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Black and Blue: An Inspector Rebus Mystery (Inspector Rebus Novels, 8) Paperback – November 24, 2009

by Ian Rankin (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 5,434 ratings
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Bible John killed three women, and took three souvenirs. Johnny Bible killed to steal his namesake's glory. Oilman Allan Mitchelson died for his principles. And convict Lenny Spaven died just to prove a point. "Bible John" terrorized Glasgow in the sixties and seventies, murdering three women he met in a local ballroom--and he was never caught. Now a copycat is at work. Nicknamed "Bible Johnny" by the media, he is a new menace with violent ambitions.

The Bible Johnny case would be perfect for Inspector John Rebus, but after a run-in with a crooked senior officer, he's been shunted aside to one of Edinburgh's toughest suburbs, where he investigates the murder of an off-duty oilman. His investigation takes him north to the oil rigs of Aberdeen, where he meets the Bible Johnny media circus head-on. Suddenly caught in the glare of the television cameras and in the middle of more than one investigation, Rebus must proceed with caution: One mistake could mean an unpleasant and not particularly speedy death, or, worse still, losing his job.

Written with Ian Rankin's signature wit, style and intricacy, Black and Blue is a novel of uncommon and unforgettable intrigue.

Previous page
  1. Book 8 of 24
    Inspector Rebus Novels
  2. Print length
    480 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Minotaur Books
  5. Publication date
    November 24, 2009
  6. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1.07 x 8.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0312586493
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0312586492
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A powerfully complex crime novel that offers a panoramic portrait of modern Scotland, from Glasgow gangland to the oil platforms of the North Sea.” ―Mail on Sunday

“Rankin excels himself here as Rebus comes of age… a first-rate and gripping novel.” ―Sunday Times

“Rankin's dexterity in juggling plots and threats and motives lights up the darkness with a poet's grace. Reading him is like watching somebody juggle a dozen bottles of single malt without spilling a drop.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Rankin's book is long and complex but rich in character and incident as Rebus dodges his investigators, follows his hunches into some violent confrontations, and explores the strange mid-ocean world of North Sea oil.” ―Publishers Weekly

“Ian Rankin is a novelist of great scope, depth and power and Black & Blue is a dark, intensely evocative and altogether riveting thriller.” ―Jonathan Kellerman

About the Author

Ian Rankin is the worldwide #1 bestselling writer of the Inspector Rebus books, including Knots and Crosses, Hide and Seek, Let It Bleed, Black and Blue, Set in Darkness, Resurrection Men, A Question of Blood, The Falls and Exit Music. He is also the author of The Complaints and Doors Open.  He has won an Edgar Award, a Gold Dagger for fiction, a Diamond Dagger for career excellence, and the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to literature. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their two sons.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Minotaur Books (November 24, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312586493
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312586492
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.07 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 5,434 ratings

About the author

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Ian Rankin

Ian Rankin

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Ian James Rankin, OBE, DL, FRSE (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. Photo byTimDuncan (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
5,434 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2022
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Great writing, mystery and intrigue. Recommend this author if you want something different in procedural detective Mysteries with many twists and turns. Wonderful character development.
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Scott Albin
4.0 out of 5 stars Rankin challenges both himself and the reader this time around, and prevails in the end.
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2015
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One reads this novel wondering if Rankin has bit off more than he can chew, as he weaves various strands of plot concerning a murdered oil rig worker, two different serial killers, and an old case that has come back to haunt Inspector Rebus. Rankin succeeds in tying up all the loose ends (but one) in one of the most intriguing and ambitious mysteries in his Rebus series. A particularly fascinating aspect of this novel is the character known as Bible John, who is based on a real life serial killer in Scotland by that same name. Rankin gives you more than your money's worth here-- he could easily have saved some of the content for another novel.
3 people found this helpful
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AnneFran727
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2012
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I am a casual mystery reader and really enjoyed this Rebus novel. It's my third Rebus; I am not a purist and have read Rankin novels based on Kindle availability and not in chronological order. I don't think that has diminished my enjoyment of the series at all and I noticed just this month more of the series has been added to the US Amazon site. I am of Scottish heritage and the family tales of the brooding drinking Scotsman really are vividly portrayed by Rankin through John Rebus. Here is my summary of Rebus: A man in middle age, given to heavy drinking, divorced, lonely, but excellent at being a detective and obsesses over cases while neglecting his own health safety and personal relationships. A pattern I have found with the series is Rebus works tirelessly to find the criminal(s) and figures everything out by the end of the novel but the reader is not "rewarded" with the character being given accolades or promotions. In fact John Rebus ends most of the novels in more trouble than he began it with. A great series!
3 people found this helpful
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j hogan
4.0 out of 5 stars 2 serial killers. 1 detective!
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2019
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I liked the descriptions of the various locations in book- helped set the " mood". Rankin does great job developing characters. Plot is intriguing - keeps reader thinking.
One person found this helpful
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LindaD
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2017
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I love Ian Rankin's work and have enjoyed every book of his that I have read. It came as no surprise then to find Black and Blue meeting my usually high expectations.
Rankin's characters are real people with real strengths and flaws. No larger than life heroes charging in to save the day. And the villain doesn't always get caught. Just like in real life.
The story moves along at a good pace with just enough sub plots to make you think.
I cannot recommend this author highly enough.
2 people found this helpful
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Cathy Maldonado
3.0 out of 5 stars Just OK for Rebus
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2019
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I've been reading the Rebus series in order and love the character. Having said that, after this installment and the book before it, I have decided to continue with the Rebus novels based upon plot description and not chronology. The book before this one was far too detailed about Scottish government institutions (which detracted from my enjoyment of the storyline). This book covered multiple cases that overlapped, coincidentally, along the way. Rankin is such a gifted writer that it didn't feel choppy or stilted but....once the plot line moved past two cases - I found myself losing interest and just wanting to get to the end to see how it all resolved. The main plot line could have stood on its own and would have been a more enjoyable read. The pursuit of the second and third cases just felt like one long digression. At least that's how it was for me. There's a bit of Holmes, Siobhan and Gil Templar sprinkled throughout - all characters developed earlier in the series - but I would've liked more than a sprinkling... Overall, if you like Inspector Rebus - you'll get through the book and, perhaps, enjoy this one more than I did. I just ordered another Rebus novel (further along in the series) and hope it exceeds my diminishing expectations.
4 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Best ever author
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2019
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I have to let you know how good this author is....well I love him and his writings. I have read all his Inspector Rebus novels, plus his first "The Flood" and I can't find enough superlatives to describe how good he is. I halfway through his Malcolm Fox "Complaints" it is so good I don't want to put it down. I rate Ian Rankin as one of the top 10 authors of the world. I hope he keeps in writing great books. I'm sure you won't be disappointed in his work...give him a go.
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Graham Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars Rebus - So very,very human.
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2015
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I've yet to find a Rankin novel that I have not enjoyed. Not only does he write a first class crime novel but his building of the character of Inspector Rebus is extra ordinary. Rebus has his flaws - just like the rest of us - but his dogedness and determination, plus a strong underlay of 'old fashioned' moral values, cancel out any and all of such faults.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Trade Paperback with decent sized print.
Reviewed in Canada on March 15, 2022
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I am a big fan of the Rebus books by Ian Rankin and this one replaced an old small paperback in not very good condition.
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Clemens Schoonderwoert
5.0 out of 5 stars A Top-Class Inspector Rebus Thriller!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2023
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This action-packed Scottish crime novel is the 8th volume of the superb "Inspector Rebus" series.

In this publication of mine you'll find at the beginning of the book an Intro (2016) by the author, while at the back you'll notice an afterword and some other important notes.

Storytelling is excellent, the storyline, police procedures, and Inspector Rebus's investigations are wonderfully described and executed, while all characters, good and bad, are very believable and lifelike in this tale of murder, oil, corruption, and dirty politics.

Originally from 1997, this thriller is still as active then as it is now, with universal themes as oil-exploration, drugs, and where certain corrupt police officers are shown to us in their double-dealing fashion.

This thriller starts off with the murder of a woman by a man naming himself, this the 1990s, Johnny Bible, and by using the same kind of methods as used by the famous serial killer in the 1960s, who went by the name of Bible John.

Inspector Rebus will start his investigations of the Johnny Bible murders beginning in Edinburgh, but these will also take him to Glasgow, Aberdeen, the Shetlands and a oil-platform/rig, because the murders are all connected with oil somehow, while at the same time there is also an investigations against him going on about the old Lenny Spaven case, which was handled by Rebus's old boss Lawson Geddes.

What is to follow is a fast-paced thriller, in which John Rebus will be temporarily teamed-up with an old colleague from "Knots and Crosses", Jack Morton, and together they, with John Rebus the hard way, will get to the bottom to the Johnny Bible murders, while Bible John also has a serious interest to get rid of his copycat, until in the end Johnny Bible will be found killed and once again the famous Bible John escaping and evade justice by disappearing into thin air, and so ending this fantastic thriller with John Rebus sobering up in so many ways.

Highly recommended, for this is the best, so far as I'm concerned, to this excellent series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Top-Class Inspector Rebus Thriller"!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Très bon
Reviewed in France on June 26, 2023
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Très bon
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Phillip E. Jenkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Rebus: A coming of age
Reviewed in Australia on September 27, 2017
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Early Rebus novels were good but now, with Black And Blue we see Rebus coming of age. A fine read that will grip you from cover to cover, full of twists and turns. You will be with John Rebus as he pushes the limits in every way. Rankin has hit the floor and running. Things can only get better from here.
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Kedarnath Awati
5.0 out of 5 stars To be savored...page by page...
Reviewed in India on December 2, 2014
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He is one of the greatest living crime novelists...most of his books (especially this one) observe and examine areas where the borders of "legality" and "illegality" are blurred as are notions of "duty"...he also brings to life the Scottish towns and countryside which by now have become essential accompaniments to his story telling....
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