Rebus Reevaluated

I had meant to include this with the prior wide-ranging post.

Ian Rankin, in a suitable dust-jacket pose.

Good friend and grammar Nazi Al Z. had recommended the Inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin.  Beginning with Knots and Crosses, this series of crime thrillers takes the reader through the seamy underbelly of Edinburgh, a city so beautiful it shouldn't have a seamy underbelly.

On my previous trip to Park City I blew through Knots and Crosses (a pun on Noughts and Crosses, their quaint name for tic-tac-toe).  It's not in a league with Harry Bosch, but it was reasonably satisfying and of course the Scottish locale was an added bonus.

Now Al e-mails to warn me off diving deeper into the Rebus oeuvre.  It turns out that the Inspector is not a fan of our beloved game.  In fact, according to Al he has this to say of it:

“I’ve never seen the attraction myself. The ball’s too small and the pitch is too big.”

Oh Al, not to worry, I've said far worse about the game myself.  That alone won't be enough to alter my future reading plans, which for now include Gabriel Allon, Jack Reacher and the Lincoln Lawyer.