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Ian Rankin Books In Order

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Publication Order of Inspector Rebus Books

Knots and Crosses (1987)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Hide and Seek (1991)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Tooth and Nail / Wolfman (1992)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Strip Jack (1992)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Black Book (1993)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Mortal Causes (1994)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Let It Bleed (1995)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Black and Blue (1997)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Hanging Garden (1998)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Dead Souls (1999)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Set in Darkness (2000)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Falls (2001)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Resurrection Men (2002)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
A Question of Blood (2003)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Fleshmarket Alley / Fleshmarket Close (2004)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Naming of the Dead (2006)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Exit Music (2007)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Standing in Another Man's Grave (2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Saints of the Shadow Bible (2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Even Dogs in the Wild (2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Rather Be the Devil (2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
In a House of Lies (2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
A Song for the Dark Times (2020)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
A Heart Full of Headstones (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Inspector Rebus Short Stories/Novellas

with Peter James
A Good Hanging (1992)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Death is Not the End (1998)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
A Good Hanging and Other Stories (2003)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
In the Nick of Time (With: Peter James) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Beat Goes On (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Long Shadows (Play) (2019)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Jack Harvey Books

Witch Hunt (1993)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Blood Hunt (1995)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Bleeding Hearts (2001)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Malcolm Fox Books

The Complaints (2009)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Impossible Dead (2011)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Jack Laidlaw Books

with William McIlvanney
Laidlaw (By:William McIlvanney) (1977)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Papers of Tony Veitch (By:William McIlvanney) (1983)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Strange Loyalties (By:William McIlvanney) (1991)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Dark Remains (With: William McIlvanney) (2021)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Dark Remains is a prequel.

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

The Flood (1986)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Watchman (1988)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Westwind (1991)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Doors Open (2008)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

A Deep Hole (1994)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
A Cool Head (2009)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Meet and Greet (2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Plays

Dark Road (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Beggars Banquet (2002)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Rebus's Scotland (2005)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Bibliomysteries Books

The Book of Virtue (By:Ken Bruen) (2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Pronghorns of the Third Reich (By:C.J. Box) (2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Book Thing (By:Laura Lippman) (2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Book Case (By:Nelson DeMille) (2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
An Acceptable Sacrifice (By:Jeffery Deaver) (2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Death Leaves a Bookmark (By:William Link) (2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Final Testament (By:Peter Blauner) (2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Rides a Stranger (By:David Bell) (2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Long Sonata of the Dead (By:Andrew Taylor) (2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Book of Ghosts (By:Reed Farrel Coleman) (2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Compendium of Srem (By:F. Paul Wilson) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
What's in a Name? (By:Thomas H. Cook) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Remaindered (By:Peter Lovesey) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Sequel (By:R.L. Stine) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Gospel of Sheba (By:Lyndsay Faye) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Nature of My Inheritance (By:Bradford Morrow) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
It's in the Book (By:Mickey Spillane) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Scroll (By:Anne Perry) (2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Book of the Lion (By:Thomas Perry) (2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Little Men (By:Megan Abbott) (2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Condor in the Stacks (By:James Grady) (2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Mystery, Inc. (By:Joyce Carol Oates) (2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Every Seven Years (By:Denise Mina) (2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
From the Queen (By:Carolyn Hart) (2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Travelling Companion (2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Citadel (By:Stephen Hunter) (2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Reconciliation Day (By:Christopher Fowler) (2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Dead Dames Don't Sing (By:John Harvey) (2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Haze (By:James W. Hall) (2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Hoodoo Harry (By:Joe R. Lansdale) (2017)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Pretty Little Box (By:Charles Todd) (2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Seven Years (By:Peter Robinson) (2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Hemingway Valise (By:Robert Olen Butler) (2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Last Honest Horse Thief (By:Michael Koryta) (2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository (By:John Connolly) (2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Dark Door (By:Lisa Unger) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Chronological Order of Bibliomysteries Books

The Book of Virtue (By:Ken Bruen)(2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Scroll (By:Anne Perry)(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Pronghorns of the Third Reich (By:C.J. Box)(2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
An Acceptable Sacrifice (By:Jeffery Deaver)(2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Death Leaves a Bookmark (By:William Link)(2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Seven Years (By:Peter Robinson)(2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Book Thing (By:Laura Lippman)(2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Book of Ghosts (By:Reed Farrel Coleman)(2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Long Sonata of the Dead (By:Andrew Taylor)(2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Final Testament (By:Peter Blauner)(2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Rides a Stranger (By:David Bell)(2013)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
What's in a Name? (By:Thomas H. Cook)(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
It's in the Book (By:Mickey Spillane)(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Nature of My Inheritance (By:Bradford Morrow)(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Remaindered (By:Peter Lovesey)(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Compendium of Srem (By:F. Paul Wilson)(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Gospel of Sheba (By:Lyndsay Faye)(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Sequel (By:R.L. Stine)(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Book of the Lion (By:Thomas Perry)(2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Little Men (By:Megan Abbott)(2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
From the Queen (By:Carolyn Hart)(2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Every Seven Years (By:Denise Mina)(2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Citadel (By:Stephen Hunter)(2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Condor in the Stacks (By:James Grady)(2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Mystery, Inc. (By:Joyce Carol Oates)(2015)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Travelling Companion(2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Haze (By:James W. Hall)(2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Dead Dames Don't Sing (By:John Harvey)(2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Reconciliation Day (By:Christopher Fowler)(2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Hoodoo Harry (By:Joe R. Lansdale)(2017)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Pretty Little Box (By:Charles Todd)(2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository (By:John Connolly)(2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Hemingway Valise (By:Robert Olen Butler)(2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Last Honest Horse Thief (By:Michael Koryta)(2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Book Case (By:Nelson DeMille)(2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Dark Door (By:Lisa Unger)(2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Murderous Christmas Stories Books

Murder under the Christmas Tree: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season (2016)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Murder on Christmas Eve (2017)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
A Very Murderous Christmas: Ten Classic Crime Stories for the Festive Season (2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Anthology series.

Publication Order of Mysterious Profiles Books

Elvis Cole and Joe Pike (By:Robert Crais) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Jack Taylor (By:Ken Bruen) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Jack Reacher (By:Lee Child) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Charlie Parker (By:John Connolly) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Hieronymus Bosch (By:Michael Connelly) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Lincoln Rhyme (By:Jeffery Deaver) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Alex Delaware (By:Jonathan Kellerman) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Tess Monaghan (By:Laura Lippman) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Charlie Resnick (By:John Harvey) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus (By:Faye Kellerman) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Inspector Morse (By:Colin Dexter) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Dismas Hardy (By:John Lescroart) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Bob Lee Swagger (By:Stephen Hunter) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Aloysius X. L. Pendergast (By:Douglas Preston) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Lou Boldt (By:Ridley Pearson) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Spenser (By:Robert B. Parker) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Charlotte and Thomas Pitt (By:Anne Perry) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
John Rebus (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Mallory (By:Carol O'Connell) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Jane Whitefield (By:Thomas Perry) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Ian Rutledge: A Mysterious Profile (By:Charles Todd) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Amos Walker (By:Loren D. Estleman) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Precious Ramotswe (By:Alexander McCall Smith) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Maisie Dobbs (By:Jacqueline Winspear) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Lincoln Lawyer (By:Michael Connelly) (2022)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle

Publication Order of Anthologies

The Oxford Book of Detective Stories(2000)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Master's Choice: Mystery Stories by Today's Top Writers and the Masters Who Inspired Them(2000)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 1(2000)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories 2(2000)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Longman Anthology of Detective Fiction(2004)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
One City(2005)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Dangerous Women(2005)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Penguin Book of Crime Stories(2007)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Ox-Tales: Earth(2009)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Crimespotting(2009)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8(2011)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Best of Barcelona INK(2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
The Killer Cookbook(2012)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
OxCrimes: 27 Killer Stories from the Cream of Crimewriters(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
FaceOff(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Jawbreakers(2014)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Ten Year Stretch(2018)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
Daggers Drawn(2021)Hardcover  Paperback  Kindle
In the early 1980’s, Ian Rankin was a jack of all trades. He was a grape picker, a taxman, and a swineherd. Now he is one of the most widely known crime novelist in the United Kingdom. Creator of multiple novels and winner of countless literary awards, Rankin’s most lauded work is the inspector Rebus series.

This series centered on the adventures of a cynical detective, has led to a 19 book series; several of which were adapted into a television series. Rankin’s prolific works have left a permanent imprint on the UK crime drama genre, and a mark on the imagination of the world.

Ian Rankin was born in 1960 in Cardenden, Fife. In primary school, Rankin enjoyed reading literature and writing. His English teacher recognized his unique writing abilities and encouraged him to pursue his talents at an institution of higher learning. He took his advice, and attended Edinburgh University, where he majored in English Literature and Language. In 1982 he graduated from Edinburgh University, and then returned to work on his PhD between 1983 and 1986. His thesis was on Scottish fiction, but he began working on his own writing career.

After he received his PhD, Rankin worked a number of different jobs. He was a taxman, grap-picker, swineherd, musician, college secretary, and a journalist for a magazine. He married his wife in 1986 and went to work at the National Folktale Centre in London.

Ian Rankin’s first novel was The Flood in the year 1986. His following novel, Knots and Crosses, was published in 1987. This novel was the first of the Rebus series, for which he has become extremely famous. However, Rankin did not intend on becoming a crime writer. He was perturbed by the classification of his first two novels, Knots and Crosses and Hide and Seek, as fiction. Rankin believed the books were more in line with the Scottish traditions of other Scottish novelists.

The Inspector Rebus series is now considered major contributors of the Tartan Noir genre; crime fiction rooted in the Scottish tradition. In 2009, Ian Rankin donated his short story “Fieldwork” to the Ox-Tales project, which features four collections of UK stories. In 2009 Rankin wrote Dark Entries, a graphic novel, in which a man struggles to escape a reality television show for Hell.

The Inspector Rebus Series

Rankin has written many different works of fiction, but his most famous work is the Inspector Rebus series. Inspector Rebus is a cynical, middle-aged detective, who works in the underbelly of Edinburgh, Scotland. The detective is the traditional sloppy underdog, who drinks too much, can’t sustain a romantic relationship, and always has an issue with the chain of command. Part of the Rebus series appeal is the detective’s borderline sympathy for the criminals he associates with, against the backdrop of a shady Edinburgh; a direct dichotomy of the highly clean and commercial city projected to the world.

The Rebus series has 19 novels to date, the last of which, Saints of the Shadow Bible, was published in 2013. 10 of the Rebus series books have been adapted into television series on ITV. Rankin has also published a number of novels under the pseudonym, “Jack Harvey.” The Rebus Novels have been translated into 26 different languages. In 1992, Ian Rankin won the Chandler Fulbright Award. He has received several honorary degrees from the Universities of Abertay Dundee and St. Andrews.

The Inspector Rebus series made a permanent mark on the UK criminal series genre. The Rebus series accounted for 10 percent of all crime book sales in the UK. The series sells an average of half a million copies in a three month span. The books are published by the Orion Publishing Group.

Knots and Crosses

All of the books in the Rebus series are written from Rebus’ point of view. Sometimes this point of view shift to various characters in the book. Every novel involves some sort of murder, deaths, or disappearances, which Rebus decides to investigate. All of the investigations depict the scummy underbelly of Scotland, poverty, and corruption. Rebus has to deal with a number of internal and external conflicts with his personal life, police superiors, and colleagues.

Inspector Rebus investigates the abduction and strangling of two young girls in Edinburgh. As John Rebus investigates the murders, two more girls are taken. As he investigates the murders and kidnappings, Rebus is haunted by memories of his previous wife’s attack and his daughter’s abduction. He slowly begins to piece together a series of cryptic anonymous letters which he connects to his past in the military. Removed from the case because of his connection, John Rebus decides to go rogue and find the killer on his own.

Hide and Seek

Plot. John Rebus discovers the body of a drug addict amongst two burned candles, and a five-pointed star. While other detectives brush off the murder, Rebus pursues the murder. Rebus finds a young woman named Tracy who recalls the dead man’s last words as “hide!”

He discovers that the man was a photographer who hid some pictures taken at a private club called The Hyde. He discovers that the club is a front for an illegal boxing ring. Rebus arrests the Hyde’s owner and other conspirators of the fight club, but they all mysteriously die in police custody. Rebus now finds himself facing a massive cover up.

Television Adaptations

13 of the 19 Inspector Rebus novels have been adapted for television between 2000 and 2007 in four series. John Hannah played the inspector in the first series, but was replaced by Ken Stott in the remaining series. The fourth series featured an original episode not based on any of the Rebus novels.

The episode was called, “The First Stone.” BBC Radio 4 did dramatizations of Rankin’s The Falls (2008), Resurrection Men (2008), Strip Jack (2010), The Black Book (2012), and Black and Blue (2013)

Conclusion

Ian Rankin’s work is now appearing in university literature departments, as modern examples of complex crime fictional works. Rankin makes annual appearances on the BBC’s Newsnight Review. In 2013, Rankin made his play writing debut with, Dark Road, which debut in Lyceum Theatre in September, 2013. In his down time, Rankin has also been spotted in Edinburgh’s Oxford Bar, a bar visited by his fictional detective Inspector Rebus.

Book Series In Order » Authors » Ian Rankin

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