Ian Rankin's John Rebus: The Trivia Trail Quiz

Answer: Edinburgh

The Edinburgh of John Rebus was a small place, but he saw a side of the city that its millions of tourists never encountered. In his police career, he dealt with between 30 and 40 murders.
The first Rebus novel was "Knots & Crosses" and was published in 1987. Sixteen more novels and a novella followed. "Black and Blue", the eighth Rebus (1997) won the Macallan Gold Dagger for Fiction and "Resurrection Men", the 13th Rebus (2002) won The Edgar Award. They made Ian Rankin a best-selling author.

Answer: Army

Rebus had also tried to join the elite SAS, but failed the stressful selection process. Some of his experiences were recounted in "Knots & Crosses" when Rebus was targeted by a murderer for personal reasons.

Answer: The Kingdom of Fife

The author, Ian Rankin, was also a product of the Kingdom of Fife. Rebus had left there to join the Army, one of the few alternatives to the coalmines or the jobless queues.

Answer: Poland

Rebus did not know how they ended up in Scotland. He suspected he still had relatives in Poland, but had no desire to see them.

Answer: Hypnotist

Mickey Rebus was a good hypnotist and followed in his father's footsteps. Unfortunately he also dabbled in drugs and got a jail term for it. The brothers were not close. Rebus had not been seen Mickey for some time before his death, which was recalled in "The Naming Of The Dead" (2006).

Answer: The Oxford Bar

'The Ox' was a place for Rebus to relax and unwind among acquaintances and people he knew. He had few close friends. Rebus's hobbies were drinking, listening to rock music and buying books, many of which were left unread.
If you ever visit Edinburgh (and I strongly recommend that you do), you can take a walking tour of many of the places that featured in the Rebus books.

Answer: Rhona

Rebus' marriage had gone the way of many a copper's - to the divorce courts. They were separated before the events of the first novel unfolded. They had a daughter, Sammy, who moved away to London initially, but also returned to Edinburgh, where she was badly injured in a car crash.

Answer: Morris 'Big Ger' Cafferty

Cafferty had a finger in many criminal pies. His relationship with Rebus was a strange one. Some suspected that Rebus was in Cafferty's pocket. Rebus was not averse to using Cafferty when lawful methods did not work, but he despised the man. 'Big Ger' first appeared in "The Black Book" (1993). Cafferty liked nothing better than to taunt Rebus for in his inability to build successful cases.

He was jailed for one particular incident, but managed to get an early release when he was diagnosed with cancer. Rebus was convinced that was a bogus illness.

Answer: Strawman

It came from a mistake by a lawyer in a court case. The lawyer had mixed Rebus up with another witness, a Mr. Stroman. This was first mentioned in "Resurrection Men" and caught on since then.

Answer: True

Rebus' love of music was a catholic one. He did not dislike The Beatles, and would listen to them when he could not get "the best", the Stones. Some of the Rebus books share the names of songs; for example "Let It Bleed" was a Stones song and "Exit Music" was a song by Radiohead.
Throughout the series, we got name-checks of the bands and music that Rebus listened to. He often fell asleep in his chair with a record (remember them) on the turntable and an empty glass at his feet.

Answer: Saab

The car tended to let Rebus down from time to time. Those familiar with the Scottish Television adaptations may remember that in those Rebus drove a Mercedes. Two actors have played Rebus, John Hannah and Ken Stott. For true Rebus fans, Hannah was just too smooth and handsome, Stott provided a grittier, scruffier, image and from his first appearance in 2006, became the accepted image of Rebus for the fans. In an interview on a breakfast TV show, Ian Rankin confessed that he did not listen to the voices of the actors as he did not want them to affect the voice of Rebus he heard in his mind as he wrote the books. (Rankin kept his hands over his ears as the presenters played a clip from a Rebus show).

Answer: England

Clarke's parents had been teachers who worked in Edinburgh then moved to England. She rebelled against their liberal principles by joining the police. They were reunited in "The Naming of the Dead" (2006). Clarke tried to keep Rebus's feet planted on the ground while his mind explored flights of fancy. Clarke joined the team as a new detective constable in "The Black Book" (1993). She quickly became a prominent character and was Rebus's one true confidante.
After retiring Rebus in 2009, Ian Rankin hinted that he was considering books with Clarke as the lead character.

Answer: Hibernians

Hibs and Hearts (as they were familiarly known) were the great Edinburgh rivals, Rangers and Celtic played their games in Glasgow. Apart from eating chocolates while curled up at home drinking wine and watching slushy DVDs, it was Clarke's only hobby. She did have romantic attachments, but these were short-lived. At one time she was the victim of a stalker, a fellow police officer.
Another difference between the books and the TV shows was that in the latter Rebus, too, was depicted as a Hibs fan. In the books he had no interest in the game.

Answer: Gill Templer

The relationship between Rebus and Clarke was purely platonic. They did share a kiss in one novel, but that was out of Rebus' relief after finding her alive when he thought she had been killed in an air crash. Temple appeared in the first Rebus novel as a press liaison officer. She and Rebus became lovers. She was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector in "Let It Bleed" (1995) and was a Detective Chef Superintendent by the time the events of "The Falls" (2001) came around.
On becoming Rebus's boss, she made it clear there would be no resumption of their relationship.

Answer: Farmer

Watson was from Aberdeen and in the minds of the Edinburgh cops resembled a rough countryman. He was frequently frustrated by Rebus's cavalier attitude, but in retirement he helped Rebus and Clarke with an investigation.