Inspector Rebus Series by Ian Rankin, James MacPherson

4.00 · 601 ratings
  • Knots & Crosses (Inspector Rebus #1)
    #1

    Knots & Crosses (Inspector Rebus #1)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars
    · 31 ratings · published 1987

    ‘And in Edinburgh of all places. I mean, you never think of that sort of thing happening in Edinburgh, do you...?’That sort of thing... is the brutal abduction and murder of two young girls. And now a third is missing, presumably gone to the same sad end. Detective Sargeant John Rebus, smoking and drinking too much, his own young daughter spirited away south by his disenchanted wife, is one of many policemen hunting the killer... more

  • Hide and Seek (Inspector Rebus #2)
    #2

    Hide and Seek (Inspector Rebus #2)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings · published 1990

    A junkie lies dead in an Edinburgh squat — spreadeagled, cross-like on the floor between two burned-down candles, a five-pointed star daubed on the wall above. Just another dead addict, until John Rebus begins to chip away at the indifference, treachery, deceit and sleaze that lurks behind the facade of the Edinburgh familiar to the tourists... more

  • Tooth and Nail (Inspector Rebus #3)
    #3

    Tooth and Nail (Inspector Rebus #3)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 1992

    Drafted down to the Big Smoke thanks to a supposed expertise in the modus operandi of serial killers, Inspector John Rebus is on a train south from Edinburgh. His Scotland Yard opposite number, George Flight, isn’t too happy at yet more interference. It’s bad enough having several Chief Inspectors on your back without being hounded at every turn by an upstart Jock. Rebus is going to have to deal with racial prejudice as well as the predations of a violent maniac... more

  • A Good Hanging (Inspector Rebus #3.5)
    #3.5

    A Good Hanging (Inspector Rebus #3.5)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings · published 1992

    Twelve remarkable, gritty stories starring Detective Inspector John Rebus in his home city of Edinburgh, as only Ian Rankin can portray it: not just the tearooms and cobbled streets of the tourist brochures, but a modern urban metropolis with a full range of criminals and their victims--blackmailers, peeping Toms, and more than one kind of murderer... more

  • The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (Inspector Rebus #3.5 & 13.5 & Extra Material)
    #3.5 & 13.5 & Extra Material

    The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (Inspector Rebus #3.5 & 13.5 & Extra Material)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings · published 2014

    Over the years, Ian Rankin has amassed an incredible portfolio of short stories. Published in crime magazines, composed for events, broadcast on radio, they all share the best qualities of his phenomenally popular Rebus novels.Brought together for the first time, and including brand new material, this is the ultimate Rebus short-story collection and a must-have book for crime lovers and for Ian's millions of fans alike.No Rankin aficionado can go without it.

  • Strip Jack (Inspector Rebus #4)
    #4

    Strip Jack (Inspector Rebus #4)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 1992

    When respected MP Gregor Jack is caught in a police raid on an Edinburgh brothel and his flamboyant wife Elizabeth suddenly disappears, John Rebus smells a set-up. And when Elizabeth's badly beaten body is found, Rebus is suddenly up against a killer who holds all the cards..

  • The Black Book (Inspector Rebus #5)
    #5

    The Black Book (Inspector Rebus #5)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 1993

    Alternative cover edition of ISBN 1857974131When a close colleague is brutally attacked, Inspector John Rebus is drawn into a case involving a hotel fire, an unidentified body, and a long forgotten night of terror and murder. Pursued by dangerous ghosts and tormented by the coded secrets of his colleague's notebook, Rebus must piece together a jigsaw no one – perhaps not even he – want completed.

  • Mortal Causes (Inspector Rebus #6)
    #6

    Mortal Causes (Inspector Rebus #6)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 1994

    Underneath the cobbled streets of Edinburgh's old Town are medieval stone cellars where a man could scream and never be heard. In mortal Causes, the tortured body of a young man is found hanging from a butcher's hook in one of these underground rooms. The tattoo on his wrist and a cryptic inscription scratched in the dirt suggest to Inspector John Rebus that this was an execution, but what man or men carried it out?

  • Let It Bleed (Inspector Rebus #7)
    #7

    Let It Bleed (Inspector Rebus #7)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 1995

    In the dark days and biting windstorms of an Edinburgh winter, two drop-out kids dive off the towering Forth Road Bridge. A civic office is spattered by a grisly gun-blast. Two suicides and a murder that just don't add up, unless John Rebus can crunch the numbers. Following a trail that snakes through stark alleys and sad bars, shredded files and lacerated lives, Rebus finds himself up against an airtight, murderous conglomerate on the make in every arena of power... more

  • Black and Blue (Inspector Rebus #8)
    #8

    Black and Blue (Inspector Rebus #8)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 1997

    Bible John killed three women, and took three souvenirs. Johnny Bible killed to steal his namesake's glory. Oilman Allan Mitchelson died for his principles. And convict Lenny Spaven died just to prove a point. "Bible John" terrorized Glasgow in the sixties and seventies, murdering three women he met in a local ballroom--and he was never caught. Now a copycat is at work. Nicknamed "Bible Johnny" by the media, he is a new menace with violent ambitions... more

  • The Hanging Garden (Inspector Rebus #9)
    #9

    The Hanging Garden (Inspector Rebus #9)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 1998

    The Hanging Gardens of Babylon... The hanging of four French villagers in World War II... The hanging of an old man in a Scottish cemetery... Seemingly random facts linked to one man...Detective Inspector John Rebus is buried under a pile of paperwork generated by his investigations into a suspected war criminal, and his immediate supervisors are more than happy to have him tucked away in a quiet backwater for several months... more

  • Dead Souls (Inspector Rebus #10)
    #10

    Dead Souls (Inspector Rebus #10)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings · published 1999

    Weary, wary, hard-drinking Detective John Rebus returns. As complex and unpredictable as the brooding mists that envelop his Edinburgh beat, Rebus is ever resourceful and determined-but this time, vulnerable and challenged as never before, with complications in his personal life, and events that shake him to the depths of his being... A colleague's suicide. Pedophiles. A missing child. A serial killer. You never know your luck, muses Rebus... more

  • Set in Darkness (Inspector Rebus #11)
    #11

    Set in Darkness (Inspector Rebus #11)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2000

    On the eve of the first Scottish parliament in three hundred years, Edinburgh is a city rife with political passions and expectations. Queensbury House, the home of Scotland's new rulers, falls in the middle of John Rebus' turf, keeping him busy with ceremonial tasks... more

  • The Falls (Inspector Rebus #12)
    #12

    The Falls (Inspector Rebus #12)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2001

    When the privileged daughter of a merchant banker disappears, a search through her e-mails uncovers her secret life-and a bizarre correspondence with an on-line game player who delights in macabre puzzles. The first game was for the girl. The next one is for Inspector John Rebus, a man haunted by the impenetrable riddles of his own troubled past. But the lead is soon complicated by an unexpected twist... more

  • Resurrection Men (Inspector Rebus #13)
    #13

    Resurrection Men (Inspector Rebus #13)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2001

    Inspector John Rebus has messed up badly this time, so badly that he's been sent to a kind of reform school for damaged cops. While there among the last-chancers known as "resurrection men," he joins a covert mission to gain evidence of a drug heist orchestrated by three of his classmates. But the group has been assigned an unsolved murder that may have resulted from Rebus's own mistake... more

  • Beggars Banquet (Inspector Rebus #13.5)
    #13.5

    Beggars Banquet (Inspector Rebus #13.5)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings · published 2002

    Over the years, Ian Rankin has amassed an incredible portfolio of short stories. Published in crime magazines, composed for events, broadcast on radio, they all share the best qualities of his phenomenally popular Rebus novels. 10 years ago, A GOOD HANGING Ian's first short story collection demonstrated this talent and now after nearly a decade at the top of popular fiction, Ian is releasing a follow up... more

  • A Question of Blood (Inspector Rebus #14)
    #14

    A Question of Blood (Inspector Rebus #14)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2003

    The fourteenth Inspector Rebus novel - and No.1 bestseller.Two seventeen-year-olds are killed by an ex-Army loner who has gone off the rails. The mystery takes Rebus into the heart of a shattered community. Ex-Army himself, Rebus becomes fascinated by the killer, and finds he is not alone. Army investigators are on the scene, and won't be shaken off. The killer had friends and enemies to spare and left behind a legacy of secrets and lies.Rebus has more than his share of personal problems, too... more

  • Fleshmarket Close (Inspector Rebus #15)
    #15

    Fleshmarket Close (Inspector Rebus #15)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2004

    An illegal immigrant is found murdered in an Edinburgh housing scheme: a racist attack, or something else entirely? Rebus is drawn into the case, but has other problems: his old police station has closed for business, and his masters would rather he retire than stick around. But Rebus is that most stubborn of creatures. As Rebus investigates, he must visit an asylum seekers' detention centre, deal with the sleazy Edinburgh underworld, and maybe even fall in love.. more

  • The Naming of the Dead (Inspector Rebus #16)
    #16

    The Naming of the Dead (Inspector Rebus #16)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2006

    The sixteenth Inspector Rebus novel from 'Britain's No.1 crime writer' DAILY MIRROR.A murder has been committed - but as the victim was a rapist, recently released from prison, no one is too concerned about the crime. That is, until Detective Inspector John Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarke uncover evidence that a serial killer is on the loose .. more

  • Exit Music (Inspector Rebus #17)
    #17

    Exit Music (Inspector Rebus #17)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2007

    It's late autumn in Edinburgh and late autumn in the career of Detective Inspector John Rebus. As he tries to tie up some loose ends before retirement, a murder case intrudes. A dissident Russian poet has been found dead in what looks like a mugging gone wrong. By apparent coincidence, a high-level delegation of Russian businessmen is in town - and everyone is determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically... more

  • Standing in Another Man's Grave (Inspector Rebus #18)
    #18

    Standing in Another Man's Grave (Inspector Rebus #18)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2012

    It’s twenty-five years since John Rebus appeared on the scene, and five years since he retired. But 2012 sees his return in STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN’S GRAVE. Not only is Rebus as stubborn and anarchic as ever, but he finds himself in trouble with Rankin’s latest creation, Malcolm Fox of Edinburgh’s internal affairs unit... more

  • Saints of the Shadow Bible (Inspector Rebus #19)
    #19

    Saints of the Shadow Bible (Inspector Rebus #19)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2013

    Rebus and Malcolm Fox go head-to-head when a 30-year-old murder investigation resurfaces, forcing Rebus to confront crimes of the pastRebus is back on the force, albeit with a demotion and a chip on his shoulder. He is investigating a car accident when news arrives that a case from 30 years ago is being reopened. Rebus's team from those days is suspected of helping a murderer escape justice to further their own ends... more

  • Even Dogs in the Wild (Inspector Rebus #20)
    #20

    Even Dogs in the Wild (Inspector Rebus #20)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2015

    Hands in his pockets, Rebus turned to face Cafferty.They were old men now, similar builds, similar backgrounds. Sat together in a pub, the casual onlooker might mistake them for pals who’d known one another since school.But their history told a different story.Retirement doesn’t suit John Rebus. He wasn’t made for hobbies, holidays or home improvements. Being a cop is in his blood.So when DI Siobhan Clarke asks for his help on a case, Rebus doesn’t need long to consider his options... more

  • Rather Be the Devil (Inspector Rebus #21)
    #21

    Rather Be the Devil (Inspector Rebus #21)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2016

    Rebus investigates a cold case that just turned red hot.As he settles into an uneasy retirement, Rebus has given up his favorite vices. There's just one habit he can't shake: he can't let go of an unsolved case. It's the only pastime he has left and up until now, it's the only one that wasn't threatening to kill him... more

  • In a House of Lies (Inspector Rebus #22)
    #22

    In a House of Lies (Inspector Rebus #22)

    Ian Rankin

    Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2018

    IN A HOUSE OF LIES...Everyone has something to hideA missing private investigator is found, locked in a car hidden deep in the woods. Worse still - both for his family and the police - is that his body was in an area that had already been searched.Everyone has secretsDetective Inspector Siobhan Clarke is part of a new inquiry, combing through the mistakes of the original case... more

  • A Song for the Dark Times (Inspector Rebus #23)
    #23

    A Song for the Dark Times (Inspector Rebus #23)

    Ian Rankin, James MacPherson

    Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings · published 2020

    "He’s gone…"   When his daughter Samantha calls in the dead of night, John Rebus knows it’s not good news. Her husband has been missing for two days.   Rebus fears the worst – and knows from his lifetime in the police that his daughter will be the prime suspect.   He wasn’t the best father – the job always came first – but now his daughter needs him more than ever... more

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