Black and Blue by Ian Rankin

Black and Blue is the eighth Rebus novel by Ian Rankin, published in 1997. I read the first six Rebus novels a few years ago, then stopped reading them as it just felt like there were too many of them. I got back into them recently, after seeing Ian Rankin at Cheltenham Literature Festival in October. When asked which was his favourite of his novels, he said (with the exception of his most recent one – A Heart Full of Headstones), it was Black and Blue. This was his breakthrough novel, when he finally realised he could actually make a living from writing.

So I decided to go back and read it. And I could see why it’s one of his favourites.

In 1990s Scotland, a serial killer is on the loose. ‘Johnny Bible’ seems to be copying Bible John (a true life serial killer from the 60s who was never caught) and has murdered women in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Inspector John Rebus looks back on reports of the original Bible John killings and follows up on reports of the latest spate of murders.

Except he’s not supposed to be investigating Johnny Bible. Rebus is supposed to be investigating the death of an oil worker who fell from a window. But did he jump, or was he pushed?

But Rebus can’t forget Johnny Bible and Bible John. He goes off following his own lines of enquiry – convinced the answer lies in Aberdeen.

Meanwhile, Rebus himself is under investigation over his part in an earlier murder enquiry, where evidence may not have been acquired within the law. The murderer is dead and there are TV cameras outside his flat. Can Rebus save himself?

Black and Blue is a crime novel very much of its time. Investigations use payphones, photos picked up from the developers, the library and Teletext. But that doesn’t stop it from being a very good story indeed. There are lots of characters and lots of lines of investigation, so it has the potential to get confusing. Personally, I wasn’t confused, but I’m a seasoned reader of detective novels. I think for someone new to the genre, there might actually be too much information.

If you enjoy a crime novel, I can’t recommend Black and Blue highly enough.

Black and Blue is still in print. I initially ordered it from Amazon (against my principles, ordering from Amazon is always my absolute last resort). But I cancelled the order after two months, when it didn’t come. I did see a copy in Hatchards while I was waiting for it to arrive. But I eventually did the sensible thing and just borrowed it from my dad!