Ian Rankin Books in Order

Sir Ian Rankin is a bestselling Scottish writer, one of the writers most associated with tartan noir, and the author of the Inspector John Rebus series, which began with Knots and Crosses in 1987. The Rebus novels have sold over 35 million copies and have been translated into 36 languages. He has won the CWA Gold Dagger, the Edgar Award, and the CWA Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement, and was knighted in 2023.

His crime books are set in Edinburgh. Rebus is a local who knows the pubs, who is loyal to whom, which corners people avoid, and who might talk when a case needs additional eyes. As the series goes on, Edinburgh changes around him, but As the series goes on, the city changes, the police change, and Rebus has to keep solving cases in a world that doesn’t want to cater to him too much.

This page lists all Ian Rankin books in order, including the Inspector Rebus series, the Malcolm Fox books, standalone novels, short stories, the thrillers written as Jack Harvey, and the graphic novel Dark Entries.

Upcoming Releases

• The Heights (October 8, 2026) – standalone thriller

How the Ian Rankin Series Connect

The Inspector Rebus and Malcolm Fox books share the same Edinburgh police world, but the connection builds in stages. The first two Malcolm Fox books, The Complaints and The Impossible Dead, can be read as their own short series. Fox works in police complaints and conduct, which makes him careful, procedural, and trained to investigate other officers. The crossover becomes important from Saints of the Shadow Bible onward. Rebus and Fox get to work together, and the later Rebus series often brings back Siobhan Clarke, Malcolm Fox, and Big Ger Cafferty.

Inspector Rebus Series (Books in Order)

The Inspector Rebus series follows Edinburgh detective John Rebus, a former SAS soldier and a loner who became a police officer and solves murders while frequently butting heads with his superiors. The series is set in Edinburgh and takes place over several decades of Rebus’s career, including his return to the force after initial retirement. The eighth novel, Black and Blue, became Ian Rankin’s first international bestseller and won the CWA Gold Dagger. Fox and Clarke, recurring colleagues, become more important in the later books.

Rebus knows Edinburgh from the inside. He drinks in its bars, knows its criminals by name, and keeps testing the line between doing police work and doing things his own way. Siobhan Clarke becomes more important as the books continue, first as a younger officer working near Rebus and later as a major investigator. Big Ger Cafferty, an important Edinburgh crime boss also becomes one of the series’ important characters. Rebus often needs information from him because Cafferty knows the criminal side of the city better than almost anyone. Their relationship is uncomfortable because Rebus hates what Cafferty is, but also knows they understand each other too well. Both love to bend rules. Rebus bends rules to solve cases, while Cafferty bends them to stay powerful.

1. Knots & Crosses, 1987
2. Hide And Seek, 1990
3. Tooth And Nail, 1992
4. Strip Jack, 1992
5. The Black Book, 1993
6. Mortal Causes, 1994
7. Let It Bleed, 1995
8. Black And Blue, 1997
9. The Hanging Garden, 1998
10. Dead Souls, 1999
11. Death Is Not the End, 1998
12. Set In Darkness, 2000
13. The Falls, 2001
14. Resurrection Men, 2002
15. Beggar’s Banquet, 1998
16. A Question of Blood, 2003
17. Fleshmarket Close, 2004
18. The Naming of the Dead, 2006
19. Exit Music, 2007
20. Standing in Another Man’s Grave, 2012
21. Saints of the Shadow Bible, 2013
22. In the Nick of Time: John Rebus vs. Roy Grace, 2014
23. Even Dogs in the Wild, 2015
24. Rather Be the Devil, 2017
25. Long Shadows, 2018 (play)
26. In a House of Lies, 2018
27. A Song For The Dark Times, 2020
28. A Heart Full of Headstones, 2022
29. A Game Called Malice, 2023 (play with Simon Reade)
30. Midnight and Blue, 2024

Malcolm Fox Series (Books in Order)

The Malcolm Fox series follows Detective Inspector Malcolm Fox, who works in the Complaints department of the Edinburgh police, the unit that investigates other officers. Unlike Rebus, Fox plays by the rules, doesn’t drink, and works well with others. Thus, the first two Fox novels feel differently from the next two novels, as from Standing in Another Man’s Grave onwards, Fox becomes a regular character in the Rebus series.

1. The Complaints, 2009
2. The Impossible Dead, 2011
3. Standing In Another Man’s Grave, 2012
4. Saints Of The Shadow Bible, 2013

Collaborations

• The Dark Remains, 2021 (Jack Laidlaw prequel novel with William McIlvanney)

Standalone Novels

• The Flood, 1986
• Watchman, 1988
• Westwind, 1990
• Doors Open, 2008
• The Heights, 2026

Novellas & Short Stories

• A Deep Hole, 2005
• A Cool Head, 2009
• In the Nick of Time (Roy Grace #10.5), 2014 – short story in the FaceOff anthology with Peter James
• The Travelling Companion, 2016 – short story in the Bibliomysteries / Death Sentences series
• Meet and Greet, 2016
• The Rise, 2023

Short Story Collections and Anthologies

Stage Plays

• Dark Road, 2014 (with Mark Thompson)

Graphic Novels

• Dark Entries, 2009 (John Constantine)

Writing as Jack Harvey

• Witch Hunt, 1993
• Bleeding Hearts, 1994
• Blood Hunt, 1995

Non-Fiction Books

• Jackie Leven Said, 2005 (with Jackie Leven)
• Rebus’ Scotland, 2005
• John Rebus: A Mysterious Profile, 2022

Ian Rankin Biography

Ian Rankin is a Scottish crime fiction author who is known for the Inspector Rebus series and the Malcolm Fox series. His Rebus books have sold over 35 million copies, and he has published 30+ books since his 1986 debut, The Flood.
Official website: ianrankin.net

Born in 1960 in Cardenden, Fife in Scotland, James Ian Rankin was the first in the family to attend university. He studied English literature at the University of Edinburgh, from where he graduated in 1982. He spent three years working toward a PhD in Scottish literature before abandoning it to write novels.

Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked several jobs, including being a taxman, journalist, alcohol researcher, grape picker, college secretary, as well as a punk musician in a band called the Dancing Pigs. In addition, he was also a university professor.

In Rankin published his first novel, The Flood, in 1986. A year later, Knots & Crosses introduced Detective Inspector John Rebus. Hedid not originally plan Rebus as the start of a long series, but the character became the main part of his writing career and helped make him one of the major names in modern Scottish crime fiction.

The Rebus books also made Rankin one of the writers most closely connected to tartan noir, the darker genre of Scottish crime fiction associated with William McIlvanney and later Edinburgh crime writers. Rankin’s version makes the city a main part of the story. Rebus works cases where the answer often depends on who knows whom, what has been covered up, and which old damage is still affecting the present.

He also wrote the Malcolm Fox series, featuring another Edinburgh detective, standalone novels, short stories, non-fiction books, stage plays, and a graphic novel. Between 1993 and 1995 he also published three thrillers under the pseudonym Jack Harvey. In 2021 he completed an unfinished manuscript by the late William McIlvanney in the Laidlaw series, published under the title The Dark Remains.

Ian Rankin has received major crime-writing honors, including the CWA Gold Dagger, the CWA Diamond Dagger, and the Edgar Award for Best Novel. He was awarded an OBE for services to literature and later received a knighthood for services to literature and charity. He currently lives in Edinburgh and writes full-time.

Ian Rankin Book Adaptations

• Inspector Rebus series – adapted into the television series Rebus (2000-2007)
• Open Doors – adapted into the ITV television film Open Doors (2008)
• Inspector Rebus series – adapted into the television series Rebus (2024)

Ian Rankin Awards and Honors

Major Awards

• Hawthornden Fellow (1988)
• Black and Blue – CWA Gold Dagger (1997)
• Resurrection Men – Edgar Award for Best Novel (2004)
• Knighted for services to literature and charity (2023)
• CWA Diamond Dagger (2005)
• The Naming of the Dead – BCA Crime Thriller of the Year (2007)

Awards (Full List)

Nominations and Shortlists

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