So Long, Rebus

BOSSES TO GIVE REBUS THE BOOT
Rankin, With Discolure,
Also Dicusses Rowling And Novel Format
Glasgow Daily Record

CRIME fiction legend Inspector Rebus will be kicked out of the force in the final novel.

Scots creator, writer Ian Rankin, has started the first draft of the book - and says the star detective has already had his badge taken away by his loathed superiors.

There has been widespread speculation by fans and critics that Rebus will be killed off in the last of 17 books starring the Edinburgh cop.

But the Fife-born writer has revealed that he does not think he could ever do it.

Speaking at a crime writing masterclass in St Andrews, Fife, Rankin said: "I have to be careful how I handle this book. I've learnt that every time I punish readers, they feel it.

"I'm 200 pages in and Rebus is already gone - no ceremony, no gold watch, nothing.

"He was kicked out on page 175, and I didn't know that would happen until page 174.

"On the first page, a body is found, but I don't know how it is going to end."

Rankin also told the audience of crime buffs and academics, that he believed JK Rowling's blockbusting Harry Potter series to be based on the crime novel format.

Rankin said: "Her process is classic crime writing - the set-up, the red herrings, the characters who change as they are revealed, the twists and turns, and finally the big line-up at the end."

Rebus has made Rankin one of the UK's most successful authors, with his books translated into 26 languages and selling millions of copies.