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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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. That was my first note to myself, dated 15 March 1985, about the character who would eventually become Detective Inspector John Rebus." 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. 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.

Add to that, on this occasion, the fact that the audiobook I listened to was read by the unsurpassable James Macpherson – a voice that embodies everything about the character of John Rebus, with his lilting tone and spot-on phrasing. The 30 plus stories flew by far too fast. It would feel churlish to single out favourites, so I won’t try. The overall quality is very high. The mood of the pieces varies: some stories are light and wryly amusing, others dark and unnerving. Most are of typical short story length but there is one longer tale here too. My feeling is that this collection is best read (or listened to) over an extended period, allowing space for the individual stories to breathe. I think there’s just too much density to the tales to allow constant immersion in this collection. And why spoil it, take your time and make it last. 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.Whether you're yet to be introduced to Rebus, or have crossed paths many times, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read.

There is no detective like DI Rebus. Brilliant, irascible and endlessly frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, he has made the dark places of Edinburgh his comfort and his home for over two decades. From his beginnings as a young Detective Constable in 'Dead and Buried', right up to his dramatic - but as it turns out, not quite final - retirement in 'The Very Last Drop', we see one of the most compelling, brilliant and mesmeric characters of modern times in his every guise and very much in his element. If you have not read any Rebus or Rankin before, this may be a good starting point, just to work out whether you enjoy his storytelling prowess, or just to see if you think Rebus will be worth your time. I can't imagine why he wouldn't be, but, you know, just in case.

Brilliant, irascible and frequently frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, John Rebus has made the dark places of Edinburgh his home for over two decades. THE BEAT GOES ON collects all of Ian Rankin's Rebus short stories for the first time, including two never-before published tales written specifically for this collection.

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,… Dennoch hat mir diese Anthologie außergewöhnlich gut gefallen. Zum einen, weil ich ein großer Fan von Inspektor Rebus bin. Und zum anderen, weil fast alle Geschichten eine ordentliche Dosis Humor enthalten. Dadurch ist die Atmosphäre erheblich weniger düster als in den Romanen und ich konnte beim Lesen sehr viel schmunzeln. This offering contains all of Rebus' short stories, which originally appeared in A Good Hanging and Other Stories and Beggars Banquet. I read both of these anthologies when they were released, but that was a long time ago. Truth be told I'd forgotten most of them. So these were still very enjoyable to "re-read". The novella Death is Not The End is thrown in for good measure, along with a couple of newbies, which I'd not previously read. I enjoyed them all. Also I loved his sense of humour as well as the casual, subtle sarcasm (Scottish humour, you say?) which definitely made this read doubly enjoyable. They all sort of run together after a while, as usually happens with these things, and the only story that really stands out isn't really a story at all, let alone a mystery. It's the usual boring meditation on the lost spirit of the sixties that Baby Boomers feel a need to write, and we've all read a thousand times over.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. I'm not sure I can explain.' There were words - community, history, memory - but Rebus didn't think they'd be enough."

I'm now looking forward to reading the latest Rebus installment A Song for The Dark Times. I got my copy the other day...looking forward to it. Soon. Soon. 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. 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. Still, I liked this anthology exceptionally well. For one thing, because I'm a big fan of Inspector Rebus. And secondly, because almost all stories contain a good dose of humor. As a result, the atmosphere is much less gloomy than in the novels and I was able to smile a lot while reading.

Now Rebus's life is revealed through this complete collection of stories, from his early days as a young DC in 'Dead and Buried' right up to the dramatic, but not quite final, retirement in 'The Very Last Drop'. 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. The book is a compilation of short stories revolving around John Rebus, who is a professed detective and inspector operating in Edinburgh. Be it the famous, well-known faces in the rich and proud layer of society, be it artists with vindictive means of expression in their hours of creativity or the ill-famed ruffians rotting and plotting in the underbelly of the mainland- he sees through them all. 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". 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.