A Question of Blood

Excellent * SUNDAY TIMES *
Splendidly-woven yarn...if there still are people unaware of Rankin and Rebus, this would make a great introduction -- Rab Anderson * SUNDAY EXPRESS *
Rankin expertly keeps us on a knife-edge...He is on top form here - unremitting pleasure -- Cath Staincliffe * TANGLED WEB *
He writes with a natural rhythmn which exerts an almost hypnotic effect * THE INDEPENDENT - Andrew Taylor *
You'll love every second of it * DAILY MIRROR 4-STARS *
Exemplifies the enhanced craftmanship of the author's recent work; the sheer number of handicaps Rebus overcomes and of the puzzles he solves evinces a relishable virtuosity * SUNDAY TIMES - John Dugdale *
A rich absorbing narrative in which the focus is not on who did it - that we know - but why. Artful, moving and entertaining * THE OBSERVER - Peter Gutteridge *
Ian Rankin's John Rebus...is a flawed but very human creation, and his Edinburgh and its inhabitants beautifully drawn and utterly real * IRISH INDEPENDENT - Myles McWeeney *
Exceptionally well-plotted book, which is guaranteed to hook you and keep you hooked * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH - Antonia Fraser *
Skilfully composed and powerfully written, with a vein of compassion that Rankin taps to startling and justified effect * LITERARY REVIEW - Philip Oakes *
He is an addictive writer, which accounts for his immense popularity, but he is also a serious and disturbing one...What he does after Rebus is an interesting question. To track back and offer us some of Rebus's earlier cases would be to reduce the novels to mere entertainment, hugely popular no doubt but a betrayal of his remarkable talent * THE SPECTATOR - Allan Massie *
This latest story crackles with tension, energy and suspense. And it's a credit to Rankin's writing that despite our familiarity with the detective inspector, it is quite believable that Rebus is capable of committing a violent crime to protect a friend * SUNDAY TRIBUNE (Ireland) - Lise Hand *
Seamlessly plotted, effortlessly compelling read. Rankin is in total command of his idiom. Rebus himself may be showing signs of burn-out and disaffection with conventional police procedure, but there is no indication that the series is running out of steam * MAIL ON SUNDAY - Simon Humphreys *