saints of the shadow bible - Hardcover

Born in the Kingdom of Fife in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982, and then spent three years writing novels when he was supposed to be working towards a PhD in Scottish Literature. His first Rebus novel was published in 1987, and the Rebus books are now translated into thirty-six languages and are bestsellers worldwide.Ian Rankin has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and is also a past winner of the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He is the recipient of four Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards including the prestigious Diamond Dagger in 2005. In 2004, Ian won America's celebrated Edgar Award for Resurrection Men. He has also been shortlisted for the Anthony Award in the USA, won Denmark's Palle Rosenkrantz Prize, the French Grand Prix du Roman Noir and the Deutscher Krimipreis. Ian Rankin is also the recipient of honorary degrees from the universities of Abertay, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Hull and the Open University.A contributor to BBC2's Newsnight Review, he also presented his own TV series, Ian Rankin's Evil Thoughts. Rankin is a number one bestseller in the UK and has received the OBE for services to literature, opting to receive the prize in his home city of Edinburgh, where he lives with his partner and two sons. www.ianrankin.net Twitter @Beathhigh

"It's Rankin's best novel for years which, given that his are consistently the best crime novels going, is quite the accolade." * EAST ANGLIAN DAILY PRESS * "Ingenious and a good read." * BOOKBAG * "...rich in character description and plots that twisty-turn together until all is revealed. A cracking read, as usual." * BEST * "What makes this more than just a Scottish 'new tricks' is, as always , the quality of the writing and characterisation." * BELFAST TELEGRAPH * "Rankin has once again come up with a winning formula." * EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS * "The master of the police procedural does it again: another riveting read that doesn't disappoint." * CAMBRIDGE MAGAZINE * Few alternative heroes have created the sort of passion from his faithful audience as Rebus. * YORKSHIRE POST * "This is Rankin and Rebus at their very best." * CHOICE MAGAZINE * "The latest Rebus novel finds the author at the very top of his game. The result is a beautifully plotted book in which two main story lines move forward in a totally convincing and utterly compelling way. It's been a while since we've read a 300+ page novel at a single sitting, but we did on this occasion, and reached the extremely satisfying and perfectly crafted ending with a sense of genuine regret that there were no more pages to turn." * UNDISCOVERED SCOTLAND * "Rankin's easy style and constant unfolding of events means there is no temptation to put this down unfinished.... Where he stamps his personality on to this genre most engagingly is in his handling of characters." * SUNDAY HERALD * "One of Rankin's undoubted talents is his ability to manage parallel investigations without ever losing the reader... a richly satisfying read." * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY * "As ever Rankin's characters are finely observed and the gritty underworld his detectives inhabit becomes real even to those with no experience of it." * DAILY EXPRESS * Past and present collide in a satisfying police procedural delivered in Rankin's customary laconic style. * IRISH TIMES * "Britain's best-selling crime writer has lost none of his extraordinary skill, but there is a little less sparkle than in the great days two decades ago. Now 66, Rebus feels like a man out of his time, which adds poignancy to the story, but does not spoil its charm." * DAILY MAIL * "Classic crime. Classic Rankin." * WOMAN & HOME * "Praise be! Ian Rankin's maverick inspector is a cop once again... It is a tribute to Rankin's consummate skill that this complicated tale of 'lying and cheating and concealing' is so streamlined.... A brilliant return - for Rebus and Rankin." * EVENING STANDARD * "A thoroughly compelling read." * MAIL ON SUNDAY * "It seems an odd thing to say about one the most successful crime novels ever but I feel that Rankin is just reaching his peak. his recent books are the most interesting and entertaining of his career." * MORNING STAR * "SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE is a hugely enjoyable encounter, like meeting an old drinking buddy in the pub" * BIG ISSUE * "SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE is a clever, subtle, read. But most of all, it's a genuine pleasure to see Rebus back in the CID." -- Alison Flood * OBSERVER - Thriller of the Month * "Ian Rankin unfold a mystery that intrigues enough to keep one reading to the end." * LITERARY REVIEW * "Rebus is determinedly centre-stage in Rankin's finest novel for years. A first-rate thriller but also a forensic examination of contemporary Scottish society." * INDEPENDENT - The 50 Best Winter Reads * "Subtle, and ambitious... it is a fascinating exploration of ideas of loyalty and allegiance in a changing world, as well as a welcome return for a battered but tenacious survivor." * GUARDIAN * "Along come reminders of why Rankin, and Rebus, take their place at the head of the pack. A brief phone conversation between Rebus and a colleague is so tight, so efficiently written and so funny that you fall in love with the series all over again...add the novel to your contacts, or at least your Christmas list." * TIMES * "It's a novel densely packed with incident and intrigue, and Rankin's thriller plotting is sublime as ever...Rebus remains a remarkably lived-in and mesmerising figurehead of the genre." * INDEPENDENT * Praise be! Ian Rankin's maverick inspector is a cop once again... It is a tribute to Rankin's consummate skill that this complicated tale of "lying and cheating and concealing" is so streamlined.... A brilliant return - for Rebus and Rankin * EVENING STANDARD * He weaves his dual plots into an ever more tangled maze, and then smoothly, oh so satisfactorily, irons them out again. SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE is a clever, subtle read but most of all, it's a genuine pleasure to see Rebus back in CID * OBSERVER * Ian Rankin unfolds a mystery that intrigues enough to keep one reading to the end * LITERARY REVIEW * Rebus is determinedly centre-stage in Rankin's finest novel for years. A first-rate thriller but also a forensic examination of contemporary Scottish society * INDEPENDENT * Subtle, and ambitious... it is a fascinating exploration of ideas of loyalty and allegiance in a changing world, as well as a welcome return for a battered but tenacious survivor * GUARDIAN * Along come reminders of why Rankin, and Rebus, take their place at the head of the pack. A brief phone conversation between Rebus and a colleague is so tight, so efficiently written and so funny that you fall in love with the series all over again...add the novel to your contacts, or at least your Christmas list * THE TIMES * It's a novel densely packed with incident and intrigue, and Rankin's thriller plotting is sublime as ever...Rebus remains a remarkably lived-in and mesmerising figurehead of the genre * INDEPENDENT *