Crime Fiction Alphabet: I is for Ian Rankin

This week’s Crime Fiction Alphabet is brought to you by the letter I, and I'm using this opportunity to confess a sin I've been hiding for a while....

I've never read a book by Ian Rankin.  *hangs head in shame* 

Scottish author Ian Rankin is UK's best selling crime author, and best known for his Inspector Rebus series. The first book, KNOTS AND CROSSINGS, was published in 1987 and since that time, 16 more Rebus novels have been published.  Rankin has also written a number of other novels, including his latest, THE COMPLAINTS.

I have most (if not all) the Rebus novels in my TBR piles, and I have THE COMPLAINTS on my Christmas wish list but I'm not sure where to start. Do I go back to the beginning and make my way through the Rebus novels? Do I start with the most recent (a non-Rebus), then go back to the series?  I've toyed with the idea of trying to read one Rebus every month for the next year and a half, but I worry that it might be too much.  There are some series that are less enjoyable (to me) if I read them in somewhat rapid succession.

If you're a Rankin fan, what would you suggest?

Comments

[Kerrie]

I hope your wish for THE COMPLAINTS comes about Tania. Thank you for oyur contribution to the Crime Alphabet

[Henry Petersen]

As a fan of Ian Rankin I would recommend that you start with Knots & Crosses. The novels become more complex and the protagonist gets older as the books gets published until he is pensioned at 60 in "Exit Music".
Happy reading