John Rebus shouldn't be here. Honestly, if you look back at the original 1985 draft of Knots & Crosses, Ian Rankin actually killed him off. He was supposed to be a one-and-done character, a sacrificial lamb in a standalone thriller. But the book didn't sell well enough to justify a clean break, and the publisher basically told Rankin to bring the guy back. Fast forward nearly four decades, and Rebus has become the definitive face of "Tartan Noir," outlasting almost every other fictional detective of his generation.
What’s wild is how much we’ve watched him rot. That sounds harsh, but it's the truth. Most fictional detectives are frozen in time—Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot don't really get hip replacements or deal with COPD. But Ian Rankin John Rebus lives in real time. We met him in 1987 as a forty-year-old Detective Sergeant with a messy divorce and a drinking habit. Now, in the most recent books like Midnight and Blue, he’s an old man facing his mortality behind the bars of HMP Edinburgh.
It’s a long, jagged road from the Oxford Bar to a prison cell.
The Man Behind the Rebus: Who Is He, Really?
If you asked Rebus who he is, he’d probably just grunt and order another IPA. He’s a Fifer, born in Cardenden, a former SAS trainee who washed out because of a nervous breakdown—something that still haunts him in those rare moments of quiet. He’s the ultimate professional misanthrope. You know the type. The guy who hates the Edinburgh Festival because it brings "too many people" to his city, yet he knows every dark close and wynd in the Old Town like the back of his hand.
He’s deeply flawed. We’re talking about a man who propped up the bar at the Oxford Bar on Young Street while his personal life crumbled. His relationship with his daughter, Samantha, is complicated, to say the least. His ex-wife Rhona is mostly a ghost from his past. Instead of a family, he has Siobhan Clarke—his former protégée who has basically become his surrogate daughter/moral compass—and Big Ger Cafferty.
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The relationship between Rebus and Cafferty is basically the "Cain and Abel" of Scottish crime fiction. They’ve been circling each other for decades. It’s not just a cop-and-robber thing; they are two sides of the same Edinburgh coin. Both are relics of an older, harder Scotland that the modern world is trying to pave over with glass-fronted offices and artisan coffee shops.
Why Edinburgh is the Secret Main Character
You can't talk about Ian Rankin John Rebus without talking about Edinburgh. But it's not the Edinburgh on the postcards. It’s the "Jekyll and Hyde" version. Rankin has always been obsessed with the duality of the city—the beautiful, Enlightenment facade of the New Town versus the damp, subterranean history of the Old Town.
- The Oxford Bar: This is Rebus’s church. It’s a real place, and yes, fans go there all the time hoping to see Ian Rankin (who actually does drink there). It’s small, no-nonsense, and has no jukebox.
- Arden Street: Where Rebus lives. It’s a real street in Marchmont. Rankin lived there as a student, which is probably why he can describe the peeling wallpaper and the smell of old books so vividly.
- St Leonard’s: The police station that served as Rebus’s home base for years.
In novels like Mortal Causes, Rankin literally takes us underground into Mary King's Close. He uses the city’s geography to talk about its sins. When a body is found "six-packed" (a horrific Northern Irish paramilitary punishment) in a buried street, it’s a metaphor for the things Edinburgh tries to keep hidden under the cobblestones.
The Evolution of Tartan Noir
Rankin didn't invent the term "Tartan Noir"—that was actually James Ellroy, who once signed a book for Rankin as "the King of Tartan Noir." But Rankin certainly popularized it. Before Rebus, Scottish crime fiction was often seen as a bit "shortbread tin"—quaint, rural, and not particularly gritty.
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Rankin changed the game by bringing the hard-boiled American sensibility of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett to the rainy streets of Scotland. He showed that you could write "literary" fiction that also happened to involve a gruesome murder and a cynical cop. This paved the way for authors like Val McDermid, Denise Mina, and Chris Brookmyre.
What Most People Get Wrong About Rebus
People often think Rebus is just another "maverick cop who doesn't play by the rules." That’s a bit of a cliché, and it misses the point. Rebus isn't a maverick because he wants to be cool; he’s a maverick because he genuinely doesn't know how to exist within a system. He’s an "Old Testament" guy in a New Testament world.
He struggles with the modern police force—the paperwork, the HR regulations, the "new-fangled" technology. He’s a dinosaur watching the asteroid hit the Earth in slow motion. That’s what makes him sympathetic. We’ve all felt, at some point, like the world is moving a bit too fast for us.
The Reading Order Dilemma
You don't have to read them in order, but you should. If you jump straight into A Heart Full of Headstones, you’ll see an old man in a lot of trouble. But if you start with Black and Blue—often cited as the series' masterpiece—you see him at the height of his powers, wrestling with the ghost of the real-life serial killer Bible John.
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- Knots & Crosses (1987): The starting point. It's a bit different from the later books, but essential.
- Black and Blue (1997): This is where Rankin really found his voice. It's sprawling, dark, and brilliant.
- Exit Music (2007): Rebus "retires" for the first time. It felt like the end, but he couldn't stay away.
- Midnight and Blue (2024): The 25th novel. Rebus is in prison. It's claustrophobic and heartbreaking.
Where Does John Rebus Go From Here?
As of 2026, the big question is: is this the end? Midnight and Blue left our hero in a pretty dire situation. He’s nearing 70. His health is a wreck. He’s behind bars for a crime involving Big Ger Cafferty. Rankin has said that Rebus "takes on all the aches and pains" that are waiting for the author himself. It’s a way of processing aging.
But Rebus is a survivor. He’s been beaten, shot, and sidelined more times than we can count. Even without a badge, he finds a way to be a detective. Because for John Rebus, the "puzzle" (the literal meaning of the word rebus) is the only thing that keeps the demons at bay.
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Rebus Fan
If you're new to the world of Ian Rankin John Rebus, don't just watch the TV shows (though the new Richard Rankin series is worth a look). The books are where the real soul of the character lives.
- Start with 'Black and Blue': It’s the perfect entry point for the "grown-up" Rebus.
- Visit the 'Oxford Bar' if you're ever in Edinburgh: Order a pint of 80/- and just listen to the conversations. Don't be a "tourist"—just be a fly on the wall.
- Pay attention to the music: Rebus has a massive LP collection. From The Rolling Stones to Leonard Cohen, the music in the books isn't just background noise; it's a window into his mental state.
- Look for the "duality": Every time Rebus investigates a crime, ask yourself what "hidden" part of society Rankin is trying to expose. Is it the corruption in the Scottish Parliament? The dark side of the oil industry? The exploitation of immigrants? It's always about more than just the "whodunnit."
Rebus might be aging, and he might be in a cell, but as long as there are secrets in Edinburgh, he'll be there to dig them up. Just don't expect him to be happy about it.