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Knots and Crosses

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Knots and Crosses

By: Ian Rankin
Narrated by: James Macpherson
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About this listen

'And in Edinburgh of all places. I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you...?' 'That sort of thing' is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sergeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of many policemen hunting the killer. And then the messages begin to arrive: knotted string and matchstick crosses - taunting Rebus with pieces of a puzzle only he can solve.

©2008 Ian Rankin (P)2011 Orion Publishing Limited Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Thriller Crime Scary Suspense
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I thought this book lacked depth of characters, I would have liked the story to focus a little more on the girls who were abducted both on their back story and means of abduction, I think this book was supposed to be a introduction to the main character but it wouldn't have hurt to evolve more of the story as this was quite a short book and also as a audio book I found it hard to distinguish between the Scottish accents, they all sounded the same to me, its a shame because I heard it was a good series and now I'm undecided if I would buy the next book.

Not sure about this series yet

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Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes the narrator.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Unfortunately no-one really stood out as likeable as yet. Given its the first in a series so maybe the characters need time to develop.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of James Macpherson?

Having previously listen to one of Ian Rankin's Fox novel narrated by Peter Forbes, James McPhersons narration lacks depth and subtlety. His intonations are extremely off putting and I don't know if I'll be able to get past them to enjoy another of Ian Rankin's excellent stories on Audible. McPherson tries to make his voice the star instead of Ian's characters.

Was Knots and Crosses worth the listening time?

Yes, because its an excellent story and series in the making.

Any additional comments?

I think I'll be reading the rest of the series instead of listening, all due to the narration.

Great Story - Terrible Narrator !

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I was struggling to read this book from my home library. I decided to buy the audiobook and listen instead. It certainly helped me get through it, but I am glad that I also had the written word at my disposal, as I went back to it a couple if times to check out what had actually been said.
I like to read series in order (at least the first few) as usually the main characters are developed here. I hope that this was worth my while for this series.

The audiobook helped, just

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thoroughly enjoyable listen , the first of many ian rankin books I will be listening too I suspect. true gritty scottish crime writing. very well narrated too

bloody brilliant!

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Such a shame this series uses this narrator. It was just too difficult to stay engaged. I endured but the lasting memory of the story is the terrible intonations in the narration.

Hard going

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What did you like most about Knots and Crosses?

I liked finding out the personal history of Rebus which I hadnt known about before.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Knots and Crosses?

When Rebus saves his daughter

What does James Macpherson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The accent makes the characters seem more real to me.

Enter the world of Rebus.

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Not very good, I am sorry that I wasted my time and money, not recommend.


Terrible

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I have read many of the titles in this series but now need audiobooks as my sight is getting worse. I found this just doesn’t translate to this format. Long winded and failed to engage me.

Couldn’t finish this

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Ridiculous, lazy storyline.
Unengaging characters.
Only finished because lousy weather.
Did Rankin really write this? Very disappointing.

Don't waste your money

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Does it get better in future books? it would need to. I don't buy noir books to drown in character analysis.

Can't see what all the fuss is about

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