Detective John Rebus first appeared in Ian Rankin's 1987 bestseller Knots and Crosses and has since gone on to appear in 17 books and numerous short stories, delighting readers and setting a benchmark in contemporary crime fiction. These notoriously gritty stories have been adapted into a television series?the public cannot get enough of this hard-drinking, no-nonsense, complex detective. Although the fictional Inspector retired to the backwaters of Edinburgh's dark side in the 2007 novel Exit Music, the books endure. This book draws from extensive interviews with Rankin to explore the writer, his creation, and how their relationship has developed over the years. It also investigates the dark cellars and sinister back streets of Rebus' Edinburgh?a dark, foreboding city shattering any stereotypes of shortbread and kilts. Learn about the unusual connection between Rankin and Rebus, how the author was a punk musician and swineherd before becoming a writer, and why he was so inspired by fellow Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and his masterpiece The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.