Ian Rankin
The crime writer and creator of Inspector Rebus
Ian lives in a leafy part of Edinburgh with his wife, Miranda.
What are you doing for Christmas? this year we are spending Christmas at home. When our sons were young we sometimes booked the family into a hotel for a few days. one year (after they had grown up), Miranda and I took a cruise and spent Christmas Day at sea. but this year we will be in the house with both sons, and Miranda’s mother and brother. Christmas Day breakfast means pork pie, bread and butter, and beetroot for Miranda and her mother – that’s their tradition and they stick to it. the only other tradition on the day is a 1,000-piece jigsaw we can all help with. Which book would you like for Christmas? Maybe a new edition of Four Quartets by ts Eliot (Faber). I’ve taken to listening to the audio version late at night on Christmas Eve.
Which book will you be giving? Kate atkinson’s new novel Transcription (Doubleday) is beautifully written and makes perfect fireside reading. Ian’s novel, In a House of lies (Orion), is out now
“Patience Gray’s book is fun and takes you all over the Mediterranean”