Imagined crossover · Police detectives
What if John Rebus met Jackson Brodie?
Festival season. Two big-hearted, troubled, music-loving men who keep stumbling into other people’s tragedies.
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The pair
John RebusEdinburgh detective, later retired and working cold casesBy Ian Rankin · Rebus · first in Knots and Crosses
Jackson BrodiePrivate investigator, a former soldier and police inspectorBy Kate Atkinson · Jackson Brodie · first in Case Histories
Chemistry7/10
Friction6/10
Would you read this crossover?
Where and when
Edinburgh
The 2000s
The story
- How they might meet
- During the Edinburgh Festival, a road rage incident Jackson Brodie witnesses leads to a body, and the local DI has questions.
- Why they would work
- Two big-hearted, troubled, music-loving men who keep stumbling into other people’s tragedies.
- What each brings
- Rebus knows Edinburgh’s underworld. Brodie is a former soldier and policeman with a talent for finding the missing.
- Where they would clash
- Brodie is an outsider who keeps turning up where he should not, and Rebus does not like coincidences.
Strengths compared
John Rebus Jackson Brodie
Our own ratings out of 10, for fun.
On the page together
The years in which each character's books were published.
Read your way in
Start with each character's first appearance.
- Knots and CrossesIan Rankin · 1987 · John Rebus's first appearanceBuy on Amazon
- Case HistoriesKate Atkinson · 2004 · Jackson Brodie's first appearanceBuy on Amazon
