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Ian Rankin is perhaps the UK’s foremost crime writer, best-known for his extensive series of novels set in Edinburgh and featuring Detective Inspector John Rebus.

Christopher Nicol’s Scotnote examines one of Rankin’s most popular works, the award-winning Black & Blue. The complex, multilayered narrative is untangled, the characters studied and the novel’s social and psychological undercurrents explored. This guide is suitable for senior school pupils and students at all levels.

CONTENTS

• Ian Rankin and his work
• Outline
• Black & Blue: the social landscape
• John Rebus in Black & Blue
  • Rebus’s empathy with victims and underdogs
  • Rebus’s lack of respect for establishment figures
  • Rebus and personal engagement
• Characters
  • Detective Inspector Jack Morton
  • Detective Sergeant Ludovic Lumsden
  • Chief Inspector Charles Ancram
  • Bible John
  • Detective Sergeant Brian Holmes
• Themes
  • The power of past sins
  • Fathers and children
  • The effects of the oil industry
• Structure and style
• Bibliography