3. Even Dogs in the Wild - 50 Books in a Year

I liked this book immediately for three reasons: first, it was a surprise present from my husband (albeit after quite a lot of heavy hinting... like, "Has anyone bought me the latest Rankin for Christmas?"); second, it's an Ian Rankin/Rebus book; and third, the cover has flocked bits on it that are really nice to run your finger over.

Ever since we found an Inspector Rebus book in the Greek hotel we honeymooned in and fought over reading it for the duration of the week, I've been hooked on the series. My dad was into them first, but I guess I still had a hangover of teenage refusal to enjoy something on the basis that he did (see also: Bob Dylan, olives and avocado). I've now read them all.

If you haven't come across Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series before, it's a set of 20 books about a Scottish detective with excellent musical taste called John Rebus who works in and around Edinburgh solving murders, getting himself into trouble with his bosses, and nurturing a long-term abusive relationship with whisky and bacon butties.

The last three books in the series are actually set after Rebus' official retirement from the force. We find him scrabbling around for a purpose without his career to give him one, leading him to continually hustle his protegée-turned-successor DI Siobhan Clarke for cases to 'consult' on.

This does mean that I wouldn't recomend this title if you haven't read any of the others in the series. There's a lot of Rebus background painting the scenery of Even Dogs in the Wild.

This book doesn't err from the tried-and-tested whodunnit formula, yet keeps you on your toes as usual. Rankin writes a classic murder mystery very well while taking an interesting angle on current affairs. He's discussed everything in this series from the G20 summit to the Edinburgh tramline development to the Scottish vote on independence. This novel sees him tackling the horrors of the child abuse cover-ups that have come to light since the Jimmy Savile revelations. Wry lines such as "they can put that in their pipe and vape it" root his books firmly in the present-day.

The first few pages had me rolling my eyes more than once at the over-familiar Rebus tropes: he hates the parking in Edinburgh; he buys fattening food on the go; he likes cigarettes and pints of IPA and drives a battered Saab. We know. But Rankin has managed yet again to develop his personality in retirement in a believable and satisfying manner. Age has softened him somewhat, as shown through his relationship with Malcolm Fox, a character who is becoming more and more interesting in his own right. Yet his scenes with Cafferty reveal his steely side too as the two men and their intertwining lives continue to form the backbone of these books.

It's not the most beautiful literature ever written; nevertheless, it's not only a great crime novel, but also somewhat philosophical. The Rebus books never fail to provoke thought about some aspect of being human. If you haven't yet read them, I'm envious. Start here (this new edition will have the nice flocky bits on too - bonus).