Spend An Evening With Ian Rankin In Liverpool's St George's Hall

Ian Rankin will come to Liverpool next month with the latest instalment in his much-loved bestselling Rebus detective series. The king of tartan noir will appear in ‘an evening with’ at St George’s Hall on Tuesday 8 October to talk about the hotly anticipated new novel Midnight and Blue in conversation with broadcaster and author Louise Minchin.

The event is being organised by independent retailers Linghams Booksellers and Booka Bookshop.

Multi-award-winning author Ian Rankin was born in Fife and studied at the University of Edinburgh. Before he found success with his Rebus series of crime fiction, he had a variety of jobs including a grape-picker, swineherd, journalist for a hi-fi magazine and a taxman.

His first novel Summer Rites remains in a bottom drawer, but his second – The Flood – was published in 1986. He also writes the Malcolm Fox novels, has produced several books under the pseudonym ‘Jack Harvey’, a prolific collection of short stories and is the co-writer of two plays including Rebus: Long Shadows.

Among his many accolades he has received four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards including the prestigious Diamond Dagger. He was knighted in the 2022 Birthday Honours for his services to literature and charity.

John Rebus is one of the most enduring characters in crime fiction, first appearing in Knots & Crosses in 1987. Since then, the Rebus series has been translated into 22 languages and the books have been bestsellers on several continents, while a hit TV drama – based on Rankin’s books and starring actor Ken Stott as the eponymous detective – was broadcast between 2000 and 2007.

Each of the Rebus novels is linked by returning characters, such as Siobhan Clarke and ‘Big Ger’ Cafferty, but readers can start with anywhere and don’t have to have read earlier novels to enjoy the later ones.

Midnight and Blue – published on 10 October - is the 25th book in the series and follows the epic cliffhanger at the end of A Heart Full of Headstones.

It finds Inspector John Rebus embroiled in a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse as he is forced to join the crowd of Edinburgh’s deadliest criminals in what is a case like no other.

Meanwhile Louise Minchin is an award-winning broadcaster, journalist, author and triathlete. She started her career in BBC Radio and then moved on to the BBC News channel, joining the BBC Breakfast team on the sofa in 2012 and spending 10 years as one of its main presenters.

Her debut thriller Isolation Island was published earlier this month.

The event at St George’s Hall is the latest literary occasion to be presented by Linghams Booksellers in Heswall, Wirral, and Booka Bookshop which has branches in Oswestry and Bridgnorth.

Sue Porter of Linghams Booksellers says: “Ian Rankin is a giant of the crime fiction genre so it’s a real privilege to be able to host him in this special evening at St George’s Hall in Liverpool where he will be interviewed by Louise Minchin.

“The release of each new Inspector Rebus novel is a much-anticipated event and Midnight and Blue is no exception. I can’t wait to hear what he has in store for our audience on 8 October.”

And Carrie Morris of Booka Bookshop adds: “I’m absolutely delighted Ian has agreed to share the latest instalment in his gripping Inspector Rebus series with us. He’s a master storyteller both on the page and live on stage.

“This is our second literary event in the fantastic Concert Room at St George’s Hall, and it promises to be another memorable occasion.”

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