Born in Scotland in 1960, Ian Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh and has since been employed as a grape picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist, and punk musician.

Since publishing his first Rebus novel, Knots and Crosses, in 1987, the series has become phenomenally successful, with each new installment a runaway bestseller in the United Kingdom. He is also the author of The Complaints and Doors Open. He has won an Edgar Award, a Gold Dagger for fiction, a Diamond Dagger for career excellence, and the Chandler-Fulbright Award. He has been elected a Hawthornden Fellow, and received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to literature.

He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife and their two sons.