Ian Rankin set to bring back Rebus

Ian Rankin's most famous literary creation, Inspector John Rebus, will return in a new novel, the author has confirmed.

After retiring in 2007's Exit Music, Rebus has not been mentioned in any of Rankin's novels, despite readers inundating the author with requests for the detective to make another appearance.

Now, after five years, Rankin has acquiesced by revealing that his latest work, Standing in Another Man's Grave, will see Rebus run into the author's new protagonist, Malcolm Fox, who works in Edinburgh's internal affairs unit.

Speaking at the Hay Festival, Rankin said that he had always intended to bring back Rebus, but was waiting until the time was right.

'I felt there was unfinished business between the two of us. He had never really gone away but was working for Edinburgh's cold case unit. And I knew I had a story that was a perfect fit for him,' he added.

Standing in Another Man's Grave, which will be published in November, is named after a song by the late Scottish singer Jackie Leven, who Rankin will dedicate the novel to.