First in the series with John Rebus as the protagonist. Rebus is flawed but brilliant and the stories keep your interest as well as show you many sides of Edinburgh – as much a character as the people in the books Rankin writes. Try them all!

SAS initiation comes back to haunt you. A serial killer, brother on the wrong path, hypnotism. Not bad but not great either. It reminds me of a book called The Mesmerist

Pretty good. More interesting because of the anti-hero’s history and flaws than because of the actual story. The book feels more like a starting-point than most, and it works that way. I’m interested, and I enjoyed the way the book was written enough to continue, at least for a couple more.

Rating: 3*/5