Ian Rankin

William McIlvanney’s Laidlaw trilogy changed the face of crime fiction in the 1970s and 1980s, inspiring an entire generation of crime writers including Mark Billiangham, Val McDermid, Denise Mina, Chris Brookmyre – and Ian Rankin. When McIlvanney died in 2015, he left half a handwritten manuscript of Laidlaw’s first case – his first new novel in 25 years. Now, Ian Rankin is back to finish what McIlvanney started. 

In The Dark Remains, due to be released June 22, these two iconic authors bring to life the criminal world of 1970s Glasgow, and the relentless quest for truth . 

We are thrilled that Ian will join us at the Festival, where he will be in conversation with Brian McGilloway to discuss joining forces with the crime-writing legend for the first ever case of DI Laidlaw. .

“A gripping and atmospheric novel” – Times Crime Book of the Month

 “McIlvanney and Rankin are the dream team. To have Rankin completing an unfinished McIlvanney novel is a crime fiction fan’s dream come true” Mark Billingham 

“The personality of the tough, intelligent Laidlaw leaps off the page as readily as it did in the first novel that bore his name” – Financial Times

 William McIlvanney is the author of the award-winning Laidlaw trilogy, featuring Glasgow’s original maverick detective. He died in December 2015. Both Laidlaw and The Papers of Tony Veitch gained Silver Daggers from the Crime Writers’ Association, while the third in the series, Strange Loyalties, won the Herald’s People’s Prize. The McIlvanney Prize, named in his honour in 2016, is awarded annually for the best Scottish crime novel of the year.

Ian Rankin is the number one bestselling author of the Inspector Rebus series. The Rebus books have been translated into thirty-six languages and are bestsellers worldwide. He is the recipient of four Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Awards, including the prestigious Diamond Dagger, and in 2002 he received an OBE for services to literature. He lives in Edinburgh.