Detective John Rebus first appeared in Ian Rankin's 1987 bestseller
"Knots and Crosses" and has since gone on to appear in 17 books and
numerous short stories. For more than 20 years these critically
acclaimed novels have delighted readers and set a benchmark in
contemporary crime fiction. These notoriously gritty stories have been
adapted into a television series--the public cannot get enough of this
hard-drinking, no-nonsense, complex detective. Although the fictional
Inspector retired to the backwaters of Edinburgh's dark side in the 2007
novel "Exit Music," the books endure. Here, Craig Cabell draws from his
extensive interviews with Ian Rankin to explore both the writer and his
creation, and how their relationship has developed over the years. He
also investigates the dark cellars and sinister back streets of Rebus'
Edinburgh--a dark, foreboding city that shatters any stereotypes of
shortbread and kilts. Learn about the unusual connection between Rankin
and Rebus, how the author was a punk musician and swineherd before
becoming a writer, and why he was so inspired by fellow Scottish author
Robert Louis Stevenson and his masterpiece "The""Strange Case of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
