As fans of Rebus know he doesn’t always do things the right way but he does do them for the right reasons. Big Ger Cafferty (Rebus’ longtime nemesis) surveys the vista of Edinburgh through a telescope from the prized position of his penthouse unit. Keeping his eyes firmly peeled on the City he once ruled with drugs and fists. This is definitely a great book for long time fans, as the repeat characters show the paths they’ve chosen. And where their loyalties lie. Filmed on the Isle of Gigha, Channel 4's Murder Island saw eight ordinary members of the public compete to find a killer filmed in October/November last year. Read More Related Articles

He has a deep understanding of the dark side of human nature … Hercule Poirot played by David Suchet. Photograph: Avalon/Getty Sophie Hannah It was the beginning of my lifelong love affair with Miss Marple. She is one of the great unsung heroines of literature: principled, resolute, courageous, a rare older woman in fiction who is there on her own terms, rather than as someone’s mother or grandmother. She first appeared in a short story published in 1927, The Tuesday Night Club, and 12 full-length novels followed, including the brilliant Sleeping Murder – published posthumously, but written during the second world war and kept in a vault.

Lew Archer was the brainchild of Ross Macdonald (the nom de plume of Kenneth Millar). Archer was a private eye who walked the mean streets of Los Angeles for decades, and saw an unwieldy evolution of humanity with every stride. He could not have existed without Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe before him. Spade had the callous unpredictability, Marlowe the snarky wit; Archer brought to the table a heart and a soul, and a way of making sense of the world that was deeply, viscerally connected to the reader. It turns out that a favour is asked, and this is the beginning of a complex, yet easy to read story, about how time changes your perspective, friendships are tested, and the underbelly of a city is exposed.

Emad Akhtar, publisher at Orion, told The Scotsman: “A new novel from the iconic Ian Rankin and his much-beloved creation John Rebus is a reading highlight in every book lover’s year. A couple of my recent fiction reads have included the effect of COVID at the time. Rebus has a lanyard that excuses him from wearing a mask. I wonder how long it will be before a writer centres a crime around the conditions that COVID created? Rankin said: “I'm very happy to be working with Orion, my publisher for the past 30 years, on a pair of new books. Time to roll up my sleeves and sharpen my keyboard.” Read More Related Articles Ian Rankin σε αυτή την τελευταία περιπέτεια του Ρέμπους - του επιθεωρητή που κανείς δεν μπορεί να καταλάβει πως δουλεύει το μυαλό του και πως παρόλες τις αντισυμβατικές μεθόδους του, πάντα βρίσκει τη λύση.The novels are all great, but my favourites include When the Sacred Ginmill Closes and A Walk Among the Tombstones. They are the perfect hardboiled mix of grit and poetry: cool jazz with surface noise. Fearless and honest, Cassie is as tough as any classic hardboiled detective, yet remains insightful and kind without veering into sentimentality. When there’s a standoff at gunpoint, she wants the antagonist to keep the gun pointed at her because she knows there are innocents in the room. Her hand on her own weapon never wavers. And yet, afterwards, she feels grief and guilt. She is strong not despite her emotional vulnerability, but because of it.

Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin has signed a new publishing deal for two new John Rebus novels to come out this year. Malcolm Fox (he who once had his own series) also makes an appearance, which in my eyes is a little less welcome. The slimy ex-Complaints officer has risen up the ranks and now seems to have the ear of the Assistant Chief Constable. He’s riding shotgun on the Tynecastle situation, the top brass being keen that the nefarious acts of the past don’t see the light of day. In fairness, he’s grown into a pantomime villain of a figure who offsets Clarke and Rebus well here. I plan to decompress in 2023, which means you might not be hearing much from me. Meantime, here are some of my favourites of the year in books, albums and films. Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow. He is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award, and he received two Dagger Awards for the year's best short story and the Gold Dagger for Fiction. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, and Edinburgh. Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive' Not in the book but words penned by Scottish historian Sir Walter Scott in 1808. It is the mark of a great writer, and another Scot, Ian Rankin, two centuries later, weaving the pandemic into the story and its characters.Conflicted, driven and an alcoholic … Matt Scudder played by Liam Neeson in A Walk Among the Tombstones. Photograph: Momentum Pictures/Sportsphoto/Allstar Ian Rankin As a self-taught detective, Freddy makes some ludicrous missteps, but it’s part of his charm that he can laugh at himself. In the book’s climactic scene, a trial in the barn with the rooster as judge, Freddy gets the cat off a murder rap with some impressive deductions, and crucial evidence that the mice help gather. I’ve enjoyed the recent crime fiction coming from Australia: books by Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and Hayley Scrivenor. My favourite of their detectives is Hammer’s Nell Buchanan. She first appears in Opal Country as an inexperienced young investigator supporting homicide detective Ivan Lucic in the remote mining badlands. She comes into her own in Dead Man’s Creek, a richly textured novel in which events of the past play out in the present in the place where Nell grew up. John Rebus, long retired from the force, is enjoying a quiet pint at his local, with faithful dog Brillo asleep at his feet. I love that this is the third book this little buddy has appeared in. The world has just reopened after the Covid pandemic, and Rebus is avoiding going to the doctor about his deteriorating health, prefering to pretend it’s just heartburn. A ping on his mobile is an invitation of sorts, from Big Ger, to drop by his flat after taking Brillo home. Rebus can't refuse even if he wanted to, as the two have been part of each other’s lives for longer than they care to remember. Curiosity has definitely gotten hold of Rebus. Staying human in an inhumane world … Lew Archer became Lew Harper in the film starring Paul Newman. Photograph: Album/Alamy David Baldacci