Rebus book 5 · 1993
The Black Book
When his colleague Brian Holmes is attacked and left in a coma, Rebus finds a notebook Holmes kept about a hotel fire five years earlier. The case brings Rebus up against the crime boss Big Ger Cafferty and introduces a new detective, Siobhan Clarke.
Spoiler-free summary written for The Recurring Cast.
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Book facts
- Author
- Ian Rankin
- Series
- Rebus, book 5 of 25
- Published
- 1993
- Setting
- Set in Edinburgh
- Characters charted
- 6
- Chart confidence
- Medium
Who is in The Black Book
6 recurring or key characters from Ian Rankin’s chart. Introduces Siobhan Clarke and Big Ger Cafferty.
Lead 1
- John RebusEdinburgh detective, later retired and working cold cases
Major 3
- Siobhan ClarkeFirst appearanceDetective who rises from Rebus’s junior to lead investigatorFirst appearance
- Brian HolmesDetective, Rebus’s early partner
- Big Ger CaffertyFirst appearanceMorris Gerald Cafferty, Edinburgh crime bossFirst appearance
Minor and cameo 2
- Gill TemplerRebus’s former lover, later his boss
- Michael RebusRebus’s younger brother, a stage hypnotist
Also featuring these characters
Other Ian Rankin books that share the most characters with The Black Book.
- Let It Bleed1995 · Rebus · 5 shared charactersBuy on Amazon
- Black and Blue1997 · Rebus · 4 shared charactersBuy on Amazon
- The Hanging Garden1998 · Rebus · 4 shared charactersBuy on Amazon
- Dead Souls1999 · Rebus · 4 shared charactersBuy on Amazon