richard jury returns - one of my favorite literary detectives is still solving crimes

Chief Inspector Richard Jury is surrounded by colorful characters - from the idle rich Melrose Plant (who gave up his hereditary title of Lord) who assists him on cases, to his assistant Sergeant Alfred Wiggins (a hypochondriac of the highest order), to the copper-haired fortune teller Carole Anne (is Jury her father figure or a "person of interest") who lives two floors above him, and the residents of Long Piddington, his frequent stop from London to the scene of the crime.

john rebus: the literary character I hate to love

The literary character I hate to love is Inspector John Rebus. Rude, arrogant, churlish - his brilliance in solving Edinburgh murder mysteries is matched only by his self destructive love for booze, cigarettes, and conflict with authority.

I'm a bit like those few who are close to him in Rankin's novels - loyal and able to see past his coarse exterior - but always wondering what he will do next to get in trouble with the bosses - and drag me along with him!

In Exit Music, author Ian Rankin finally put Rebus into retirement and introduced a new series character in The Complaints. I can only assume fan reaction won the day as Rebus made his typically messy but triumphant return in Resurrection Men.