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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 Rebus novel was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into twenty-two languages and are bestsellers on several continents.
Genres: Mystery
Series
Inspector Rebus
1. Knots and Crosses (1987)
2. Hide and Seek (1990)
3. Tooth and Nail (1992)
aka Wolfman
4. Strip Jack (1992)
5. The Black Book (1993)
6. Mortal Causes (1994)
7. Let It Bleed (1995)
8. Black and Blue (1997)
9. The Hanging Garden (1998)
10. Dead Souls (1999)
10.5. Death Is Not the End (1998)
11. Set in Darkness (2000)
12. The Falls (2001)
13. Resurrection Men (2001)
14. A Question of Blood (2003)
15. Fleshmarket Close (2004)
aka Fleshmarket Alley
16. The Naming Of The Dead (2006)
17. Exit Music (2007)
18. Standing in Another Man's Grave (2012)
19. Saints of the Shadow Bible (2013)
20. Even Dogs in the Wild (2015)
21. Rather Be the Devil (2016)
22. In a House of Lies (2018)
A Good Hanging (1992)
The Beat Goes On (2014)
In the Nick of Time (2014) (with Peter James)
Long Shadows (2018) (with Rona Munro)
1. Knots and Crosses (1987)
2. Hide and Seek (1990)
3. Tooth and Nail (1992)
aka Wolfman
4. Strip Jack (1992)
5. The Black Book (1993)
6. Mortal Causes (1994)
7. Let It Bleed (1995)
8. Black and Blue (1997)
9. The Hanging Garden (1998)
10. Dead Souls (1999)
10.5. Death Is Not the End (1998)
11. Set in Darkness (2000)
12. The Falls (2001)
13. Resurrection Men (2001)
14. A Question of Blood (2003)
15. Fleshmarket Close (2004)
aka Fleshmarket Alley
16. The Naming Of The Dead (2006)
17. Exit Music (2007)
18. Standing in Another Man's Grave (2012)
19. Saints of the Shadow Bible (2013)
20. Even Dogs in the Wild (2015)
21. Rather Be the Devil (2016)
22. In a House of Lies (2018)
A Good Hanging (1992)
The Beat Goes On (2014)
In the Nick of Time (2014) (with Peter James)
Long Shadows (2018) (with Rona Munro)
Jack Harvey Novels (as by Jack Harvey)
1. Witch Hunt (1993)
2. Bleeding Hearts (1994)
3. Blood Hunt (1995)
1. Witch Hunt (1993)
2. Bleeding Hearts (1994)
3. Blood Hunt (1995)
Novels
Omnibus
Collections
Herbert in Motion (1997)
Beggars Banquet (2002)
Complete Short Stories (2005)
One City (2006) (with Alexander McCall Smith and Irvine Welsh)
Ox-Tales: Earth (2009) (with Kate Atkinson, Jonathan Buckley, Jonathan Coe, Hanif Kureishi, Marti Leimbach, Marina Lewycka, Vikram Seth, Nicholas Shakespeare and Rose Tremain)
Crimespotting (2009) (with Lin Anderson, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Atwood, Chris Brookmyre, John Burnside, Isla Dewar, A L Kennedy, Denise Mina and James Robertson)
Murder On Christmas Eve (2017) (with Margery Allingham, Lawrence Block, Marjorie Bowen, John Dickson Carr, G K Chesterton, Michael Innes, Val McDermid, Ellis Peters and Julian Symons)
Beggars Banquet (2002)
Complete Short Stories (2005)
One City (2006) (with Alexander McCall Smith and Irvine Welsh)
Ox-Tales: Earth (2009) (with Kate Atkinson, Jonathan Buckley, Jonathan Coe, Hanif Kureishi, Marti Leimbach, Marina Lewycka, Vikram Seth, Nicholas Shakespeare and Rose Tremain)
Crimespotting (2009) (with Lin Anderson, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Atwood, Chris Brookmyre, John Burnside, Isla Dewar, A L Kennedy, Denise Mina and James Robertson)
Murder On Christmas Eve (2017) (with Margery Allingham, Lawrence Block, Marjorie Bowen, John Dickson Carr, G K Chesterton, Michael Innes, Val McDermid, Ellis Peters and Julian Symons)
Plays
Graphic Novels
Novellas
Series contributed to
Bibliomysteries
27. The Travelling Companion (2016)
Bookshop Mysteries (omnibus) (2017) (with John Harvey, Laura Lippman, Peter Lovesey and Joyce Carol Oates)
27. The Travelling Companion (2016)
Bookshop Mysteries (omnibus) (2017) (with John Harvey, Laura Lippman, Peter Lovesey and Joyce Carol Oates)
Non fiction
Awards
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Ian Rankin recommends
The Sound of My Voice (1987)
Ron Butlin
"Playful, haunting and moving, this is writing of the highest quality."
Mortal (1998)
Andrea Badenoch
"A first novel of chilling intensity, a mystery which also happens to be a dissection of desire, friendship and obsession."
Night Trap (1998)
(Alan Craik, book 1)
Gordon Kent (Christian Cameron)
"Here's a thriller that really flies. Gordon Kent knows his subject at first hand and the expertise shows on the page: high stakes, pounding tension and the best dogfights put on paper. A lot of thrillers these days, you come away feeling like you've been in a simulator. In NIGHT TRAP, Gordon Kent straps you into the real thing. Enjoy the ride!"
Star Struck (1998)
(Kate Brannigan, book 6)
Val McDermid
"Star Struck is Val McDermid at the top of the ratings."
Lie in the Dark (1999)
(Vlado Petric)
Dan Fesperman
"A quite astonishing first novel which injects the reader into the heart of the darkness which was Sarajevo at the height of the Yugoslav conflict. Reading this book is like being there. If Fesperman had taken me any closer to the action I'd be demanding a flak jacket. At the book's core is a police detective, a man who must deal with the conflict while never wholly understanding it, who must investigate one meaningful murder while those around him seem inured to daily slaughter. This is a humane and moving book, a great crime novel. A great novel, period."
Nights in White Satin (1999)
(Laura Principal, book 4)
Michelle Spring
"The best book yet in this amazing series."
Exile (2000)
(Garnethill, book 2)
Denise Mina
"One of the most exciting writers to have emerged in britain for years."
Cold Is the Grave (2000)
(DCI Banks, book 11)
Peter Robinson
"A writer at the very height of his powers."
Lights, Camera, Angel (2001)
(Fitzroy Maclean Angel, book 10)
Mike Ripley
"Mike Ripley's Angel series is back and taking no prisoners."
The Big Ask (2001)
(Murray Whelan, book 4)
Shane Maloney
"Maloney just gets better, and Murray Whelan remains one of the most reliable and rewarding sleuths in the business."
Those Whom the Gods Love (2001)
Clare Layton (Natasha Cooper)
"A gripping psychological thriller writer."
The Nature of the Beast (2001)
Frances Fyfield
"Her knowledge of the workings of the human mind - or, more correctly, the soul - is second to none."
Hot Potato (2003)
(Fizz and Buchanan, book 7)
Joyce Holms
"Joyce's humour is sharp without being nasty, her characters well drawn, and her Edinburgh a place you'll want to spend time in."
Whales for the Wizard (2005)
Malcolm Archibald
"A rip-roaring adventure-mystery with terrific detail of place, period and shipping lore."
Faro and the Royals (2005)
(Inspector Faro, book 14)
Alanna Knight
"Alanna Knight could hardly be better, with a crime novelist's insight into motive and aftermath."
The Power of the Dog (2005)
(Power of the Dog, book 1)
Don Winslow
"So good you almost want to keep him to yourself."
A Kind of Vanishing (2007)
Lesley Thomson
"Lesley Thomson is a class above, and A Kind of Vanishing is a novel to treasure."
The Prince of Bagram Prison (2008)
Alex Carr
"Takes the reader for a seriously fast and scary ride. You'll end up checking your reading chair for a seatbelt."
The Stranger from Home (2008)
(Jim Meldrum, book 8)
Frederic Lindsay
"Intelligent, entertaining, gripping and well-written."
Londongrad (2008)
(Artie Cohen, book 8)
Reggie Nadelson
"Nadelson's take on a London of oligarchs fuelled by money from the 'new' Russia."
Speak No Evil (2009)
(Joe Donovan, book 4)
Martyn Waites
"England's dark heart has seldom been exposed with such surgical precision. Brutal, mesmerizing stuff."
Crimewave Nine: Transgressions (2014)
Andy Cox
"A must-have collection of the hottest crime stories around."
Fallout (2015)
(Tito Ihaka, book 5)
Paul Thomas
"Violent, funny, profane-Ihaka is a terrific maverick cop."
Where Roses Never Die (2015)
(Varg Veum, book 17)
Gunnar Staalesen
"One of my very favorite Scandinavian authors...a series with very sharp teeth."
A Rising Man (2016)
(Sam Wyndham, book 1)
Abir Mukherjee
"A Rising Man is a whodunit set in the social and political tinderbox of 1919 Calcutta - a thought-provoking rollercoaster."
The Intrusions (2017)
(Carrigan and Miller, book 3)
Stav Sherez
"A Silence of the Lambs for the internet age."
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Seek (2017)
Anthony O'Neill
"Being a huge fan of the original, I was skeptical about this sequel, but it was clever, gripping, and reverent. Recommended."
Deep Blue Trouble (2017)
(Lori Anderson, book 2)
Steph Broadribb
"Like Midnight Run, but much darker..."
Bloody January (2017)
(Harry McCoy, book 1)
Alan Parks
"An old-school cop novel written with wit and economy . . . Think McIlvanney or Get Carter."
This is How it Ends (2018)
Eva Dolan
"Elegantly crafted, humane and thought-provoking. She's top drawer."
Kill 'Em All (2018)
(Kill Your Friends, book 2)
John Niven
"A bruising triumph; Amis' MONEY for the Trump generation. What a monster he's created."
Night Runners (2018)
(Detective Mollel, book 3)
Richard Crompton
"A compulsive whodunnit set in Kenya."
For The Good Times (2019)
David Keenan
"I've read a fair amount of 'Troubles' literature down the years. This is up there with the very best."
To Kill the Truth (2019)
(Maggie Costello, book 4)
Sam Bourne
"A Day of the Jackal for these dizzying times."
Breakers (2019)
Doug Johnstone
"This may be Doug Johnstone’s best book yet. An unsparing yet sympathetic depiction of Edinburgh’s ignored underclass, with terrific characterisation. Tense, pacey, filmic."
The Doll Factory (2019)
Elizabeth Macneal
"A stunningly confident first novel with a real sense of period and place . . . thoroughly engrossing."
A Shadow Intelligence (2019)
Oliver Harris
"Oliver Harris is always pure quality and I'm loving the hell out of his foray into the contemporary spy novel."
Die For Me (2020)
(Axel Steen, book 2)
Jesper Stein
"Who doesn't love a maverick cop with a chaotic personal life?."
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