Detective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in the Inspector Rebus series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Sir Ian Rankin, ten of which have so far been televised as Rebus. The novels are mostly set in and around Edinburgh. Rebus has been portrayed by John Hannah, Ken Stott and Richard Rankin for television, with Ron Donachie playing the character for the BBC Radio dramatisations.
The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Sir Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh. They are considered an important contribution to 'Tartan Noir'.
The Black Book is a 1993 crime novel by Ian Rankin, the fifth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It is the first book to feature Siobhan Clarke and Morris Gerald Cafferty appears as a main character. It is also the first book where Rebus is based at St Leonards police station.
Mortal 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.
Black & Blue is a 1997 crime novel by 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.
The Hanging Garden is a 1998 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the ninth of the Inspector Rebus novels. It was the second episode in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2001.
Set in Darkness is a 2000 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the eleventh of the Inspector Rebus novels. It won the 2005 Grand Prix du Roman Policier (France) under the title Du fond des ténèbres.
A Question of Blood is a 2003 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the fourteenth of the Inspector Rebus novels.
The Falls is a 2001 crime novel by Ian Rankin. It is the twelfth of the Inspector Rebus novels.
The 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.
Exit Music is the seventeenth crime novel in the internationally bestselling Inspector Rebus series, written by Ian Rankin. It was published on 6 September 2007. The book is named after the Radiohead song "Exit Music ".
The Complaints is a novel by Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin. It was published in the United Kingdom on 3 September 2009.
"Resurrection Men" is a 2007 episode of STV's Rebus television series. It was the first episode broadcast in the show's fourth season, and starred Ken Stott in the title role. The episode was based on the Ian Rankin novel of the same name.
Resurrectionists were body snatchers who were commonly employed by anatomists in the United Kingdom during the 18th and 19th centuries to exhume the bodies of the recently dead. Between 1506 and 1752 only a very few cadavers were available each year for anatomical research. The supply was increased when, in an attempt to intensify the deterrent effect of the death penalty, Parliament passed the Murder Act 1752. By allowing judges to substitute the public display of executed criminals with dissection, the new law significantly increased the number of bodies anatomists could legally access. This proved insufficient to meet the needs of the hospitals and teaching centres that opened during the 18th century. Corpses and their component parts became a commodity, but although the practice of disinterment was hated by the general public, bodies were not legally anyone's property. The resurrectionists therefore operated in a legal grey area.
Standing in Another Man's Grave is the eighteenth instalment in the bestselling Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in 2012. The title of the book is a mondegreen, Rankin having misheard the Scottish singer songwriter Jackie Leven singing "Standing in Another Man's Rain", which mistake he gives to Rebus. Excerpts from Leven's songs appear with each division of the book.
Even Dogs in the Wild is the twentieth instalment in the bestselling Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in 2015. The novel takes its name from the song of the same name by the Scottish band The Associates from their album The Affectionate Punch.
Rather Be the Devil is the 21st instalment in the Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in November 2016. Rather Be the Devil topped the bestseller charts for hardback fiction. The title was inspired by a John Martyn song from his 1973 album Solid Air.
A Song for the Dark Times is the 23rd installment in the Inspector Rebus series written by Ian Rankin. The phrase "dark times" was meant to refer to the era of Brexit, autocratic leaders, and so on, as of 2019, but the book was published in 2020, in a period of COVID-19 lockdowns. The title is from one of the book’s epigraphs, Bertolt Brecht on “singing in/about the dark times”; also, “Songs for the Dark Times” is the title Siobhan Clarke gives to a CD compilation she has burned for John Rebus, which he plays while driving north in his car.
A Heart Full of Headstones is the 24th installment in the Inspector Rebus series written by Ian Rankin. The title comes from the song "Single Father" by Jackie Leven, four lines of which are quoted on the last page of the novel. The novel is set during the period when COVID-19 is a threat but lockdown has ended, probably in 2022.
