What Is The Complete Inspector Rebus Reading Order By Publication?

I tried to get my book club to do a Rebus series, starting with 'Knots and Crosses'. They hated it! Said it was dated and the mystery was weak. I was so disappointed. I told them it gets better, but they wouldn't listen.

So a word of caution: the very first book isn't the best representation of the series. It's good, but it's of its time. If you're trying to convince someone to read Rebus, maybe start them with book four or five, or even 'Black and Blue'. Get them hooked on the character and the world, then they might be willing to go back and see where it all began. Publication order is ideal, but not always the best sales pitch.

What about the standalone novels and the Malcolm Fox books? They exist in the same universe. Fox even investigates Rebus at one point. For a truly 'complete' Edinburgh universe read, you'd intersperse those, but that's for the ultra-dedicated. Most people just want Rebus.

If you do branch out, 'The Complaints' (first Fox book) is set after Rebus retires, and they eventually cross over. It's interesting to see another perspective on the same world. But it's a separate series tone-wise. Stick to Rebus first. If you finish all of Rebus and still crave that Edinburgh crime vibe, then jump over to Fox. It's a nice way to extend the journey after the main event.

Publication order is the way to go, honestly. It's how the author intended the character to evolve, and you pick up on little callbacks and series-long arcs that way. Start with 'Knots and Crosses' from 1987, then move through 'Hide and Seek', 'Tooth and Nail', and so on. The list is pretty long, but following it chronologically gives you the full effect of Rebus aging, Edinburgh changing, and Rankin's writing style developing.

There are a few short story collections and novellas that slot in between the main novels, which can get a bit confusing, but most fans just read the novels first and circle back to the shorter stuff later. I'd recommend a simple list from a fan wiki over anything too complicated to start with. The core journey is really in those two-dozen-plus novels, watching a deeply flawed cop wrestle with his own demons and a city's secrets.

My library's ebook service has most of them, but not in order. I put holds on them based on publication order and read them as they become available. It's a slow, chaotic way to do it, but it's free! I'm currently reading book five while waiting for book two to come off hold. It's not ideal, but it works.

If you're on a budget, don't let order stop you. Get them however you can. Interlibrary loan, used book sales, ebook waits. You'll piece the timeline together. The human brain is good at that. Even reading them out of order, you'll get a sense of Rebus's past haunting him. It might even feel more realistic—life isn't a neat, chronological story.

I'm a mood reader. I can't commit to a 25-book series in order. What I did was pick a Rebus book that matched my mood—a colder, darker mystery in winter, a more political one when I'm feeling thoughtful. It's worked great. I've probably read 15 of them, just out of sequence.

I get the arguments for order, but if the choice is between reading them out of order or not reading them at all, I'd say jump in anywhere. They're well-written enough to stand alone. You might miss a reference to an old flame or a previous case, but the core mystery is always new. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Grab one that sounds interesting and start.