Time and again people have asked how I learned how to write and when it all began. In cleaning out my mother’s house I found a hand-written essay of mine from elementary school days at Northwood Elementary in the early 1960s, perhaps when I was eleven or twelve, though there is no date on the paper. In other words, this is a story I wrote at least fifty years ago. I do not claim this is a great story or... Read more

Fleshmarket Close is the fifteen John Rebus adventure, but it does not match up to the very high standard Ian Rankin had set himself from about Black and Blue onwards. Here is a summary of the plot from the Amazon listing of the book… “An illegal immigrant is found murdered in an Edinburgh housing scheme: a racist attack, or something else entirely? Rebus is drawn into the case, but has other problems: his old police station has closed for business,... Read more

When most people think of Cambridge, they think of the University, and of it’s most famous college King’s College and perhaps if they are musically inclined, the King’s College choir boys. They think of the ornate front entrance or the view across the stream from the backs (see above). These days, they don’t so often think of which King we are talking about… though his statue stands in the high wall outside the perimeter of said college— Yes that’s him... Read more

For those of us who are nuts about Shakespeare, a trip to the new Globe Theatre (not so new any more since they were constructing it in 1997) is a must. On a beautiful, blue sky day, my good friend Richard Bauckham and I took a trip down from Cambridge to the bustling metropolis that is London to accomplish two things: 1) see a Mid Summer Night’s Dream at the Globe, and 2) have dinner with one of my favorite... Read more

This one is different, for this one is personal, and for my money this may be the best of all the novels in this series. The reason this story is personal for John Rebus is because one of his nephews is killed when an apparently crazed former soldier comes into a school, killing two children, and wounding a third— or did he? At the same time, John Rebus’ best colleague, under study and friend, Siobhan Clarke, has been attacked and... Read more

St. Peter stood tall behind the podium in heaven when the criminal came seeking entrance. “You can’t come in here,” said Peter, “and I’ve got some good news and bad news for you.” “Excellent,” said the thug, “tell me the good news first.” “You will be raised from the dead.” The man starts jumping up and down saying “Cool. A fresh start. But what’s the bad news.” Peter looked down and said, “You’ll be part of the negative resurrection referred... Read more

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately about and by two famous Durhamites— C.K. Barrett, and his predecessor, and in some respects, role model. J.B. Lightfoot. One of the interesting connections is their work rate. They were not afraid of hard work and lots of it. Kingsley, for example, regularly would work from 10-2 in the morning on his scholarly work. In part this is because he was a good family man, and the earlier part of the evening... Read more

There has rarely ever been a day like that which began the night of the 15th of May and ran through to the afternoon of the 16th of May here at Durham University. It was C.K. Barrett day, and a whole series of honorific scholarly presentations, as well as personal reflections were given on CKB, my doctor father. The picture above comes courtesy of old friend Professor Bill Telford, now retired, who taught at both Newcastle and Durham. I lectured... Read more

Since the death of Hugo Chavez, things have ‘gone south’ in that southern hemisphere country called Venezuela. There have been shortages of all kinds of necessities. In a recent article in the Times we are told— “After the physical discomfort of running low on toilet paper, churchgoers in Venezula may face a more spiritual shortage– the Church is running low on communion wine and flour to make eucharist wafers.” (May 29th– James Hider). One report says there is only enough... Read more

If you are a movie buff, you will know the classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart plays a deeply troubled man in Bedford Falls, and is regularly talking about ‘the Falls’. Ian Rankin’s 12th novel in the Rebus series also has this title, but it is a horse of a very different color. Sometimes truth is truly stranger than fiction. This particular novel is based a little bit on true events. Mr. Rankin became fascinated with the Burke and... Read more