Book Review: Rebus's Scotland

Reviewed By: Catherine Thompson - RAM

Rebus's Scotland     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Ian Rankin
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Reference   Non-Fiction   Travel   Historical
Orion, $39.95 hardcover, 192 pages

Rebus’s Scotland is a journey in words and photographs through that wild country at the north end of the British Isles inhabited by Detective Inspector John Rebus. Through his words, Rankin leads the reader along the highways and byways that Rebus travels, offering exclusive insights into the world of his books.

This book not only documents Rebus’s “life” but looks at the world from which he emerged: the rural Scotland of the author’s childhood. In Rebus’s Scotland, Rankin unlocks the secrets of what makes John Rebus tick. He discusses everything from rock music to religious bigotry, pub culture and politics. He explains in-jokes and the genesis of characters like Big Ger Cafferty and Siobhan Clarke.

But Rebus’s Scotland is also Rankin’s Scotland. In writing this book, Rankin says that he re-read all the Rebus novels: “During the process of re-reading, I was amazed to find how much of my own life infiltrates the lives of my characters. In Resurrection Men, Siobhan thinks about how she crashed her car once at Tollcross. It was actually my first crash. … In another book, Rebus remembers his childhood pets, which were actually my childhood pets, right down to the absconding tortoise.”

Rankin wanted to show that Scotland was more than tartan, shortbread, and whisky. What really makes his point here are the photos, taken by the team of Tricia Malley and Ross Gillespie, collectively known as “broad daylight.” They are the same team who take the photos for the covers of the Rebus novels, those moody black-and-white shots that carry so much impact in their shades of grey.

Rebus’s Scotland is a must for any Rankin fan, a perfect companion to the series.

Catherine Thompson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Catherine Thompson - RAM