Knots and Crosses

Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin  256 pp.

Inspector John Rebus of the Edinburgh Police suffers from what we now call PTSD from his time in Britain's elite SAS. He has never talked of his experiences to anyone. Now the policeman is receiving mysterious crank letters that he is ignoring. He is also part of the investigation into a series of murders of young girls. He soon discovers that the next target is his own daughter, Samantha. Eventually a connection between a horrific episode in his SAS career and the serial killings is made and he must race the clock to find his daughter before she too is killed. There is a side plot involving Rebus' stage hypnotist brother and a relentless new reporter who wants to bring down the Rebus brothers. This is a police procedural with interesting twists and a satisfying mystery.

Too Cool to be Forgotten

Too Cool to be Forgotten by Alex Robinson  125 pp.

Andy, a middle-aged man, makes one final attempt to quit smoking by undergoing hypnosis. But he is startled to find himself back in high school, re-living all the awkwardness and problems he lived through at age 15. He keeps a slim connection to the present while facing his life as a teen. Finally he realizes the hypnotist has sent him back to the time he had his first cigarette and is sure that when he turns down that cigarette his smoking problem will be cured. But he doesn't return from being a teen-ager because he has one more thing he has to deal with. I didn't realize until I'd nearly finished the book that each chapter bears the title of a popular song from the 1980s.

This is the first graphic novel of Robinson's that I actually completed. The others, Box Office Poison and Tricked, I just couldn't get into. Frankly I wasn't impressed with his work. However, this book held my attention.