Review: Knots and Crosses

Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a lover of British crime thrillers, I try to read all the big names. I would like to be able to say I have read most of the big ones, yet the reality is that I have read nowhere near as many as I would like to be able to claim. I’ve been trying to amend that, and my journey into Ian Rankin is an example of me trying to better myself when it comes to one of my favourite genres.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been meaning to pick up an Inspector Rebus book. It is such a well-known name – from the television series all the way through to references being made in other crime fiction (points towards Stuart MacBride) – with the books catching my attention on many occasions. Despite how often a Rebus book would grab my attention in book stores, I held off on buying for one important reason – I’ve been trying to read crime series in order. It’s fine to jump in here and there, but so much better if you follow the development of the characters throughout. Thus, I waited until I was able to get my hands on the first Rebus book. It turns out getting my hands on the first Rebus book came about through me getting my hands on the first nine plus an unrelated Ian Rankin book through a boxset – needless to say, I was set and more than willing to dive in.

With so much behind my desire to read the book, and having heard so many great things, I went in with quite high expectations. I know so many people who are fans – in fact, my own mother was more than willing to drop hints of how she wanted to borrow Knots and Crosses when I was done as she wished to dive into Rebus from the start – and I was sure I would love this one. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what I had been expecting.

Knots and Crosses was a book I was happy to complete in a single sitting, turning the pages to find out how everything came together. I admit to working out some of the things quite early on, realising what kind of events were waiting for us later in the book, yet it was interesting to find out the specific details surrounding the events. Although finding out the specifics was somewhat interesting, it wasn’t enough to leave me crazy about the book – which is what I had been hoping to be.

I’ll be honest and say I can see the potential for the future of the series, and it has left me hopeful that things will improve, yet I wasn’t crazy about this first book. Had I not already heard so many great things about the later books, had I not already got my hands on more Rebus books, I would have been tentative about continuing the series – it would be a series with a question mark over whether I would continue, something I had not expected from this one at all.

Perhaps I set my expectations too high, perhaps Rebus will be one of the few popular series I will not be a fan of, but whatever the case, Knots and Crosses wasn’t quite all I had hoped it would be. It was interesting, sure, but I had convinced myself I would be receiving much more. My fingers are crossed I find myself a fan by the time I’ve worked through the other Rebus books I have, but I’m not as convinced as I would like to be.

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