Rankin, Rebus and some of their killer lines

It was the laughter of birthdays, of money found in an old pocket. KNOTS AND CROSSES

His eyes beheld beauty not in reality but in the printed word. Standing in the waiting room, he realised that in his life he had accepted secondary experience – the experience of reading someone else’s thoughts – over real life. KNOTS AND CROSSES

“At the time, most bodies worked on by anatomists were cold indeed. They were brought to Edinburgh from all over Britain – some came by way of the Union Canal. The resurrectionists – body-snatchers – pickled them in whisky for transportation. It was a lucrative trade.”

“But did the whisky get drunk afterwards?”

Devlin chuckled. “Economics would dictate that it did.” THE FALLS

Tell me, Francis, do you buy your one-liners wholesale? Only they’re well past their sell-by. RESURRECTION MEN

Strangulation. It was a fearful way to go, wrestling, kicking your way towards oblivion, panic, the fretful sucking for air, and the killer behind you most likely, so that you faced the fear of something totally anonymous, a death without knowledge of who or why. Rebus had been taught methods of killing in the SAS. He knew what it felt like to have the garotte tighten on your neck, trusting to the opponent’s prevailing sanity. A fearful way to go. KNOTS AND CROSSES

When God made Edinburgh, he meant it to be cold, and damp, with the occasional day of watery sunshine. FLESHMARKET CLOSE

“I’ve just worked out what the music on the speakers is,” he said. “It’s John Martyn, Over The Hill.” “And?” “And nothing. It’s just, maybe I’m not there yet.” RATHER BE THE DEVIL