Scotland

Ian Rankin

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first novel The Flood was published in 1986, while his first Rebus novel, Knots & Crosses, was published in 1987. The Rebus series is now translated into twenty-two languages and the books are bestsellers on several continents. Ian has received an OBE for services to literature. He is also the winner of an Edgar Award and the recipient of a Gold Dagger for fiction and the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their two sons.

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Latest reviews

“One of the most eagerly anticipated publishing events of the year – and this novel did not disappoint!”

— Crime Fiction Lover, Nov 17 2021

Ian Rankin created one of the world's most enduring and beloved investigators, the surly Detective Inspector John Rebus. The novelist has churned out more than two dozen Rebus books, but this time fans are in for something — and someone — completely different. Rankin talks...

— CBC Radio: The Sunday Magazine, Oct 29 2021

“As in the original Laidlaw trilogy, the writing here is so sharp that nearly every sentence could split open a haggis.”

— Minneapolis Star Tribune, Oct 11 2021

Vick Mickunas’ 2021 interview with Ian Rankin.

— WYSO's Book Nook, Sep 29 2021

“[With The Dark Remains readers can] savor walking down the mean streets of 1970s Glasgow once again with the stoic Laidlaw. For that pleasure, we have Ian Rankin to thank and, one final time, the man himself, William McIlvanney.”

— Washington Post, Sep 23 2021

“McIlvanney's gift for evoking the bruised humanity in Glasgow's underclass will remind readers not only of Rankin and his Scottish contemporaries, but also of Englishman John Harvey and, across the pond, Michael Connelly."

— Booklist (Starred), Sep 15 2021

"At his death in 2015, McIlvanney left notes for an unfinished novel, and there was only one writer to bring the project to posthumous fruition. Now we have The Dark Remains by McIlvanney and Rankin, and it’s a finis to be relished."

— The Financial Times, Sep 7 2021

"Reading The Dark Remains yields far more than the strangely amazing and touching answer to ‘What if you combined crime noir geniuses McIlvanney and Rankin?’”

— New York Journal of Books, Sep 7 2021

"This story of twists and tough guys leaves behind shattered lives and broken relationships, even for the good guys. Everything is spiced with alcohol and human longing. In the end, no one can match wits with Laidlaw and how he orchestrates the story, almost like a puppeteer, to its crescendo. For Laidlaw fans, the voice and layers come as close as it gets to the original trilogy."

— The Big Thrill, Sep 1 2021

“The world McIlvanney and Rankin create—there’s no indication of who wrote what, and readers will be hard-pressed to tell—is deliciously fluid in its conflicts... A precious chance to spend a few more hours with a franchise that ended much too soon.”

— Kirkus Reviews, Jul 1 2021

“Laidlaw... surprises the reader at every turn, showing himself to be literate, intelligent, and thoughtful. McIlvanney’s fans will relish this gritty early perspective on Laidlaw.”

— Publishers Weekly, Jun 30 2021