Add to that, on this occasion, the fact that the audiobook I listened to was read by the unsurpassable James Macpherson – a voice that embodies everything about the character of John Rebus, with his lilting tone and spot-on phrasing. The 30 plus stories flew by far too fast. It would feel churlish to single out favourites, so I won’t try. The overall quality is very high. The mood of the pieces varies: some stories are light and wryly amusing, others dark and unnerving. Most are of typical short story length but there is one longer tale here too. My feeling is that this collection is best read (or listened to) over an extended period, allowing space for the individual stories to breathe. I think there’s just too much density to the tales to allow constant immersion in this collection. And why spoil it, take your time and make it last. I'm now looking forward to reading the latest Rebus installment A Song for The Dark Times. I got my copy the other day...looking forward to it. Soon. Soon. 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…

Well, these are short stories that, due to their brevity, can neither reach the complexity nor the depth of a novel. And as in any short story collection, the quality of the stories is not at the same level. Another disadvantage for me is that I don't like reading short stories that much. The best one, I think, is the one called "Atonement" that begins with an old retired cop telling Rebus he thinks there's something suspicious about the deaths that keep happening at his retirement home. That one took several turns that I didn't expect at all.The Beat Goes On combines much-loved classics with previously unpublished gems from other media, and includes two brand-new stories written specifically for this collection - 'The Passenger' and 'A Three-Pint Problem'. Also I loved his sense of humour as well as the casual, subtle sarcasm (Scottish humour, you say?) which definitely made this read doubly enjoyable. I'm not sure I can explain.' There were words - community, history, memory - but Rebus didn't think they'd be enough." 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. A favourite of mine is a story titled Sunday. My favourite day of the week. Yes - talk about synchronicity - today is Sunday. The day of rest, which even Rebus has off. Or does he?

In dieser Anthologie sind 31 Kurzgeschichten über Rebus versammelt, die zwischen 1990 und 2014 entstanden sind. Wir erleben Rebus also als jungen Polizisten, älter werdend, bis hin zur Pension. Edinburgh is also a formidable presence and Rankin draws on the history and literature of his adopted city, as well as portraying the lives of its wealthy and destitute. Castle Dangerous focuses on the death of a retired QC who shares a name and knighthood with the Scottish historical novelist Sir Walter Scott. The old lawyer’s body is even found by the Scott Monument. Being Frank is a touching tale about a gentleman of the road. The Passenger, a new story, is inspired by Muriel Spark and is one of the more sinister in this collection. Now Rebus’s life is revealed through this complete collection of stories, from his early days as a young DC in ‘Dead and Buried’ right up to the dramatic, but not quite final, retirement in ‘The Very Last Drop’. From the latest Scandinavian serial killer to Golden Age detective stories, we love our crime novels!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. 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. However, this particular Audible book is superbly narrated by James Macpherson who, you may remember, took over as the lead in Taggart after Mark McManus died. Not only is he an excellent narrator, but his voice and accent are ideally suited for the character of Rebus and as a skilled actor he also creates different personas for all the other many characters who appear in the stories. I thought it was a first rate recording, and thoroughly enjoyed splitting the book between reading and listening. It's something I would do again – especially for short stories. A good narration can definitely add something to the original. On the audiobook version, too, the essay Rankin on Rebus is narrated by Ian Rankin himself, which made it a little bit extra-special (especially since he has a lovely voice too). I'd happily recommend the book, the audiobook or both to all Rebus fans out there, or even perhaps as an introduction for new readers to the grand old man of Tartan Noir. It's a collection of short stories featuring Scottish cop Rebus. The character is fairly highly regarded in some circles, but I've never read any of his stuff before.

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). The moments of humour provide a sharp contrast to some of the grittier stories. There's some heavy stuff dealt with here. The detritus and pain of people's lives. From the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES The stage debut for the legendary detective John Rebus in this brand new,… 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. Each story is just a small, non-significant mystery that Rebus has to solve, some of which featured as side-plots in one of the fully-formed Rebus novels. With these stories you gain an insight in to John Rebus himself, the people he works with and against, Edinburgh and of Rankin's writing style as it is.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.

The stories include all kinds of mysteries, from shop-lifting to murder, and the occasional one is really more an observation of a particular aspect of Edinburgh life than a crime story. In total, they left me in no doubt that Rankin is just as much a master of the short story as the novel. I found this a completely satisfying collection, and one that I'm sure to dip in and out of many times again. Gut es sind Kurzgeschichten, die schon aufgrund ihrer Kürze weder die Komplexität noch die Tiefe eines Romans erreichen können. Und wie in jeder Kurzgeschichtensammlung ist die Qualität der Geschichten nicht auf gleichbleibendem Niveau. Als weiterer Nachteil für mich konnt hinzu, dass ich nicht so sehr gerne Kurzgeschichten lese.

The book is a compilation of short stories revolving around John Rebus, who is a professed detective and inspector operating in Edinburgh. Be it the famous, well-known faces in the rich and proud layer of society, be it artists with vindictive means of expression in their hours of creativity or the ill-famed ruffians rotting and plotting in the underbelly of the mainland- he sees through them all. This offering contains all of Rebus' short stories, which originally appeared in A Good Hanging and Other Stories and Beggars Banquet. I read both of these anthologies when they were released, but that was a long time ago. Truth be told I'd forgotten most of them. So these were still very enjoyable to "re-read". The novella Death is Not The End is thrown in for good measure, along with a couple of newbies, which I'd not previously read. I enjoyed them all.