Strip Jack

Ian Rankin

Bestselling crime-writer Ian Rankin was born in Fife, Scotland, in 1960. He was educated at Edinburgh University. On graduating he worked for the civil service, later working as a researcher and journalist.

His first published book was The Flood (1986). Knots and Crosses (1987) was the first in a series of novels featuring Inspector John Rebus and set in contemporary Scotland. Other novels in the series include Hide and Seek (1991), Strip Jack (1992), A Good Hanging (1992), The Black Book (1993), Mortal Causes (1994), Black and Blue (1997) (winner of the Crime Writers' Association Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction), Let It Bleed (1995), The Hanging Garden (1997), Tooth and Nail (1998), Dead Souls (1999), Set in Darkness (2000), The Falls (2001), Resurrection Men (2002), A Question of Blood (2003), and Fleshmarket Close (2004). The Naming of the Dead (2006), was the winner of the 2007 British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year. His latest book in this series is Exit Music (2007). Several of these novels have been adapted for television, starring John Hannah as Rebus. Three of Rankin's novels were written under the pseudonym Jack Harvey: Witch Hunt (1993), Bleeding Hearts (1994) and Blood Hunt (1995).

Ian Rankin is married with two sons, and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was awarded an OBE in 2002, and appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Edinburgh in 2007. His latest novel is Doors Open (2008). A Cool Head (2009) is a novella in the Quick Read series.