Crime author Sir Ian Rankin has revealed his wife would prefer he retired so they could travel together, but he has just published a new book anyway. The Scottish writer, 66, is known worldwide for his Detective Inspector John Rebus novels, but his latest standalone novel, The Heights, is set in London and features a new heroine.
Rankin, whose wife Miranda Harvey helps run the charitable trust that gave away £300,000 in 2023, admitted she keeps booking holidays and cruises. "She keeps booking these holidays and cruises and adventures to various places, which is great," he said. "I don't know whether all these cruises are giving me an inkling of what it's like to be super-rich."
Rebus honoured at Edinburgh hotel
The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh renamed three function rooms after leading Scottish literary figures, choosing Dame Muriel Spark, Robert Burns, and Rebus. "They named it after the fictional character, not the author," Rankin said. "I don't blame them. He's more real to people than I am."
He recalled that early in his career, the Edinburgh Tourist Board feared his gritty depictions of the city might put visitors off. "Back in the early days, they thought my books were not a good advertisement for Edinburgh. Now, of course, they jump on them," he said.
New novel set in London
The Heights refers to a newly-built residential high-rise overlooking Hyde Park, where a night concierge is found murdered. Rankin said he wanted to explore how London is being "hollowed out by billionaires and dark money." His heroine, DS Gillian Gish, is a London-born detective who lives in Tottenham with her mother who has dementia.
The idea came from a 2023 Amazon e-book short story called The Rise. Rankin wrote the first draft by hand on a 55-day cruise around South America, using a laptop loaned by a fellow passenger. His publisher asked for a new title so readers would not think it was the same story, and his agent suggested changing the killer to surprise readers.
Rebus anniversary and future plans
Rankin said his publishers were thrilled he was introducing a younger character than Rebus. "There's mileage in this," he said. "I won't write about her again until I get a story that can only be told in London."
Next year marks Rebus's 40th anniversary, and a second series of the BBC reboot is due in the spring. Rankin said he cannot imagine killing off Rebus, who is in his early 70s. "Maybe time will do that," he added.
