The Complete Short Stories
by Ian Rankin
Orion, $210
Ian Rankin's Complete Short Stories makes a good holiday companion for fans of crime writing. Containing more than 30 tales from A Good Hanging and Beggars Banquet, it follows the 1992-2005 career of the ever-perspicacious Inspector John Rebus. So popular is the character created by the so-called king of tartan noir that Rebus walking tours through Edinburgh have sold out in the past few years. The tours may have a new addition next year: the Victorian mansion that features in the sole new tale in this three-part collection, Atonement. The story centres on a dodgy old folks' home whose occupants are dying before their time. Rankin, whose crime fiction is known for its seam of social realism, told The Independent last year that fear of failure used to result in panic attacks so severe he had to breathe into paper bags to calm down. Those who enjoy his books probably share the vicarious thrill that comes with reading about not-so-far-fetched happenings. But here's a warning: don't read Atonement while chowing down.