Inspector Rebus Books in Order
There are 31 Inspector Rebus books, published between 1987 and 2024: 25 in the Inspector Rebus series and 6 related titles. The first book is Knots and Crosses (1987) and the newest main-line book is Midnight and Blue (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 31
- Published
- 1987–2024
- Confirmed
- 31 of 31 titles
- Pages on record
- 9,325 in 25 of 31 books
- Reading time
- 155–233 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 9,325 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 25 of 31 titles with a page count on record.
Inspector Rebus is a police detective in Edinburgh, and Ian Rankin's procedural series takes the name. Knots and Crosses (1987) opens the run, which continues through Strip Jack (1992), The Black Book (1993), Mortal Causes (1994), Let It Bleed (1995) and Black and Blue (1997) to Midnight and Blue in 2024. Serial murder, cold cases and Scottish policing recur as subjects, one title is co-credited to Peter James, and 31 books are catalogued.
How many Inspector Rebus books are there?
Inspector Rebus has 31 books, released between 1987 and 2024. 25 of them belong to the Inspector Rebus series, and 6 related titles sit outside it: short stories and novellas.
Inspector Rebus Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 31 Inspector Rebus books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119872563/4
- 219912883/4
- 319923203/4
- 419923043/4
- 519922693/4
- 619933523/4
- 719942783/4
- 819953683/4
- 919974803/4
- 101998733/4
- 1119984483/4
- 1219995283/4
- 1320005283/4
- 1420015603/4
- 1520025103/4
- 162003–3/4
- 1720034063/4
- 1820045763/4
- 1920065643/4
- 202007–3/4
- 212012–3/4
- 2220133283/4
- 232014–4/4
- 242014–3/4
- 2520153473/4
- 2620163103/4
- 2720183843/4
- 2820191763/4
- 2920203363/4
- 3020223363/4
- 312024–3/4
Inspector Rebus Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the books of the Inspector Rebus series run from Knots and Crosses (1987) to Midnight and Blue (2024), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Inspector Rebus in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Inspector Rebus books in order?
You should read the Inspector Rebus series in publication order, the order of the numbered table above; the 6 related titles (short stories and novellas) sit outside that sequence. The catalogue does not record whether each Inspector Rebus book also stands alone.
Where to start with Inspector Rebus
Start with Knots and Crosses (1987), the earliest published book in the Inspector Rebus series.
What is the newest Inspector Rebus book?
Midnight and Blue (2024) is the newest book in the Inspector Rebus series.
Is there a new Inspector Rebus book coming?
No next Inspector Rebus book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Inspector Rebus has won
Wikidata records 2 awards and 2 nominations for Inspector Rebus. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Grand Prix de Littérature Policière2005Wonfor Dead Souls
- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel2004Wonfor Resurrection Men
- Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award2009Shortlistedfor Exit Music
- Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award2005Shortlistedfor A Question of Blood
Inspector Rebus at a glance
- Still running
- Inspector Rebus is still running, with a main-line title published as recently as 2024.
- Release pace
- Inspector Rebus books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 9,325 pages across the 25 of 31 books with a recorded length, a median of 347 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Inspector Rebus books, 11 of 31, were published in the 1990s.
- Corroboration
- 1 of the 31 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
- Attribution
- Of the 31 titles, 30 are credited to Ian Rankin and 1 to Peter James.
What the Inspector Rebus books are about
26 of the 31 Inspector Rebus books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective, police procedural is tagged on 22 of 26. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 22 of 26 books
- Edinburgh (Scotland) 21 of 26 books
- Police 21 of 26 books
- Rebus, inspector (fictitious character) 20 of 26 books
- Mystery & detective 8 of 26 books
- Cold cases (criminal investigation) 2 of 26 books
- Scotland 2 of 26 books
- Serial murders 2 of 26 books