Imagined crossover · Police detectives
What if John Rebus met Karen Pirie?
Old school meets cold case. Two of Scotland’s great fictional detectives, both stubborn, both driven by the dead who have been forgotten.
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The pair
John RebusEdinburgh detective, later retired and working cold casesBy Ian Rankin · Rebus · first in Knots and Crosses
Karen PirieDetective leading Scotland’s cold case unitBy Val McDermid · Karen Pirie · first in The Distant Echo
Chemistry7/10
Friction7/10
Would you read this crossover?
Where and when
Edinburgh
The 2010s to today
The story
- How they might meet
- Pirie’s Historic Cases Unit reopens a decades-old Edinburgh murder, and the retired detective whose name is all over the file has strong opinions about it.
- Why they would work
- Two of Scotland’s great fictional detectives, both stubborn, both driven by the dead who have been forgotten.
- What each brings
- Rebus has a memory of every villain in Edinburgh and the contacts to match. Pirie is methodical, modern and relentless with old evidence.
- Where they would clash
- Rebus bends rules and rarely forgives; Pirie plays it straight and has no patience for old boys’ habits. Expect sharp words in the Oxford Bar.
Strengths compared
John Rebus Karen Pirie
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
- The Distant EchoVal McDermid · 2003 · Karen Pirie's first appearanceBuy on Amazon
