Remember reading in Rankin’s Inspector Rebus series that his famous detective, John Rebus, lived on Arden Street in the residental affluent area of Marchmont in Edinburgh?

Since that moment, all fans of Rebus were on a quest to discover the exact Arden Street’s flat number that was home to the much revered Scottish detective of all time!

Arden Street – Residential area of Marchmont in Edinburgh, Scotland

Ian Rankin himself lives in nearby Merchiston, although he did reside on Arden Street at one point.

Well, I have great news for you Mairiuna and for all our loyal readers, as the mystery which remained unsolved over the span of the 18 books in the Rebus’s series has now been revealed!

Check this out:  🙂

(…) Rankin, 53, who is working on his 19th Rebus novel Saints of the Shadow Bible, had previously revealed his most famous character lived in Arden Street in Marchmont, Edinburgh.

The location has been a source of fascination to fans, with many visiting the street to follow in the footsteps of the retired detective inspector.

Now Rankin, who once lived in Arden Street, has posted a picture clue on his website and we have identified Rebus’s flat as No17.

The author wrote: “Now that I’ve finished second draft of next book, I know what I still need to know – so this week I do necessary research.

“Next book set predominantly in Edinburgh, so research day has involved a nice long walk: Caledonian Hotel, New Town, Marchmont…”

And underneath a picture of a four-storey sandstone block of flats, he teased: “Arden Street – top windows = Rebus’s flat.”

The three-bedroom home is more than 100 years old and similar properties fetch around £300,000.

Yesterday, 22-year-old Edinburgh University student Robert Kitney – whose family own the flat – admitted he had never read a Rebus novel.

He said: “My parents are fans of Rankin and were thrilled to discover it is Rebus’s flat.

“I don’t suppose it will become as famous as 221b Baker Street – Sherlock Holmes’s address – but maybe we will get some tourists.

“I suppose I’ll have to read the books now too.”

Source: dailyrecord.co.uk

Rebus 20th police case Standing In Another Man’s Grave has gotten a great book review written by Mark Larson of the Guardian, in which he briefs us into the plot. It will have you run to the bookstore to get a copy if not already done! Here’s an excerpt:

(…) Admirers of the Rebus books will be relieved the hero has returned with little change except an increase in the severity of warnings from his doctor. His closest emotional relationship is still with his car – a Saab almost as battered as he is – although there are encouraging signs of further reconciliation with his daughter.

While some elements of Rebus are generic (troubles with drink and women), he is without doubt the funniest among the classic fictional detectives, and his 19th case features some fine one-liners and a satisfying gag involving a bossy colleague’s stapler. Standing in Another Man’s Grave is a less convoluted puzzle than many of the Rebus novels (the solution becomes decipherable relatively early), but it is Rankin’s most interesting book politically, marking a vital stage in the consideration of Scottish nationalist sentiment that has been a constant background to the series. (…)

Read the full article on -> The Guardian

Two other titles from Ian Rankin are to be added to your Christmas book wishlist if missing from your collection; the Rebus case Saints of the Shadow Bible and The Impossible Dead.

In the following videos, the author reveals what led him to write Saints of the Shadow Bible and he speaks about the Scottish upcoming referendum influence on his storytelling… His views on cop crime drama are also very interesting to hear. 🙂

Ian Rankin here talks audiobooks, Edinburgh and Scottish independence to Orion with James MacPherson, narrator of Ian’s audiobooks.

Written in 2012, The Impossible Dead gives life to Ian Rankin’s brilliant new hero, Malcolm Fox, who made his celebrated debut in The Complaints, and here he is investigating a police department where the corruption is deep and deadly.

“As always there are enough topical events to not only anchor the book in time, but give it a strong sense of place: the fear of new terrorist attacks, the outrage at the release of Lockerbie bomber and mastermind Megrabi, and the much delayed launch of a new tram system in Edinburgh.

The Impossible Dead is a strong effort by one of the true masters of the mystery genre. Malcolm Fox deserves to be judged and read as his own man.”  Source: Amazon Customer Book review.

Short Biography – Ian Rankin

“I grew up in a small coal-mining town in central Scotland. I was always interested in stories. Even though the town had no book stores (and my parents were not great readers), I made full use of the local library. It was mind-boggling to me that (at the age of 11 or 12) I could not gain access to a movie theatre to see such classics as The Godfather, A Clockwork Orange, or Straw Dogs, yet no one stopped me from borrowing these titles from my library. Books seemed to have about them a whiff of the illicit and the dangerous. That was all the encouragement I needed. I went to university in 1978, joined a punk band (on vocals), and continued to write a lot of song lyrics and poems. However, I found that my poems were actually ‘telling stories’, and so started to write short stories.

A few of these found publication and even won some awards. Then one story raged out of control and became my first novel. It was never published, but that didn’t matter: I was now a novelist. I stumbled on Detective Inspector John Rebus by accident while attempting to write an update of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: Rebus would be my Jekyll, his Hyde a character from his past. Along the way, I discovered that a cop is a good ‘tool,’ a way of looking at contemporary society, its rights and wrongs. Rebus, I decided, would stick around. Meantime, I finished university, moved to London for four years (where I worked first as a college secretary, later as a hi-fi/audio journalist), then rural France for six years. Both my sons were born in France. By the time the oldest had reached school age, we’d decided to move back to Scotland. I now live and work in Edinburgh, and the Rebus novels have gone from strength to strength in terms of sales and recognition.”

Author biography courtesy of Little, Brown & Company

Source: Barnes & Noble

Ian Rankin and Inspector Rebus by Craig Cabell 2010

Let’s add another title to the list: Ian Rankin and Inspector Rebus – The story of the best-selling author and his complex detective. 😉

Hope you’ll be able to reserve time during the upcoming holidays to read the above books and enjoy the journey!

Talk soon,

Janice