Book #14 for 2024: In the Nick of Time by Ian Rankin & Peter James
In the Nick of Time: John Rebus vs. Roy Grace by Ian Rankin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a short story from a longer collection by Ian Rankin. I'm not a fan of Inspector Rebus - yet - but read it for the appearance of Peter James' detective, Roy Grace. Apparently it comes between the 10th and 11th Grace novels, but makes only passing reference to the events of the main novels.
The plot of this book is simple, taking a chance to mention the mod v rocker riots that occurred in 1960s Brighton. Rebus is presented with a man confessing to stabbing a rocker during the incident, and because the incident occurred in Brighton, Roy Grace gets involved in the case.
The plot is relatively simple; Grace just has to take the victim up to Scotland to get a positive ID on the man who stabbed him, and that's all that happens. I tend to be a bit sceptical about crossover storylines like this, but the writing seemed true to the characters who I was familiar with. To be honest, it felt like a wasted opportunity, as the writers could have done a lot more with a pairing of their two most famous characters. I think a more honest rating would be 2.5 out of 5, but it was a reasonably enjoyable read. I might have to pick up a Rebus book some time.
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