Ian Rankin Inspector Rebus Series Books In Order

See More From Book Club Friends

Sign up and log in to post, comment and join the conversation.

Book Club Friends is 100% Canadian 🇨🇦

Inspector Rebus Books In Order

Ian Rankin’s Detective Inspector John Rebus is a gritty, tough and complicated detective who digs into murders, corruption, and criminal activities in Edinburgh, Scotland.

A fantastic storyteller, Ian Rankin makes Rebus a flawed and complex character. Rebus is not always likeable but he is always interesting, and readers become invested in the character. Contrasting with Rebus are a number of memorable recurring characters.

Ian Rankin’s compelling storytelling, which blends police procedural, current Scottish politics with richly drawn characters, has made Rebus one of the most popular and enduring crime fiction series and a favourite among mystery fans.

Each book has a standalone story, so you can pick one up and join the series at any point and enjoy it with the exception of A Heart Full of Headstones (Book 24), which ends on a cliffhanger. However, you will better understand and appreciate the characters , their relationships, and ongoing storylines by reading the books in order.

Ian Rankin has also written many other works featuring Rebus. The Beat Goes On is a complete collection of Rebus short stories as of 2014, and Long Shadows and A Game Called Malice are stage plays featuring the detective.

1. Knots and Crosses

Inspector John Rebus: His city is being terrorized by a baffling series of murders…and he’s tied to a maniac by an invisible knot of blood.

2. Hide and Seek

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

3. Tooth and Nail

They call him the Wolfman – because he takes a bite out of his victims and because they found the first victim in the East End’s lonely Wolf Street. Scotland Yard are anxious to find the killer and Inspector Rebus is drafted in to help.

4. Strip Jack

Inspector Rebus investigates the disappearance of a member of Parliament’s wife after her husband was caught in a police raid on an Edinburgh brothel.

5. The Black Book

Rebus returns in a tightly knit plot involving a dangerous “ghost” from his past and an attack on a close colleague and ultimately realizes he must defend his life at all costs–even if it means breaking the law.

6. Mortal Causes

It is August in Edinburgh and the Festival is in full swing…A brutally tortured body is discovered in one of the city’s ancient subterranean streets and marks on the corpse cause Rebus to suspect the involvement of sectarian activists.

7. Let it Bleed

Inspector Rebus searches for the answers to what at first seems to be a petty embezzlement case but turns out to be a crime that reaches into the top political echelons and has left at least four people dead.

8. Black and Blue

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.

9. The Hanging Garden

DI John Rebus is hard at work on multiple cases. Not only is he on the trail of a WWII war criminal – he’s also become entangled in a dangerous battle between two rival gangs.

10. Dead Souls

The tenth Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A Song for the Dark Times

11. Set in Darkness

Edinburgh is about to become the home of the first Scottish parliament in 300 years. As political passions run high, DI John Rebus is charged with liaison

12. The Falls

A student has gone missing in Edinburgh. She’s not just any student, though, but the daughter of well-to-do and influential bankers. There’s almost nothing to go on until DI John Rebus gets an unmistakable gut feeling

13. Resurrection Men

Rebus is off the case – literally. A few days into the murder inquiry of an Edinburgh art dealer, Rebus blows up at a colleague. He is sent to the Scottish Police College for ‘retraining’

14. A Question of Blood

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.

15. Fleshmarket Close

Inspector John Rebus’ police station has closed and his superiors would like him to retire, but he’s drawn into another murder investigation in Edinburgh’s underworld.

16. The Naming of the Dead

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…

17. Exit Music

A dissident Russian poet is found dead – at the same time a delegation of Russian businessmen arrives in town. For some, it is crucial that the case is closed quickly, clinically and with the minimum of attention.

18. Standing in Another Man’s Grave

It’s been some time since Rebus was forced to retire, and he now works as a civilian in a cold-case unit. So when a long-dead case bursts back to life, he can’t resist the opportunity to get his feet under the CID desk once more.

19. Saints of the Shadow Bible

Rebus is back on the force, albeit with a demotion and a chip on his shoulder. A 30-year-old case is being reopened, and Rebus’s team from back then is suspected of foul play.

20. Even Dogs in the Wild

Retirement doesn’t suit John Rebus. He wasn’t made for hobbies, holidays or home improvements. Being a cop is in his blood.

21. Rather be the Devil

John Rebus can’t close the door on the death of glamorous socialite Maria Turquand. Brutally murdered in her hotel room forty years ago, her killer has never been found.

22. In a House of Lies

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.

23. A Song for the Dark Times

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.

24. A Heart Full of Headstones

John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

25. Midnight and Blue

John Rebus spent his life as a detective putting Edinburgh’s most deadly criminals behind bars. Now, he’s going to join them…

The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories

In the Nick of Time: John Rebus vs. Roy Grace