March 19, 1987. Ian Rankin wrote Knots and Crosses, published on this date,while a postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh. It was the first novel to feature John Rebus (who happened to live just across the street from Rankin. Amazing coincidence.) Rankin claimed he was amazed to discover that he had written a crime novel, a genre with which he was unfamiliar. He seems to have warmed up to the field. Rebus #20 will be published soon.
March 15, 1985. On this day Scottish author Ian Rankin conceived his most famous character: Detective Inspector John Rebus. The series has proven to be one of the most popular in modern crime fiction, translated into more than twenty languages.
