Reading order · 25 books · 1987 to 2024 · Set in Edinburgh
Rebus Books in Order
John Rebus works Edinburgh’s murders with a taste for whisky, rock music and breaking the rules. Ian Rankin lets him age in real time, so the books follow him from the 1980s into retirement and beyond, with Siobhan Clarke and the gangster Big Ger Cafferty beside him all the way.
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Series facts
- Books
- 25
- Published
- 1987 to 2024
- First book
- Knots and Crosses
- Latest
- Midnight and Blue (2024)
- Setting
- Set in Edinburgh
The reading order
Every Rebus book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
25 books · Set in Edinburgh
- 1Knots and Crosses1987With John RebusEdinburgh is gripped by the abduction and murder of young girls, and Detective Sergeant John Rebus is receiving anonymous letters containing knotted string and matchstick crosses.Buy on Amazon
- 2Hide and Seek1991With John RebusA young drug user is found dead in an Edinburgh squat, laid out among candles beneath a painted five-pointed star.Buy on Amazon
- 3Tooth and Nail1992With John RebusRebus is sent to London to help the Metropolitan Police hunt a serial killer known as the Wolfman.Buy on Amazon
- 4Strip Jack1992With John RebusA popular MP, Gregor Jack, is caught in a police raid on an Edinburgh brothel.Buy on Amazon
- 5The Black Book1993With John RebusWhen his colleague Brian Holmes is attacked and left in a coma, Rebus finds a notebook Holmes kept about a hotel fire five years earlier.Buy on Amazon
- 6Mortal Causes1994With John RebusDuring the Edinburgh Festival a young man’s body is found in Mary King’s Close, the old street buried beneath the city.Buy on Amazon
- 7Let It Bleed1995With John RebusA kidnapping case ends with the deaths of the two young suspects, but Rebus is not satisfied.Buy on Amazon
- 8Black and Blue1997With John RebusA killer the press calls Johnny Bible is copying Bible John, who murdered women in Glasgow in the 1960s and was never caught.Buy on Amazon
- 9The Hanging Garden1998With John RebusRebus is looking into an elderly man suspected of wartime atrocities when his daughter Sammy is badly hurt in a hit-and-run.Buy on Amazon
- 10Dead Souls1999With John RebusA respected detective’s suicide, a convicted paedophile rehoused in the city and a missing young man from Rebus’s home town all land on his desk at once.Buy on Amazon
- 11Set in Darkness2000With John RebusAs Edinburgh prepares for the new Scottish Parliament, a decades-old body is found walled up in Queensberry House, the building being turned into its home.Buy on Amazon
- 12The Falls2001With John RebusPhilippa Balfour, a student from a wealthy banking family, has disappeared in Edinburgh.Buy on Amazon
- 13Resurrection Men2002With John RebusAfter losing his temper with his boss, Rebus is sent to the police college at Tulliallan with a group of officers on their last chance.Buy on Amazon
- 14A Question of Blood2003With John RebusA former soldier walks into a private school near Edinburgh and shoots two pupils before turning the gun on himself.Buy on Amazon
- 15Fleshmarket Close2004With John RebusAn asylum seeker is stabbed to death on a run-down housing estate, and two skeletons are found under the cellar floor of a pub in Fleshmarket Close.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Naming of the Dead2006With John RebusIn July 2005, as world leaders meet at Gleneagles for the G8 summit, a politician falls to his death from Edinburgh Castle and a series of murders targets released sex offenders.Buy on Amazon
- 17Exit Music2007With John RebusRebus has ten days left before retirement when a Russian poet who criticised his government is found murdered in Edinburgh.Buy on Amazon
- 18Standing in Another Man’s Grave2012With John RebusRetired but working as a civilian in the cold case unit, Rebus is approached by a mother convinced her daughter’s disappearance years ago is linked to other women missing along the A9.Buy on Amazon
- 19Saints of the Shadow Bible2013With John RebusRebus is back on the force as a detective sergeant, working under Siobhan Clarke.Buy on Amazon
- 20Even Dogs in the Wild2015With John RebusA retired lawyer is murdered in Edinburgh, and Big Ger Cafferty receives a threat with the same wording.Buy on Amazon
- 21Rather Be the Devil2016With John RebusRebus is dealing with a health scare and filling his retirement with an old case: the murder of a glamorous woman in a city hotel in 1978.Buy on Amazon
- 22In a House of Lies2018With John RebusA body is found locked in a car hidden in woodland: a private investigator who vanished twelve years earlier.Buy on Amazon
- 23A Song for the Dark Times2020With John RebusRebus’s daughter Samantha calls to say her partner has disappeared from their home in the far north of Scotland.Buy on Amazon
- 24A Heart Full of Headstones2022With John RebusRebus is waiting to go on trial over an incident he will not discuss, and prison looks likely.Buy on Amazon
- 25Midnight and Blue2024With John RebusRebus is serving time in prison, surrounded by men he helped put there.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read the Rebus books in publication order. Each case stands alone, but Rebus ages with the series and his relationships with Siobhan Clarke, Gill Templer and Cafferty build steadily. The two Malcolm Fox novels sit between Exit Music and Standing in Another Man’s Grave, and Fox then joins the Rebus books.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | John Rebus | Siobhan Clarke | Big Ger Cafferty | Gill Templer | Malcolm Fox | Brillo | Brian Holmes | Darryl Christie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Knots and Crosses | LLead | MMajor | ||||||
| 2 Hide and Seek | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | |||||
| 3 Tooth and Nail | LLead | ·Minor | ||||||
| 4 Strip Jack | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | |||||
| 5 The Black Book | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | |||
| 6 Mortal Causes | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 7 Let It Bleed | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 8 Black and Blue | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 9 The Hanging Garden | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 10 Dead Souls | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||||
| 11 Set in Darkness | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 12 The Falls | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||||
| 13 Resurrection Men | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||||
| 14 A Question of Blood | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | |||||
| 15 Fleshmarket Close | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||||
| 16 The Naming of the Dead | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 17 Exit Music | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 18 Standing in Another Man’s Grave | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 19 Saints of the Shadow Bible | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 20 Even Dogs in the Wild | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 21 Rather Be the Devil | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 22 In a House of Lies | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 23 A Song for the Dark Times | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 24 A Heart Full of Headstones | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | |||
| 25 Midnight and Blue | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
Characters in the Rebus books
12 characters from Ian Rankin’s chart, with the number of Rebus books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| John RebusEdinburgh detective, later retired and working cold cases | 25 | Knots and Crosses 1987 |
| Siobhan ClarkeDetective who rises from Rebus’s junior to lead investigator | 21 | The Black Book 1993 |
| Big Ger CaffertyMorris Gerald Cafferty, Edinburgh crime boss | 19 | The Black Book 1993 |
| Gill TemplerRebus’s former lover, later his boss | 17 | Knots and Crosses 1987 |
| Malcolm FoxComplaints officer, later in Major Crimes | 7 | Standing in Another Man’s Grave 2012 |
| BrilloRebus’s dog | 6 | Even Dogs in the Wild 2015 |
| Brian HolmesDetective, Rebus’s early partner | 5 | Hide and Seek 1991 |
| Darryl ChristieYoung gangster rising to rival Cafferty | 4 | Saints of the Shadow Bible 2013 |
| Deborah QuantPathologist and Rebus’s partner | 4 | Even Dogs in the Wild 2015 |
| Samantha RebusRebus’s daughter | 2 | Knots and Crosses 1987 |
| Michael RebusRebus’s younger brother, a stage hypnotist | 2 | Knots and Crosses 1987 |
| Jack MortonDetective and Rebus’s friend | 2 | Hide and Seek 1991 |