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 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). I'm not sure I can explain.' There were words - community, history, memory - but Rebus didn't think they'd be enough." There is no detective like DI Rebus. Brilliant, irascible and endlessly frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, he has made the dark places of Edinburgh his comfort and his home for over two decades. From his beginnings as a young Detective Constable in 'Dead and Buried', right up to his dramatic - but as it turns out, not quite final - retirement in 'The Very Last Drop', we see one of the most compelling, brilliant and mesmeric characters of modern times in his every guise and very much in his element.The first story "Dead and Buried" is set in the mid-1980s when Rebus was learning the ropes at Summerhall Police Station, and "The Very Last Drop" is set during a tour of a brewery immediately after Rebus’s retirement in Exit Music, a retirement present from Siobhan Clarke who goes with him (written to be read aloud at a charity night at Edinburgh’s Caledonian Brewery). "The Very Last Drop" was written to help the work of Royal Blind. [1]

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. 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.

This collection of short stories was just the tonic, and so easy to get comfortable with. Get snug, put my feet up, and peep over Rebus' shoulder. 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. This anthology brings together 31 short stories about Rebus that were written between 1990 and 2014. So we experience Rebus as a young police officer, getting older, right up to retirement. Ian Rankin is sublime, even in the shorter format of storytelling. Each story is just a snippet in to both the writing style of Rankin and also the Life and Times of Inspector Rebus, Gentleman.

The Beat Goes On is a collection of short stories concerning John Rebus-right from his time as DS to DI, with another story concerning him whilst he was retired but still going at it like a good ole Detective.an old story from his files "My Shopping Day" which was first published in "Herbert in Motion and Other Stories" (1997). The Gentleman's club was my favorite story. A twisted tale of suicide and pedophilia and teenage jealousy making room for an incredible mystery, with an afterthought: There is no detective like Ian Rankin's Detective Inspector John Rebus, a man The New Yorker calls "the ideal sleuth." Overall a good read. There were some stories after halfway, which were kind of a drag and not much interesting as the stories in the first half, partly the reason why the excitement kind of waned off towards the end. 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.