Inspector Rebus
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
author Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
. The novels, centred on the title character Detective Inspector John Rebus
Detective Inspector John Rebus
Detective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in the Inspector Rebus series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Ian Rankin, ten of which have so far been televised as Rebus...
, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
.
Content and style
The books are written in third personGrammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
limited omniscient
Third person limited omniscient
The third-person omniscient is a narrative mode in which the reader is presented the story by a narrator with an overarching point of view, seeing and knowing everything that happens within the world of the story, regardless of the presence of certain characters, including everything all of the...
mode, focusing on Rebus, with the point of view sometimes shifting to colleagues, petty criminals or suspects. The stories belong to the genre of police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
, with a hardboiled
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
aspect that has led to them being dubbed 'Tartan Noir
Tartan Noir
Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers. It has its roots in Scottish literature but borrows elements from elsewhere, including from the work of American crime writers of the second half of the twentieth century, especially of the hard-boiled genre, and of...
'.
All the novels involve murders, suspicious deaths or disappearances, with Rebus taking on the task of solving the mystery. The resulting investigation (or investigations) depict a stark, uncompromising picture of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, characterised by corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
, poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, and organised crime. Along the way, Rebus has to struggle with internal police politics, a struggle exacerbated by his tendency to bend the rules and ignore his superiors. He also has to deal with his own personal issues, which are often directly or indirectly related to the current investigation, risking further friction with his colleagues.
Rankin has won critical praise for his elaborate and inventive plots. In particular, the later books have multiple plotlines encompassing dozens of distinctive characters and locations. These span a broad spectrum of Scotland, including council estates, tenements, business districts, nightclubs, prisons, dying mining towns, secluded villages and desolate hillsides, as well as the better-known pubs and streets of Edinburgh. Some of these locations are fictional, although they may be based on real places. For example, the Pilmuir estate is a conflation of the two real Edinburgh locations Pilton
Pilton, Edinburgh
Pilton is a residential district of northern Edinburgh, Scotland. It is to the north of Ferry Road and west of Granton....
and Muirhouse
Muirhouse
Muirhouse is a district in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is west of Granton and the housing estates of East Pilton and West Pilton, and East of Davidsons Mains...
. Other locations, such as the Oxford Bar
The Oxford Bar
The Oxford Bar is a public house situated on Young Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. The pub is chiefly notable for having been featured in Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus series of novels. The Oxford Bar, or The Ox, is John Rebus's favourite pub in Edinburgh to go for a drink.-History:The Oxford Bar...
, Arden Street or St Leonards
St Leonards
- Places :in the United Kingdom:*St Leonards, Buckinghamshire*St Leonards, Dorset*St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex*St Leonards, East Kilbride*St Leonards, Edinburgh*St Leonards railway station*St Leonard's , Lambeth, London...
police station, are real. Frequent references to real places, or local politics firmly ground the Rebus series in the real world.
Another strong feature of the series is the continual linking between the books. This may be in reference to background, previous cases and storylines, or through the characters Rebus encounters, for example, the notorious Edinburgh crime lord 'Big Ger' Cafferty. However, Rankin does this in such a way that reading them in order, or a prior knowledge of the Rebus 'history' isn't required. Everything is explained in enough detail in order not to confuse new readers, but does not become repetitive for extensive readers of the series.
Publishing history
The Inspector Rebus series is extremely popular, accounting for 10% of all crime book sales in the UK. The books now routinely sell half a million copies within the first three months of printing, and have been translated into 26 languages. They are currently published in the UK by the Orion Publishing GroupOrion Publishing Group
Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It is owned by Hachette Livre. In 1998 Orion bought Cassell.-History:Full history of the group can be found on Orion Publishing Group is owned by -Imprints:...
. Currently seventeen full novels have been written. The seventeenth is possibly the last as Rebus will turn sixty, the age of retirement for CID
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
officers. The 17th book, Exit Music was released on the 6 September 2007.
Novels
- Knots and CrossesKnots and CrossesKnots and Crosses is a 1987 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the first of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was written while Rankin was a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh...
(1987) - Hide and SeekHide and Seek (novel)Hide and Seek is a 1991 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the second of the Inspector Rebus novels.-Plot summary:Detective Inspector John Rebus finds the body of an overdosed drug addict in an Edinburgh squat, laid out cross-like on the floor, between two burned-down candles, with a five-pointed...
(1991) - Tooth and NailTooth and Nail (novel)Tooth and Nail is a 1992 crime novel by Ian Rankin, originally entitled Wolfman. It is the third of the Inspector Rebus novels.-Plot summary:...
(original title Wolfman) (1992) - Strip JackStrip JackStrip Jack is a 1992 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the fourth of the Inspector Rebus novels.-Plot summary:A police raid on an Edinburgh brothel captures popular young local MP Gregor Jack. When Jack's fiery wife Elizabeth disappears, and two bodies are found, suspicion falls on a famous local...
(1992) - The Black Book (1993)
- Mortal CausesMortal CausesMortal Causes is a 1994 novel by Ian Rankin. It is the sixth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the fourth episode in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2004.-Plot summary:...
(1994) - Let it BleedLet it Bleed (novel)Let it Bleed is a 1995 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the seventh of the Inspector Rebus novels. The US edition has a final chapter which the UK edition does not have, as the author's 'Introduction' explains.-Plot summary:...
(1996) - Black and BlueBlack and Blue (novel)Black and Blue is a 1997 crime novel by the Scots author Ian Rankin. The eighth of the Inspector Rebus novels, it was the first to be adapted in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2000....
(1997) - The Hanging Garden (1998)
- Dead SoulsDead Souls (1999 novel)Dead Souls is a 1999 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the tenth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the third episode in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2001.-Plot summary:...
(1999) - Set in DarknessSet in DarknessSet in Darkness is a 2000 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the eleventh of the Inspector Rebus novels.-Plot summary:The Scottish Parliament is about to reopen in Edinburgh after 300 years. Detective Inspector John Rebus is in charge of liaison, as the new parliament is in his patch...
(2000) - The FallsThe Falls (Rankin novel)The Falls is a 2001 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the twelfth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the first episode in the second Rebus television series starring Ken Stott, airing in 2006, substantially changed from the novel and somewhat resembling the plot of the film Chinatown.-Plot...
(2001) - Resurrection MenResurrection MenResurrection Men is a 2002 novel by Ian Rankin. It is the thirteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels.-Plot summary:Detective Inspector John Rebus is thrown off a murder inquiry, just days after the brutal death of an Edinburgh art dealer, for throwing a cup of tea at DCS Gill Templer...
(2002) - A Question of BloodA Question of BloodA Question of Blood is a 2003 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the fourteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels.-Plot summary:At a private school two teenagers are killed by an ex-Army loner who then turns the gun on himself. As Detective Inspector John Rebus puts it, 'There's no mystery...except the...
(2003) - Fleshmarket CloseFleshmarket CloseFleshmarket Close is a 2004 crime novel by Ian Rankin, and is named after a real close in Edinburgh between the High Street and Market Street, crossing Cockburn Street. It is the fifteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels. "Fleshmarket" is the Scots term for butcher's market. It was released in the...
(published in the USA as Fleshmarket Alley) (2004) - The Naming of the DeadThe Naming of the DeadThe Naming of the Dead is a crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the sixteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It is set in Edinburgh in July 2005, in the week of the G8 summit in Gleneagles.- Plot summary :...
(2006) - Exit MusicExit MusicExit Music is the seventeenth and final crime novel in the internationally bestselling Inspector Rebus series, written by Ian Rankin. It was published on 6 September 2007...
(2007)
Short Stories
- A Good Hanging' and Other Stories (1992) - short stories
- "Playback" (1990) - first published in Winter's Crimes 22
- "The Dean Curse"
- "Being Frank"
- "Concrete Evidence"
- "Seeing Things"
- "A Good Hanging"
- "Tit for Tat"
- "Not Provan"
- "Sunday"
- "Auld Lang Syne"
- "The Gentleman's Club"
- "Monstrous Trumpet"
- Death Is Not the End (1998) - novella
- Beggars Banquet (2002) - short stories (includes seven Rebus stories and Death Is Not the End)
- "Trip Trap" (1992) - first published in 1st Culprit
- "Facing the Music" (1994) - first published in Midwinter Mysteries 4
- "Talk Show" (1991) - first published in Winter's Crimes 23
- "Castle Dangerous" (1993) - first published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Oct. 1993
- "In the Frame" (1992) - first published in Winter's Crimes 24
- "Window of Opportunity" (1995) - first published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Dec. 1995
- "No Sanity Clause" (2000) - first published in the Daily Telegraph, Dec. 2000
- "Tell Me Who To Kill" (2003) - short story, first published in Mysterious Pleasures, a collection celebrating fifty years of the Crime Writers' AssociationCrime Writers' AssociationThe Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....
- "Saint Nicked" (2004) Published In The Best British Mysteries Volume 1
- "Atonement" (2005) - short story, first published in The Complete Short Stories
Collections
- Rebus - The Early Years [Knots and Crosses, Hide and Seek, Tooth and Nail]
- Rebus - The St. Leonards' Years [Strip Jack, The Black Book, Mortal Causes]
- Rebus - The Lost Years [Let it Bleed, Black and Blue, The Hanging Garden]
- Rebus - Capital Crimes [Dead Souls, Set in Darkness, The Falls]
- Rebus - Three Great Novels [Resurrection Men, A Question of Blood, Fleshmarket Close] (June 2008)
- The Complete Short Stories [A Good Hanging' and Other Stories, Beggars Banquet, Atonement]
Also
- Rebus's Scotland - A Personal Journey.
- New Edinburgh Crimes by Ian Rankin - containing the short stories "Playback" and "Talk Show", published in Japan (1996)
Audiobooks
All of the Rebus novels are available as audiobooks, some in several versions: narrated by different people or in abridged and unabridged form.Narrators include:
- James MacPhersonJames MacPherson (actor)James MacPherson is a Scottish actor, best known for his role as Detective Michael Jardine in the ITV drama, Taggart.MacPherson was raised in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. He left Hamilton Grammar School at 17 and got a job as a laboratory technician at Glasgow's Institute of Neurosciences at the...
- Jamie GloverJamie GloverJamie Glover is an English actor, known for portraying Andrew Treneman in Waterloo Road.-Background:Born and raised in Barnes, London, Glover is the son of actors Julian Glover and Isla Blair...
- Bill Paterson (The Black Book, Hide and Seek)
- Samuel Gillies (Strip Jack, Set in Darkness, Tooth and Nail, Let It Bleed, The Falls, Beggar's Banquet)
- Roger AllamRoger AllamRoger Allam is an English actor, known primarily for his stage career, although he has performed in film and television. He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical Les Misérables....
- Joe Dunlop (Dead Souls, Resurrection Men)
- James FrainJames FrainJames Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. He is possibly best known for his role in the Showtime series The Tudors in which he appeared as Thomas Cromwell from 2007 to 2009, and for his role as vampire Franklin Mott in season three of the HBO drama True Blood, as well as his role...
- David RintoulDavid RintoulDavid Rintoul is a stage and television actor.Rintoul was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He studied at Edinburgh University and won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London....
(Mortal Causes) - Tom CotcherTom CotcherTom Cotcher is a Scottish actor who played Alan Woods in The Bill from 1992 to 1996. He also appeared briefly in an earlier episode of the police saga as a local resident with a missing dog. Since then he has appeared in Taggart and Night and Day, and in October 2007 as a doctor in EastEnders...
(A Question of Blood, Fleshmarket Close, The Naming of the Dead) - Michael PageMichael PageMichael Harry Page is a former English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1964 and 1975.Page was born in Blackpool. He began his career with Nottinghamshire and Lancashire, for whom he played briefly for the Second XI, though it was with Derbyshire that he was to...
(A Question of Blood, Fleshmarket Alley (Close)) - Ewan StewartEwan StewartEwan Stewart is a Scottish film, television and stage actor.- Life and career :Stewart was born Andrew Ewan Stewart in Glasgow, and is the son of the late Scottish entertainer Andy Stewart. His mother Sheila is still alive and lives in Arbroath, Scotland. Stewart was educated at Edinburgh's...
(Knots and Crosses, Hide and Seek, unabridged versions)
Three of the novels have won Spoken Word Awards: Strip Jack (Gold), A Question of Blood and Resurrection Men (Silver).
An innovative new design, the illustrated audiobook was created for Rebus's Scotland (the CD box contains a 32 page booklet containing photographs from the book).
Television adaptations
For main article, see Rebus (TV series)Rebus (TV series)
Rebus is the title of the detective drama based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin set in and around Edinburgh produced by STV Productions for the ITV Network....
Thirteen of the novels were dramatised for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
between 2000 and 2007 in four series of Rebus. John Hannah
John Hannah (actor)
John David Hannah is a Scottish actor of film and television. He has appeared in Stephen Sommers' Mummy Series, Richard Curtis' Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow...
played Inspector Rebus in the first series, before being replaced by Ken Stott
Ken Stott
Kenneth Campbell "Ken" Stott is a Scottish actor, particularly known in the United Kingdom for his many roles in television.-Early life:...
for the next three.
Series four of the program also included an original episode, which unlike the other thirteen episodes aired, was not based on any of the Rankin
Rankin
-Places:*In Australia:**Division of Rankin, an electoral district in the Australian Federal House of Representatives, in Queensland*In Canada:**Rankin Inlet, Nunavut**Rankin Inlet Airport, Nunavut**Rankin River, Ontario...
novels. It was entitled "The First Stone".
See also
- Detective Inspector John RebusDetective Inspector John RebusDetective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in the Inspector Rebus series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Ian Rankin, ten of which have so far been televised as Rebus...
- List of characters from the Inspector Rebus series
- Lothian and Borders PoliceLothian and Borders PoliceLothian and Borders Police is the territorial police force for the Scottish council areas of the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian...
- Areas of EdinburghAreas of EdinburghEdinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is divided into areas that generally encompass a park , a main local street , a high street and residential buildings...