The New York Times–bestselling author explains the creation of Inspector Rebus, the hard-edged Edinburgh cop and "superbly drawn character" (The Times, London).

"Rebus is without doubt one of the funniest among the classical fictional detectives." —The Guardian

In this short work, Edgar and Diamond Dagger Award winner Ian Rankin delves into DI John Rebus's origins as a character, as well as his own origins as a writer. While author and character share a love of literature and a deep affection for Scotland's capital city, they differ in other ways, as Rankin entertainingly testifies, while revealing how this "compelling figure" has developed over the course of his long-running series of gritty crime novels (Kirkus Reviews).

"[A] hard-drinking, chain-smoking, terminally melancholic hero . . . trapped in a world where mavericks are an endangered species." —Booklist

"With his stubborn insistence on tying up the frayed ends of every knotty clue, and iconoclastic refusal to be a team player. . . . Rebus is a bane to his superiors but a blessing to readers." —Publishers Weekly