"My dad used to say to me, 'Try to keep a cool head and a warm heart'. At least I think it was my dad. I don't really remember him." Gravy worked in the graveyard – hence the name. He was having a normal day until his friend Benjy turned up in a car Gravy didn't recognise. Benjy had a bullet hole in his chest, but lived just long enough to ask Gravy to hide him and look after his gun. Gravy had looked after things for Benjy before, but never a gun. When Gravy looked in the car he found blood, a balaclava and a bag stuffed with money. Gravy's not too bright but he wants to help his friend. So Gravy finds himself caught up in the middle of a robbery gone wrong, a woman who witnessed a murder, and some very unpleasant men who will do anything to get back the money Benjy stole…

Edinburgh is a city steeped in history and tradition, a seat of learning, of elegant living, known as the ‘Athens of the North’. But here are twelve stories which will open your eyes to another Edinburgh, a city of grudges, blackmail, violence, greed and fear: a city where past and present clash. A student, hanging, from a gallows in Parliament Square... A telephone summons to murder... An arson attack on a bird-watcher... The witnessing of a miracle... Plus Five Nations Cup, Hogmanay, the Auld Alliance, the Festival and more - all in the company of the popular and redoubtable Inspector John Rebus. If you like whodunnits, whydunnits or howdunnits, if you like your crime with a twist of wry, if you’re the kind of traveller who likes to step off the tourist trail... then this is the collection you’re been waiting for

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Although it’s not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last. What drove a good man to cross the line? Or have times changed, and the rules with them? Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh’s most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city’s police force. But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus — and Clarke’s twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit. A reckoning is coming — and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders

A shooting incident at a private school just north of Edinburgh. Two seventeen year olds killed by an ex Army loner who has gone off the rails. As Detective Inspector John Rebus puts it, 'there's no mystery'… except the why. But this question 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 ranging from civic leaders to the local Goths leaving behind a legacy of secrets and lies. Rebus has more than his share of personal problems, too. He's fresh out of hospital, hands heavily bandaged, and he won't say how it happened. Could there be a connection with a house fire and the unfortunate death of a petty criminal who had been harrassing Rebus's colleague Siobhan Clarke? Rebus's bosses seem to think so…

‘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. But is he going as a father or a detective? As he leaves at dawn to drive to the windswept coast — and a small town with big secrets — he wonders whether this might be the first time in his life where the truth is the one thing he doesn’t want to find

La desaparición de una estudiante, Philippa Balfour ¿niña rica rebelde, hija de un banquero bien acomodado e influyente? conduce a la policía a dos posibles pistas: la primera relacionada con la aparición de una muñeca de madera en un minúsculo ataúd abandonado en un paraje rural, a poca distancia de la casa de los Balfour; la segunda, su participación en un juego de rol a través de Internet dirigido por un misterioso gurú cibernético. Dos posibles pistas que vinculan casos antiguos de asesinatos no resueltos con otros más recientes. La policía, de Lothian y Borders, se pone en marcha, mientras Rebus investiga los deslavazados antecedentes históricos de crímenes sin resolver y la agente Siobhan Clarke sigue la pista virtual del misterioso «Programador», cuyas enrevesadas claves acaban dirigiendo los pasos de la investigación. Las vidas, virtuales y reales, dependen ahora de una fracción de segundo

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. Ranging from the macabre ('The Hanged Man') to the unfortunate ('The Only True Comedian') right back to the sinister ('Someone Got To Eddie') they all bear the hallmark of great crime writing. Of even more interest to his many fans, Ian includes seven Inspector Rebus stories in this new collection…

Tres mujeres jóvenes han aparecido ultrajadas y asesinadas. El criminal se ha guardado como fúnebre recuerdo un objeto de cada una de ellas. Demasiadas coincidencias en tono a una forma de actuar que recuerda a los salvajes procedimientos y la impronta de un asesino en serie que conmocionó a la sociedad escocesa en los años sesenta: el escurridizo John Biblia, cuya verdadera identidad nunca se pudo averiguar. El inspector de policía John Rebus es el vivo reflejo de la frustración de aquellos que no pudieron atrapar a aquel depravado criminal. Ahora está decidido a enfrentarse con alguien que parece querer glorificar la memoria de su macabro predecesor. En el embarullado curso de la investigación el inspector Rebus topa con otra serie de muertes sin conexión aparente. Un trabajador de la industria del petróleo, un confidente del narcotráfico y un conocido mafioso mueres en extrañas circunstancias; unos sucesos a los que hay que añadir las extrañas implicaciones de personajes de los bajos fondos urbanos y de magnates de las altas esferas del poder económico. Inmerso en varios frentes abiertos, el carácter pendenciero, rebelde y transgresor del inspector le enfrenta además a una investigación interna dirigida por un superior vengativo. Cualquier paso en falso puede acabar con la carrera de Rebus, si bien antes habrá que poner punto final a una obsesión: dar caza a John Biblia

‘Bible John’ terrorized Glasgow in the sixties and seventies, raping and murdering three women he met in a local ballroom — and was never caught. Now a copycat is at work, nicknamed ‘Bible Johnny’ by the media, a new menace with violent ambitions. Inspector Rebus must proceed with caution, because one mistake could mean an unpleasant and not particularly speedy death

Rebus finds himself with a number of problems on his hands. His wayward brother, Michael, has returned to Edinburgh in need of accommodation — with only the box-room in Rebus's flat available. While out drinking, he meets an old army friend, Deek Torrance, who admits to being involved in shady activities, telling Rebus he can get his hands on 'anything from a shag to a shooter'. Rebus spends so long out with Deek that he misses dinner with his girlfriend, Doctor Patience Aitken. Furious, she locks him out of her flat, forcing him to sleep in his own flat, on the sofa

Michael Weston is an assassin with a problem. His latest job has been carried out with customary precision. Yet it has led the police straight to him. Has he been set up? Why? And by Whom? To answer these questions he must first track down his paymasters. The suspects multiply like a particularly vicious virus. When Weston’s bullet hit home, the diplomat and a British junior minister, both with target. But the victim had enemies too, personal and professional. Weston knows his own reputation is at stake. He made a mistake once before and is still paying for it. Now he must become a different kind of hunter, working through his victim’s past towards the answers. The trail will take him from Europe to North America, charting a grand conspiracy and the involvement of a pernicious religious cult. And all the time the hunter is also the hunted. Hoffer is an ex-cop with an obsession, hired to find the assassin and enact a dreadful revenge. But Hoffer has only one advantage over the rest... he knows the assassin’s weakness that could prove all too fatal. What happens when the killer becomes a target? When he takes more risks than he should? If he’s not careful, someone is going to bleed Michael Weston dry

It begins with a phone call. Gordon Reeve's brother has been found dead in his car in San Diego – the car was locked from the inside, a gun in his hand. In the US to identify the body Gordon comes to realise that his brother has in fact been murdered. What's more, it is soon obvious that his own life is in danger. Once back in Scotland he finds out that there have been more visitors than usual to his house and his home has been bugged by professionals. But Reeve is a professional too. Ex SAS, he was half of a two man unit with someone he came to fear, then to hate. It looks like his Nemesis is back. The horror has just begun…

En un barrio de viviendas protegidas de Edimburgo aparece asesinado un sin papeles. ¿Se trata de una agresión racista o de algo muy distinto? Es un caso que, sin duda, interesa a Rebus, que se encuentra en ese momento rodeado de problemas: han cerrado su antigua comisaría y sus jefes querrían que se retirara. Pero Rebus es más terco que nadie. Durante las indagaciones visita un centro de detención para inmigrantes, trata con el sórdido mundo del hampa de Edimburgo y probablemente acabe enamorándose. Siobhan, por otra parte, tiene sus propios problemas. Una joven de dieciocho años ha desaparecido de casa y ella se siente obligada a ayudar a los padres, lo que implica acercarse más de lo debido a un violador convicto. Está además involucrada en otro caso, el de los dos esqueletos de mujer y de niño enterrados bajo el suelo de cemento de un sótano en el callejón Fleshmarket, un asunto que alguien quiere que salte a los medios, pero ¿quién y por qué? ¿Existe alguna relación entre este caso y el del barrio de pisos baratos de Knoxland? Callejón Fleshmarket indaga el proceso interno de una sociedad que ha perdido sus buenas costumbres y se ve inmersa en lo peor de la naturaleza humana: la codicia, la desconfianza, la violencia y la explotación

The first retrospective of the CWA’s Dagger Award winners, brings together some of the greatest names in crime fiction to deliver a cutthroat collection of serial killers, grizzled detectives, drug dealers and master forgers. Observe as a Senior Curator at the Tate Gallery constructs the perfect crime in Ian Rankin’s “Herbert in Motion”. Watch an unlikely romance sour into a deadly obsession in Stella Duffy’s “Martha Grace”. Face parents who discover their child has committed the unthinkable in Denise Mina’s “Nemo Me Impune Lacessit”. And in Jeffery Deaver’s “The Weekender” an intense hostage situation hits its peak in the most unlikely conclusion. Keep your secrets close, and your daggers drawn

DESCRIPTION: From some of the greatest literary minds of our time comes a collection of stories about dangerous women. With an unprecedented lineup of authors, Mysterious Press proudly presents an extraordinary collection of short stories. Lorenzo Carcaterra, Michael Connelly, John Connolly, Jeffery Deaver, Nelson DeMille, J.A. Jance, Andrew Klavan, Elmore Leonard, Laura Lippman, Ed McBain, Jay McInerney, Walter Mosley, Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Perry, Ian Rankin, S.J. Rozan, and Thomas H. Cook combine their talents in a collection which is certain to find a large audience eager to read stories by some of the most distinguished names in the genre

A call from an old friend brings back memories and more than a little guilt for DI John Rebus. An old schoolfriend’s son has gone missing, the ghost of Jack Morton is inhabiting Rebus’ dreams, a part-time poisoner is terrorising the local zoo and a freed paedophile rouses the vigilantes

Damon Mee was last seen in a blurred security video on the dance floor of a Kirkaldy nightclub. It was a routine missing persons case and it wasn’t even on his patch, but inspector John Rebus said he’d look into it as a favour to the boy’s father, a friend from his school days. The ripples of the investigation widen rapidly. They lead to the club’s greasy owner, to a slightly bent casino croupier, to a drop-dead blonde whose name nobody seems to know, to a Hibs striker with a talent for goals and a weakness for gambling and, finally, to the shadowy men who call the shots in Edinburgh’s underworld. When it’s over, Rebus has repaid a long overdue debt and his boss has received an unexpected but very welcome birthday present

Damon Mee was last seen in a blurred security video on the dance floor of a Kirkaldy nightclub. It was a routine missing persons case and it wasn't even on his patch, but inspector John rebus said he'd look into it as a favour to the boy's father, a friend from his school days. In the deft hands of Ian Rankin, the ripples of the investigation widen rapidly. They lead to the club's greasy owner, to a slightly bent casion croupier, to a drop dead blonde whose name nobody seems to know, to a Hibs striker with a talent for goals and a weakness for gambling and finally to the shadowed men who call the shots in Edinburgh's underworld. When it's over, Rebus has repaid a debt and his boss has received an unexpected birthday present

For the right man, all doors are open… Mike Mackenzie is a self-made man with too much time on his hands and a bit of the devil in his soul. He is looking for something to liven up the days and perhaps give new meaning to his existence. A chance encounter at an art auction offers him the opportunity to do just that as he settles on a plot to commit a 'perfect crime'. He intends to rip-off one of the most high-profile targets in the capital – the National Gallery of Scotland. So, together with two close friends from the art world, he devises a plan to a lift some of the most valuable artwork around. But of course, the real trick is to rob the place for all its worth whilst persuading the world that no crime was ever committed. But soon after he enters the dark waters of the criminal underworld he realises that it's very easy to drown…

El inspector Rebus se desvive por llegar al fondo de una investigación que podría desenmascarar a un genocida de la segunda guerra mundial, asunto que el gobierno británico preferiría no destapar, cuando la batalla callejera entre dos bandas rivales llama a su puerta. Un mafioso checheno y Tommy Telford, un joven gánster de Glasgow que ha comenzado a afianzar su territorio Rebus, rodeado de enemigos, explora y se enfrenta al crimen organizado; quiere acabar con Telford, y así lo hará, aun a costa de sellar un pacto con el diablo

Edimburgo está a punto de convertirse, al cabo de casi tres siglos, en anfitriona del primer Parlamento escocés, un hito histórico y político que enciende pasiones. El inspector Rebus ha sido destinado al comité de enlace de seguridad del Parlamento, en Queensberry House, centro mismo del distrito de la comisaría de St. Leonard. De Queensberry House, futura sede del gobierno de la nueva Escocia, perdura la maldición de una leyenda, una maldición que según algunos recaerá sobre los nuevos inquilinos.Los problemas empiezan cuando, en la antigua chimenea donde de acuerdo con la leyenda murió asado un joven, aparece el cadáver de Roddy Grieve,candidato a un escaño en el nuevo Parlamento

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. Clarke's been investigating the death of a senior lawyer whose body was found along with a threatening note. On the other side of Edinburgh, Big Ger Cafferty — Rebus's long-time nemesis — has received an identical note and a bullet through his window. Now it's up to Clarke and Rebus to connect the dots and stop a killer. Meanwhile, DI Malcolm Fox joins forces with a covert team from Glasgow who are tailing a notorious crime family. There's something they want, and they'll stop at nothing to get it. It's a game of dog eat dog — in the city, as in the wild

BCA Crime Thriller of the Year (nominee) 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, keen to bring business to Scotland. The politicians and bankers who run Edinburgh are determined that the case should be closed quickly and clinically. But the further they dig, the more Rebus and his colleague DS Siobhan Clarke become convinced that they are dealing with something more than a random attack – especially after a particularly nasty second killing. Meantime, a brutal and premeditated assault on local gangster 'Big Ger' Cafferty sees Rebus in the frame. Has the Inspector taken a step too far in tying up those loose ends? Only a few days shy of the end to his long, inglorious career, will Rebus even make it that far?

Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci and including stories by Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver, and more, this one-of-a-kind anthology pulls together the most beloved characters from the best and most popular thriller series today. Worlds collide! In an unprecedented collaboration, twenty-three of the world’s bestselling and critically acclaimed thriller writers have paired their series characters — such as Harry Bosch, Jack Reacher, and Lincoln Rhyme — in an eleven-story anthology curated by the International Thriller Writers (ITW). All of the contributors to FaceOff are ITW members and the stories feature these dynamic duos: • Patrick Kenzie vs. Harry Bosch in “Red Eye,” by Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly • John Rebus vs. Roy Grace in “In the Nick of Time,” by Ian Rankin and Peter James • Slappy the Ventriloquist Dummy vs. Aloysius Pendergast in “Gaslighted,” by R.L. Stine, Douglas Preston, and Lincoln Child • Malachai Samuels vs. D.D. Warren in “The Laughing Buddha,” by M.J. Rose and Lisa Gardner • Paul Madriani vs. Alexandra Cooper in “Surfing the Panther,” by Steve Martini and Linda Fairstein • Lincoln Rhyme vs. Lucas Davenport in “Rhymes With Prey,” by Jeffery Deaver and John Sandford • Michael Quinn vs. Repairman Jack in “Infernal Night,” by Heather Graham and F. Paul Wilson • Sean Reilly vs. Glen Garber in “Pit Stop,” by Raymond Khoury and Linwood Barclay • Wyatt Hunt vs. Joe Trona in “Silent Hunt,” by John Lescroart and T. Jefferson Parker • Cotton Malone vs. Gray Pierce in “The Devil’s Bones,” by Steve Berry and James Rollins • Jack Reacher vs. Nick Heller in “Good and Valuable Consideration,” by Lee Child and Joseph Finder So sit back and prepare for a rollicking ride as your favorite characters go head-to-head with some worthy opponents in *FaceOff*—it’s a thrill-a-minute read

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 the 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... Siobhan meanwhile has problems of her own. A teenager has disappeared from home and Siobhan is drawn into helping the family, which will mean travelling closer than is healthy towards the web of a convicted rapist. Then there’s the small matter of the two skeletons — a woman and an infant — found buried beneath a concrete cellar floor in Fleshmarket Close. The scene begins to look like an elaborate stunt — but whose, and for what purpose? And how can it tie to the murder on the unforgiving housing-scheme known as Knoxland? Fleshmarket Close explores what it means to a society when shared heritage is lost beneath uglier aspects of our nature: greed, mistrust, violence and exploitation. It is a true state-of-the-nation novel, and one of Rebus’s most personal cases yet

Detective Inspector John Rebus finds the body of an overdosed drug addict in an Edinburgh squat, laid out cross-like on the floor, between two burned-down candles, with a five-pointed star painted on the wall above. Some of his colleagues are inclined to categorise it as the routine death of a "junkie", but Rebus is perturbed by some unusual facts of the case: a full package of heroin in the dead man's room, and some mysterious bruises on his face and body. Rebus takes seriously a death which looks more like a murder every day, and he begins to investigate the true circumstances of the death. As part of his investigation, Rebus finds the young woman named Tracy who knew the dead man and heard his terrifying last words: "Hide! Hide!" It emerges that the dead man was a photographer who took and hid some sensitive photos in a specialist private members' club — Hyde's — where highly-connected people in society watch illegal boxing. Rebus is able to arrest Hyde's owner and several high profile members, but to his outrage and disgust all the prisoners die suspicious deaths: the powers-that-be are covering it up to prevent scandal

IN A HOUSE OF LIES... Everyone has something to hide A 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 secrets Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke is part of a new inquiry, combing through the mistakes of the original case. There were always suspicions over how the investigation was handled and now — after a decade without answers — it’s time for the truth. Nobody is innocent Every officer involved must be questioned, and it seems everyone on the case has something to hide, and everything to lose. But there is one man who knows where the trail may lead — and that it could be the end of him: John Rebus

W Edynburgu zaginęła studentka… Tyle że nie jakaś tam, a córka niezwykle zamożnego i wielce wpływowego bankiera. Brak wszelkich śladów, a detektyw inspektor John Rebus nabiera przeświadczenia, iż chodzi tu o coś więcej niźli tylko wyskok zbuntowanej smarkuli, której do głowy uderzyły pieniądze tatusia i nie tylko. Pojawiają się dwa tropy: drewniana laleczka w piętnastocentymetrowej trumience, którą ktoś podrzucił nad brzegiem strumienia i interaktywna gra internetowa, którą zarządza tajemniczy cybernetyczny guru. Dramatyczne zdarzenia i zawzięty upór detektywa, który woli słuchać starych longplayów niż plików MP3 powodują, że historia i współczesność zaczynają się z sobą mieszać i wzajemnie przenikać

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel, Knots & Crosses, was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into over thirty languages and are bestsellers worldwide. Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards including the prestigious Diamond Dagger in 2005. In 2004, Ian won America’s celebrated Edgar award for Resurrection Men. He has also been shortlisted for the Anthony Awards in the USA, and won Denmark’s Palle Rosenkrantz Prize, the French Grand Prix du Roman Noir and the Deutscher Krimipreis. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay St Andrews, Edinburgh, Hull and the Open University A contributor to BBC2’s Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin’s Evil Thoughts. He has received the OBE for services to literature, opting to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh. He has also recently been appointed to the rank of Deputy Lieutenant of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons. Visit his website at www.ianrankin.net

Ians Renkins Krusti & mezgli Klasisks kriminālromāns Šerloka Holmsa un inspektora Megrē labāko tradīciju garā. Inspektora Rēbusa piedzīvojumi - tā ir skarbi reālistiska augstvērtīga detektīvliteratūra. Pirmšķirīgs trilleris uz skotu vēstures un sadzīves fona. Mākslinieks Arnis Zariņš Redaktore Anita Baumane Apgāds Zvaigzne ABC, SIA, K. Valdemāra ielā 6, Rīgā, LV-1010. Red. nr. TL-2307. A/s “Poligrāfists”, K. Valdemāra ielā 6, Rīgā, LV-1010. © Tulkojums latviešu valodā, Apgāds Zvaigzne ABC ISBN 978-9984-40-757-9

Otoño, Edimburgo, hacia el final de la carrera del inspector John Rebus, que intenta cerrar alguno de los casos pendientes antes de jubilarse, cuando aparece muerto joven poeta ruso, al parecer a causa de un atraco que ha salido mal. Como por casualidad, una delegación comercial rusa que intenta de hacer negocios en Escocia visita la ciudad, y políticos y banqueros se muestran decididos a que el caso sea rápidamente cerrado y sin ambigüedades. Pero cuanto más indagan Rebus y su colega, la sargento Siobhan Clarke, más convencidos están de que no se trata de una simple agresión; más aún al producirse un segundo y repugnante homicidio. Simultáneamente, la brutal agresión a un gángster de Edimburgo sitúa a Rebus bajo sospecha. ¿Ha llevado el inspector Rebus demasiado lejos su intervención en la solución de los casos? A escasos días de jubilarse de su magnífica carrera, ¿se habrá liado Rebus la manta a la cabeza? Intensa y emocionante, La Música del adiós no es sólo el colofón agridulce de los años de servicio del inspector John Rebus, es una incisiva reflexión sobre el poder, el dinero y el crimen en un país en venta al mejor postor

Detective Inspector John Rebus and Frank Lauderdale start the book with a car chase across Edinburgh, culminating with the two youths they are chasing throwing themselves off the Forth Road Bridge and in Rebus being injured in a car crash. Rebus' upset over this allows Rankin to show the character in a new light, revealing his isolation and potentially suicidal despair. After the unconnected suicide of a terminally ill con, Rebus pursues an investigation that implicates respected people at the highest levels of government, and due to the politically sensitive nature of what he is doing, faces losing his job, or worse. He is supported by his daughter Sammy, allowing their distant relationship to be built upon. The title refers to the Rolling Stones album Let it Bleed

An anthology of stories The city is at the centre of all good crime writing: Los Angeles has Raymond Chandler, Chicago has Sara Paretsky and Mexico City has Paco Taibo. London has the contributors to London Noir who explore the dark underbelly of London and celebrate the triple by-passed heart of England's capital city. They reveal London to be a city of mayhem and depravity not to be recommended to tourists from Miami!

Peppard and Jarman have a new grift that seems simple enough: Go to the airport. Imitate a hired driver by copying a name that they see in the crowd. Collect the passenger before the real drive does, take him to a secluded area and rob them. It seems like a simple plan to make some quick cash for these two amateurs — that is, until they finally meet a pro

The last people to die in Mary King's Close had been plague victims. But that was in the 1700s. Now a body has been discovered, brutally tortured and murdered in Edinburgh's buried city. Inspector John Rebus, ex army, spots a paramilitary link, but how can this be true? It is August in Edinburgh, the Festival is in full swing. No one wants to contemplate terrorism in the throng ing city streets. Special Branch are interested, however, and Rebus finds himself seconded to an elite police unit with the mission of smashing whatever cell may exist. But the victim turns out to be a gangster's son, and the gangster wants revenge on his own terms. Soon Rebus finds himself in a non man'sland where friendly fire is as likely to score a hit as anything lauched by the unseen enemy

Las mujeres más peligrosas son aquellas que resultan irresistibles. ¿Qué hace peligrosa a una mujer? Su gran belleza, su encanto, su inteligencia, la manera en que se aparta el cabello de los ojos, o el modo de reírse. Puede tener conciencia absoluta de su poder, o desconocerlo por completo. Utilizarlo comoa rma o protegerse detrás de él. La intención y el propósito no aumentan ni disminuyen el poder, y ése es mayor peligro de todos los que son seducidos y sometidos por él

Julio de 2005: todo el mundo tiene los ojos puestos en Escocia. Los selectos dirigentes de los países del G8 se reúnen en la capital y las marchas de protesta, manifestaciones callejeras y refriegas diarias tienen desbordada a la policía. Pero un agente continúa en excedente al margen de todo. Al inspector Rebus le dejan marginado por temor a que cree problemas a la superioridad en estas cruciales circunstancias. Pero todo cambia a raíz de la caída nocturna de un joven político desde las murallas del Castillo de Edimburgo, hecho que sitúa a Rebus en primer plano. Hay que demostrar el suicidio, y rápido, para que no robe páginas al acontecimiento principal. Pero el caso queda rápidamente ensombrecido por otro peligro más mortífero. Una serie de misteriosas claves dejadas en un bosque cercano en las afueras de Edimburgo comienzan a apuntar a un asesino en serie, un criminal dedicado a matar a violadores recién puestos en libertad. Las autoridades se apresuran a que no trascienda ninguno de los dos casos por temor a que desplacen el interés informativo de una reunión de tan global importancia. Pero Rebus no es de los que se atengan al reglamento y cuando su colega, la agente Siobhan Clarke, se encuentra envuelta en desentrañar la identidad del antidisturbios que agredió a su madre, todo parece indicar que Rebus y Clarke van a verse enfrentados en un conflicto y, en consecuencia, antes de que concluya la agitada semana, tendrán que adoptar decisiones que les pueden afectar para siempre

Dos inocentes niñas han sido secuestradas y asesinadas en Edimburgo para asombro de la opinión pública, que se ha visto conmocionada ante tal crimen. El veterano inspector John Rebus, alcohólico y fumador empedernido, tomará parte en la investigación cuando una tercera menor desaparezca bajo las mismas circunstancias. Con un turbulento pasado y un estilo de vida totalmente desestructurado, Rebus deberá dejar a parte sus problemas personales para centrarse en la resolución de un caso que podría convertirse en el más dramático suceso que pueda recordarse en toda Escocia. Pronto el asesino que todos buscan comenzará a enviar una serie de pistas que quizá solo Rebus podrá llegar a resolver

Some cases never leave you. For John Rebus, forty years may have passed, but the death of beautiful, promiscuous Maria Turquand still preys on his mind. Murdered in her hotel room on the night a famous rock star and his entourage were staying there, Maria's killer has never been found. Meanwhile, the dark heart of Edinburgh remains up for grabs. A young pretender, Darryl Christie, may have staked his claim, but a vicious attack leaves him weakened and vulnerable, and an inquiry into a major money laundering scheme threatens his position. Has old-time crime boss Big Ger Cafferty really given up the ghost, or is he biding his time until Edinburgh is once more ripe for the picking?

An original John Rebus story and the stage debut for one of crime fiction’s greatest creations. John Rebus may have retired but he’ll always be a detective. Coming home one night, he finds a young woman waiting for his neighbour. He doesn’t know her, but Rebus remembers her mother. In fact, he’s never forgotten the unsolved murder of Maggie Towler. The past also casts long shadows on Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke, haunted by the failure to convict a killer who walked free twenty-five years ago. As a new trial aims to right those wrongs, one man holds all the cards — and ‘Big Ger’ Cafferty is not someone you want to owe. For them all, the past is personal. But one piece of this puzzle is missing... Featuring an introduction from Ian Rankin, a Q&A between him and co-writer Rona Munro, an interview with the artistic director, and more — this is a must-have for Rebus fans

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. Now Rebus can’t determine if he’s been set up for a fall or if his disgraced classmates are as ruthless as he suspects. When Detective Sergeant Siobhan Clarke discovers her investigation of an art dealer’s murder is tied to Rebus’s inquiry, the protégé and mentor join forces. Soon they find themselves in the midst of an even bigger scandal than they had imagined—a plot with conspirators in every corner of Scotland and deadly implications about their colleagues. With the brilliant eye for character and place that earned him the name “the Dickens of Edinburgh,” Ian Rankin delivers a page-turning novel of intricate suspense

Edinburgh, ‘a mad god’s dream / Fitful and dark’, is about to become the home of the first Scottish parliament in nigh on three hundred years. It’s a momentous time and political passions run high... Detective Inspector John Rebus is charged with liaison, thanks to the new parliament being resident at Queensberry House bang in the middle of his St. Leonard’s patch. Queensberry House is home not just to the new Scotland’s rulers to be, but to the legend of a young man roasted on a spit by a madman. A fate befitting its new inhabitants, some would say. When the fireplace where the youth died is uncovered, another more recent murder victim is brought out into the daylight. Days later, in the gardens outside, Queensberry House’s third body is found. This time the victim is no mummified mystery man, but Roddy Grieve, a prospective MSP, and the powers that be are on Rebus’s back demanding instant answers. Roddy Grieve’s notoriety brings a whole host of problems, including his seductive sister Lorna, one of Rebus’s youthful fantasies made flesh. What’s worse, as the case progresses, the Inspector finds himself face to face with one of Edinburgh’s most notorious criminals — a man he thought safely out of harm’s way for years to come. Someone’s going to make a lot of money out of Scotland’s independence and where there’s big money at stake, darkness gathers

SOMEONE IS STRIPPING JACK NAKED… Gregor Jack, MP, well like, young, married to the fiery Elizabeth to the outside world a very public sucess story. But Jack's carefully nurtured career plans take a tumble after a 'mistake' during a police raid on a notorious Edinburgh brothel. Then Elizabeth disappears, a couple of bodies float into viewwhere they shouldn't, and a lunatic speaks from his asylum… With his wife missing, his job on the line, and his sanity in doubt, Gregor Jack is ripe for revenge

W Edynburgu zaginęła mała dziewczynka. Prawdopodobnie czeka ją taki sam los jak dwie pozostałe ofiary brutalnego mordercy – śmierć przez uduszenie sznurkiem z zawiązanymi supłami. John Rebus, detektyw nadużywający alkoholu i papierosów, jest jednym z wielu policjantów poszukujących choćby najmniejszego śladu mordercy. W tym samym czasie do mieszkania detektywa zaczynają docierać listy z zapętlonymi kawałkami sznurka i skrzyżowanymi zapałkami. Owe tajemnicze wiadomości, które początkowo nie wzbudzają podejrzeń, a jedynie irytują Rebusa, przywołują mroczne i z trudem wyrzucone z pamięci wspomnienia z pobytu w wojsku. Czy właśnie tutaj tkwi rozwiązanie zagadki porwań dziewczynek?

There is no detective like DI Rebus — brilliant, irascible and endlessly frustrating both to his friends and his long-suffering bosses. For over two decades he has walked through the dark places of Edinburgh... Now Rebus’s life is revealed through this complete collection of stories, from his early days as a young DC in ‘Dead and Buried’ right up to the dramatic, but not quite final, retirement in ‘The Very Last Drop’. This is the ultimate Ian Rankin treasure trove — a must for aficionados as well as a superb introduction to anyone looking to experience DI John Rebus, and the dark and twist-filled crimes he has to investigate, for the very first time

Mustn't complain' – but people always do… Nobody likes The Complaints – they're the cops who investigate other cops. Complaints and Conduct Department, to give them their full title, but known colloquially as 'The Dark Side', or simply 'The Complaints'. It's where Malcolm Fox works. He's just had a result, and should be feeling good about himself. But he's a man with problems of his own. He has an increasingly frail father in a care home and a sister who persists in an abusive relationship – something which Malcolm cannot seem to do anything about. But, in the midst of an aggressive Edinburgh winter, the reluctant Fox is given a new task. There's a cop called Jamie Breck, and he's dirty. The problem is, no one can prove it. But as Fox takes on the job, he learns that there's more to Breck than anyone thinks. This knowledge will prove dangerous, especially when a vicious murder intervenes far too close to home for Fox's liking

In this scorching crime hook-up, number one bestseller Ian Rankin and Scottish crime-writing legend William McIlvanney join forces for the first ever case of DI Laidlaw, Glasgow’s original gritty detective. If the truth’s in the shadows, get out of the light... Lawyer Bobby Carter did a lot of work for the wrong type of people. Now he’s dead and it was no accident. He’s left behind his share of enemies, but who dealt the fatal blow? DC Jack Laidlaw’s reputation precedes him. He’s not a team player, but he’s got a sixth sense for what’s happening on the streets. As two Glasgow gangs go to war, Laidlaw needs to find out who got Carter before the whole city explodes

A wooden doll in a tiny coffin and an Internet role-playing game are the only clues Inspector John Rebus has to follow when his investigation of a student's disappearance leads him on a trail that stretches back into Edinburgh's past

The action of The Flood, a first novel by Ian Rankin, takes place over a period of twenty years in the life and slow death of a File mining community. At the heart of the novel are Mary Miller is an outcast, believed by some to have occult powers, and her bastard son, Sandy. Mary finds herself caught up in a faltering affair with a local schoolteacher, while Sandy falls in love with a strange gypsy girl. As the action moves towards a tense and unexpected climax, both mother and son are forced to come to terms with the past, in the growing knowledge that their small dramas are being played out against a much larger drama, a drama glimpsed only in symbols and flickering images — images of decay and regrowth, of fire and water, of the flood

A tense and complicated thriller featuring inspector John Rebus from the acclaimed author of BLACK AND BLUE. Rebus is buried under a pile of paperwork generated by his investigations into a possible war criminal resident in Edinburgh. His immediate superiors are more than happy to have him tucked away in a quiet backwater for several months looking into ancient history. But the Crime Squad are forced to bring him back to the present day when a young upstart gangster, Tommy Telford, muscles in on Big Ger Cafferty's turf and Rebus's local knowledge becomes essential to the efforts to shut down Telford's business as a drug dealer, pimp and extortionist. Before he can act the waters are muddied further when the war criminal is found hanging in Warriston Cemetery

An anthology of stories The most venerated and bestselling authors in the mystery world reveal how they created their most beloved serial characters

OVER 40 NEW STORIES FROM BRITAIN’S LEADING CRIME WRITERS Leading editor and reviewer Maxim Jakubowski has compiled another beguiling collection of the year’s best new short crime fiction from the UK. Ian Rankin’s perennially popular Edinburgh cop, Inspector Rebus, makes an unexpected comeback in a short, but intriguing story, ‘The Very Last Drop’, and the collection closes with another Rankin story, ‘Driven’. Making their first appearance in the series are many luminaries such as Kate Atkinson, Louise Welsh, Stephen Booth, Christopher Brookmyre, Colin Bateman, A. L. Kennedy, Sheila Quigley, Lin Anderson, Simon Kernick and David Hewson. Also represented are exciting up-and-coming talents such as Nick Quantrill, Jay Stringer, Paul D. Brazill and Nigel Bird

BCA Crime Thriller of the Year July 2005, and the G8 leaders have gathered in Scotland. With daily marches, demonstrations, and scuffles, the police are at full stretch. Detective Inspector John Rebus, however, has been sidelined, until the apparent suicide of an MP coincides with clues that a serial killer may be on the loose. The authorities are keen to hush up both, for fear of overshadowing a meeting of global importance – but Rebus has never been one to stick to the rules, and when his colleague Siobhan Clarke finds herself hunting down the identity of the riot cop who assaulted her mother, it looks as though both Rebus and Clarke may be up pitted against both sides in the conflict. THE NAMING OF THE DEAD is a potent mix of action and politics, set against a backdrop of the most devastating week in recent British history

For recent college graduate Ronald Hastie, a job at the legendary Shakespeare and Company bookshop offers the perfect occupation during a summer abroad in Paris. Working part-time in exchange for room and board leaves plenty of freedom to explore the city once visited by his literary hero, Robert Louis Stevenson, and things only get better when he meets a collector who claims to have the original manuscripts of both the first draft of Jekyll and Hyde and the never-published The Travelling Companion (both thought to have been destroyed). Then Ron meets the man’s mysterious assistant, and a reckless obsession stirs inside him. As the life he knew back home in Scotland fades from memory, he desperately seeks the secret lying within Stevenson’s long-lost pages