” (1987) and “Hide And Seek” (1991) quite a bit!
The ‘Tartan Noir’ aspects of Scotland Yard’s Detective Inspector John Rebus are well met in the story lines of both novels thus far.  Descriptions of local spots around Edinburgh that Ian Rankin gently places into his narratives effectively pull the reader into vivid depictions of each location, affording credibility to his settings…both good spots and the ‘bad’, like back alleys and abandoned buildings, as if the reader’s been placed directly into Edinburgh and not some postcard depiction.

I’m looking forward to getting to the third installment of this trilogy, “Tooth And Nail” (1992).  There also are just over a dozen more Inspector Rebus novels that carry this character on beyond the trilogy.  I’ve definitely found these first two interesting enough to keep with this series beyond the third book, “Tooth And Nail”.

I found Rankin’s smooth writing easy to get lost in as he blends a certain gruff, “hard boiled” twist to the main character’s disillusioned, slightly non-compliant persona that conflicts with his inner turmoil.  The Inspector pushes his limits a bit against the grain to get the job done, at times in a sort of bumbling, human way.  This, in spite of his own personal problems along with inner political issues within his job.

Inspector Rankin is probably the second most contemporary detective I’ve read (the first being Patricia Cromwell’s Kay Scarpetta).  That being said, this trilogy’s publication dates are still dated enough to make the lack of today’s modern technology a bit noticeable and a little odd to have it missing in the narrative… he has to find land lines to make phone calls, rely on maps, etc., kind of a flash back to the late eighties situation which lends a unique voice to this trilogy, not such a bad thing and rather vintage.  Different than say, an Agatha Christie when you know you’ll be warping backwards by nearly a century.

What I appreciate about Ian Rankin’s character is Rebus’ humanness, the way he occasionally has to fall back and punt when he’s run out of clues, quite literally at times…and has to still deal with life in general, for better or worse, along the way like the rest of us.  In the first of the trilogy, Rebus must overcome an overwhelming past experience that threatens to be more than he can deal with, an interesting sub-plot that presents without a clear and obvious solution. 

*Who are your top 5-10 sleuths? What do you appreciate about them?

Sherlock is also purported to be a fairly rare MBTI personality type known as INTJ, which I am myself…another likely reason I appreciate this character no matter who portrays him, or whether I find him solving crimes in the pages of a book, via tv, or on the big screen.  Not thinking linearly like 99% of people do, but rather in three dimensions, the contemporary version of Sherlock Holmes accesses his Mind Palace with an ability to store information for retrieval at any time which is supposedly a trait of this personality type.  I’d love to think so anyway!

No matter what the medium, any version of Inspector Holmes has him discovering solutions by going outside the box while using unconventional thought processes with total disregard of social standards…offending nearly everyone as he goes along much to the chagrin of his sidekick, Dr. John Watson.

You could say I’ve pretty much loved every rendition of Sherlock and Watson…from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories, Basil Rathbone’s late 1930 b&w portrayals, all the way to the current Benjamin Cumberbatch version.  My gravitation towards murder mysteries began the minute I read “A Study In Scarlet”, the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes that led to other installments resulting in Holmes becoming so well loved by the populous that when Sir Doyle wrote Sherlock plunging to his death at Reichenbach Falls at the hands of (and with) his nemesis, Professor Moriarty, all of London rebelled.  I can understand that, I was young and devastated myself when I read that moment of Sherlock’s ultimate sacrifice…the feels.  I’m pretty sure I was in a foul mood for weeks.

Scarpetta utilizes quick-thinking intelligence and forensic technology to solve murders and stay alive as she pursues killers, yet dodge her own premature demise.  This series first novel begins with Scarpetta as the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia, out of Richmond.  Cornwell modeled Kay Scarpetta after real life M.E., Dr. Marcella Farinalli Fierro, based out of Richmond.

I’ve read the first nine consecutive novels in this series, all fast-paced and undeniably a series that compels me to stay up reading all night.  Kay Scarpetta is written realistically, preserving her character as intelligent with an astute, sophisticated ability to not lose her own self, her integrity or her compassion in a high stress occupation.  She deals with real world problems, both personal and professional yet remains focused on solving the crime even under adverse conditions.  More than capable of taking care of herself, she still recognizes her own vulnerability and sees her own flaws.

This is not an easy character to convert to written word in any way without it coming across as false and two dimensional yet Cornwell does this, and creates a character that grows with the progression of each chronologically progressive novel.

One unique aspect of this story line are the oft times, true to life descriptives of scenes, diagnostics and procedures involved in solving the murders…an inside look at the world of present day forensic sciences which I’ve found fascinating though undeniably, not everyone’s cuppa tea.  Cornwell changes the narrative POV from book to book at times which gives the reader the experience of different perspectives within the same character series…an interesting and somewhat unique approach, at least for this genre.

This book series is the inspiration for several current popular Crime tv shows, such as “CSI”.  I’ve found Patricia Cornwell’s blending of narrative, action, and technical info fascinating across the board.

A Belgian Detective and perfectionist at heart, Poirot practices sleuthing via use of his self-described “little grey cells”, preferring to solve murders in a manner that will preserve the upturned, perfectly groomed tips of his magnificently impeccable mustache, and without scuffs to his impeccable shoes.

Quite a change from other sleuths, the neat and tidy Detective Poirot with his frequent stomach issues usually stages a classic great reveal to a room full of people by story’s end in true Agatha Christie style.  This “opposites” approach Agatha Christie used as she created Poirot’s fastidious obsessions produced an interesting protagonist that proved immensely popular over time, and I found just as interesting decades after his creation…once again, at a very young age.

(3 and 4 are a close tie)

From this point, I can’t say that I’ve read complete collections of other singular Detective characters or sleuthing authors recently enough for me to be comfortable commenting on them.  Most of the Crime / Mystery novels I’ve read were from many years ago but included some Ellery Queen, Sam Spade and “The Maltese Falcon”, Edgar Allan Poe’s character C. Auguste Dupin in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robt. Louis Stevenson, and others.  Several suspense novels, and other genres, etc.

I am in no way an authority on Detective / Crime novels and have definitely not read all the works of these authors, or all the novels in any Crime / Detective series.  Hercule Poirot alone has somewhere around thirty novels to this character.

That’s a good question, Benjamin!

*Name your favorite Murder/Crime/Mystery/Thrillers of 2016. (In no particular order)

I’ve been writing myself, Beta reading for others, reading outside this genre and catching up on Technical Writing, Paramedic and so forth. My fiction Murder / Crime / Mystery reading’s been pretty limited for 2016 which I’ve recently been changing so that I’ll get more of this genre under my belt, it’s been awhile and I’ve missed it.

By default, I would have to say the Inspector Rebus novels have been pretty good thus far for 2016 although recently reading Dennis LeHane’s “Shutter Island” might qualify for a mystery thriller!