Ian Rankin
Author of Knots and Crosses
About the Author
Ian Rankin lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their two sons.
Image credit: Ian Rankin foto by Tim Duncan
Series
Works by Ian Rankin
Rebus Anniversary Box Set: introductions by Jilly Cooper, Mark Lawson and Peter Robinson (A Rebus Novel) (2017) 6 copies
A Good Hanging [short fiction] 2 copies
Rebus (Series 1-3) 2 copies
The Very Last Drop 2 copies
Ian Rankin Inspector Rebus CD Collection: Resurrection Men, A Question of Blood, Fleshmarket Alley (Inspector Rebus… (2007) 2 copies
Rebus (Series 3-4) 1 copy
Where the Red Fern Grows 1 copy
Rebus Series 1-4 1 copy
Ian Rankin: Three Great Novels: Resurrection Men, A Question of Blood, Fleshmarket Close (2008) 1 copy
Rebus - Set 2 1 copy
Soft Spot 1 copy
Tell Me Who to Kill 1 copy
Speak Up #217 1 copy
The Unnamed Dead 1 copy
[TO DO: Research best book] 1 copy
Driven 1 copy
IN A HOUSE OF LIES 1 copy
Associated Works
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824) — Introduction, some editions — 2,454 copies, 36 reviews
The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them (2006) — Contributor — 394 copies, 18 reviews
The Lineup: The World's Greatest Crime Writers Tell the Inside Story of Their Greatest Detectives (2009) — Contributor — 212 copies, 3 reviews
Bibliomysteries: Stories of Crime in the World of Books and Bookstores (2017) — Introduction — 195 copies, 9 reviews
John Constantine, Hellblazer: Empathy is the Enemy (2006) — Introduction, some editions — 174 copies, 4 reviews
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: First Annual Collection (2000) — Contributor — 60 copies, 1 review
The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: Second Annual Collection (2001) — Contributor — 47 copies, 1 review
Death Sentences: Stories of Deathly Books, Murderous Booksellers and Lethal Literature (2014) — Introduction — 46 copies, 1 review
The Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories: Fifth Annual Edition (1996) — Contributor — 7 copies
Reader's Digest Select Editions: Echo Burning / Force 12 / The Observatory / The Falls (2001) — Author — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Harvey, Jack
- Birthdate
- 1960-04-28
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- Scotland, UK
- Birthplace
- Cardenden, Fife, Scotland, UK
- Places of residence
- Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, UK
London, Middlesex, England, UK
France - Education
- University of Edinburgh
- Occupations
- crime novelist
Members
Reviews
Slavering Stevenson - Bibliomysteries #29
Review of the Mysterious Press/Open Road eBook (March 22, 2016) of The Mysterious Press hardcover & paperback (2016).
The Travelling Companion gets a top rating from me in the Bibliomysteries series due to both the search for fictional early works by Robert Louis Stevenson and its main setting at one of the most iconic bookstores in the world: Shakespeare and Company in Paris, France.
A young Scot meets owner George Whitman in Paris and ends up working at the bookstore for his room and board. On an errand for Whitman he meets a bookseller who may have some rare early manuscripts of Stevenson which had been suppressed due to their scandalous nature. One of these is called The Travelling Companion and another is the first draft of the book later released as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The manuscripts begin to have an uncanny effect on the young man.
See photograph at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Shakespeare_and_Compan...
It is hard to see on the cover of "The Travelling Companion", but the illustration does appear to be based on the frontage of the Shakespeare and Company store. Image sourced from Wikipedia by Shadowgate from Novara, ITALY - Pantheon, CC BY 2.0, Link.
I enjoyed all the various aspects of The Travelling Companion and especially its bookstore setting which felt completely authentic based on all the various descriptions I have read from the various "tumbleweeds" who slept and worked there. You can read more about the store in the anthology collection Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart (2016).
Trivia and Links
Ian Rankin (1960-) is a Scottish writer of hardboiled mystery & crime novels, especially those in the Inspector Rebus (1987-2024+ongoing?) series. His most popular novel is the first in the Rebus series: Knots and Crosses (1987) (based on the number of ratings and reviews on Goodreads). He is considered the leading writer of the sub-genre called Tartan Noir due to his Scottish settings.
The Bibliomysteries series are short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Press to be written around the theme of deadly books. They are individually published in 100-copy limited edition signed hardcovers and then as paperbacks and ebooks. They are periodically collected in anthology editions such as Bibliomysteries (2013, containing stories 1-15) and Bibliomysteries: Volume Two (2018, containing stories 16-30). There does not appear to be a Goodreads Listopia for them, but on Library Thing the current listing (as of mid-September 2024) includes 40 short stories.… (more)
Review of the Mysterious Press/Open Road eBook (March 22, 2016) of The Mysterious Press hardcover & paperback (2016).
The Travelling Companion gets a top rating from me in the Bibliomysteries series due to both the search for fictional early works by Robert Louis Stevenson and its main setting at one of the most iconic bookstores in the world: Shakespeare and Company in Paris, France.
A young Scot meets owner George Whitman in Paris and ends up working at the bookstore for his room and board. On an errand for Whitman he meets a bookseller who may have some rare early manuscripts of Stevenson which had been suppressed due to their scandalous nature. One of these is called The Travelling Companion and another is the first draft of the book later released as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The manuscripts begin to have an uncanny effect on the young man.
See photograph at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Shakespeare_and_Compan...
It is hard to see on the cover of "The Travelling Companion", but the illustration does appear to be based on the frontage of the Shakespeare and Company store. Image sourced from Wikipedia by Shadowgate from Novara, ITALY - Pantheon, CC BY 2.0, Link.
I enjoyed all the various aspects of The Travelling Companion and especially its bookstore setting which felt completely authentic based on all the various descriptions I have read from the various "tumbleweeds" who slept and worked there. You can read more about the store in the anthology collection Shakespeare and Company, Paris: A History of the Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart (2016).
Trivia and Links
Ian Rankin (1960-) is a Scottish writer of hardboiled mystery & crime novels, especially those in the Inspector Rebus (1987-2024+ongoing?) series. His most popular novel is the first in the Rebus series: Knots and Crosses (1987) (based on the number of ratings and reviews on Goodreads). He is considered the leading writer of the sub-genre called Tartan Noir due to his Scottish settings.
The Bibliomysteries series are short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler's The Mysterious Press to be written around the theme of deadly books. They are individually published in 100-copy limited edition signed hardcovers and then as paperbacks and ebooks. They are periodically collected in anthology editions such as Bibliomysteries (2013, containing stories 1-15) and Bibliomysteries: Volume Two (2018, containing stories 16-30). There does not appear to be a Goodreads Listopia for them, but on Library Thing the current listing (as of mid-September 2024) includes 40 short stories.… (more)
I always enjoy accompanying Rebus through the dark side of Edinburgh. This mystery is kinda dark, but intriguing.
A great read, as expected. Lots of characters and plot-thickening moments, none that made it the book too complicated to read.
Lists
Witchy Fiction (1)
Best Spy Fiction (1)
Edgar Award (1)
Library ebooks (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 156
- Also by
- 50
- Members
- 58,113
- Popularity
- #251
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 1,579
- ISBNs
- 1,916
- Languages
- 22
- Favorited
- 222
The bottom line? This story was fun to read but altogether too easy to figure out.