The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Short Stories is an anthology of all the Inspector Rebus short stories (30) by Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin, plus the novella Death Is Not the End; though the Rebus short story "Well Shot" published in 2nd Culprit (1993) is not included. It is Rankin's third collection of short stories From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels! Just for fun I tried the newish Whispersync feature for Kindle with this one – that is, that if you buy the Kindle book, you can add the Audible version at a reduced cost (or for free if, like me, you have a bunch of Audible credits you haven't yet used). Technically, it didn't really sync on the Kindle Fire which was a disappointment – it meant that when switching from reading to listening I was always having to find my place. Not too much of a problem with short stories, but could be tedious in a full-length novel. The title The Beat Goes On seems to be a bit of a humorous pun too. "Beat" as in the beat that coppers walk or "beat" as in the tempo of life (not forgetting that Rebus is a bit of a music aficionado, particularly of the Stones, and underground indie bands and musos). 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.

Overall a good read. There were some stories after halfway, which were kind of a drag and not much interesting as the stories in the first half, partly the reason why the excitement kind of waned off towards the end. There is no detective like DI Rebus - brilliant, irascible and endlessly frustrating both to his friends and his long-suffering bosses. For over two decades… 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.That's what Sunday was all about, wasn't it? Maybe he could try one of the crosswords. It was ages since he'd done a crossword. A glass of wine and a crossword...Glanced at his watch again. It was half past eleven. A bit early to be drinking. Cheers. In the notes AGH indicates that the story was first published in A Good Hanging and Other Stories in 1992. BB indicates that the story was included in Beggars Banquet (2002), but these stories had been previously published elsewhere in magazines or newspapers. What I like about Rankin's writing, is he has the ability to draw a picture of a character's flaws, without you thinking any the less of them. He describes human nature so well. 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.

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. 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. 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.The Gentleman's club was my favorite story. A twisted tale of suicide and pedophilia and teenage jealousy making room for an incredible mystery, with an afterthought: The first book gifted to me in my Advent Book Calendar. I’m not quite sure how they work - as I to read a book per day in December? That would have been possible for me before my many commitments. But not any more. Not to mention my intolerable chronic pain that keeps tapping me on the shoulder. There is no detective like Ian Rankin's Detective Inspector John Rebus, a man The New Yorker calls "the ideal sleuth." A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts, on Channel 4 in 2002. He recently received the OBE for services to literature, and opted to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons. Officers from other cities, people Rebus met from time to time, would remark how cushy he had it in Edinburgh. Such a beautiful place, and prosperous. So little crime. They thought a dangerous city had to look dangerous.