Ian Rankin introduces a gripping collection of his radio writing, featuring Alexander Morton as the roguish detective Mr Cullender in two original radio dramas, and as Inspector Rebus in Let it Bleed

Best known for his Inspector Rebus novels, Sir Ian Rankin is one of Britain’s most successful and acclaimed crime writers. He has won numerous awards, including the CWA Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement, and in 2023 he received a knighthood for services to literature and charity. He has also written extensively for BBC Radio, and in this collection he guides us through a selection of those pieces as they were first heard on the airwaves.

The collection opens with two feature-length, full-cast period dramas set in Edinburgh in the 1790s, introducing the resourceful if low-born Mr Cullender (‘Cully’) – caddie, manservant and general dogsbody. The enterprising detective, played by Alexander Morton, goes in search of a double murderer (The Serpent’s Back) and investigates a series of ritualistic wine-cellar killings (The Third Gentleman).

Next, Let it Bleed sees Morton starring as Detective Inspector John Rebus in the very first BBC Radio Rebus adaptation, in which the maverick cop probes political corruption and insider dealing – and uncovers the dark underbelly of 1990s Scotland. Among the supporting cast are James Bryce as DI Flower, Sarah Collier as DCI Gill Templer and Crawford Logan as Chief Superintendent Watson.

Specially written for Radio 4, the gripping crime serial The Deathwatch Journal, read by Jimmy Chisholm, takes place inside an Edinburgh prison in 1962, where jailer Thomas Scott is watching over a condemned man sentenced to hang for the murder of his wife. But as they wait out the days until his execution, Scott begins to suspect that Telfer is innocent…

Also included are eight of Ian Rankin’s short stories – some original tales commissioned for radio, others recorded from his collection Beggars Banquet: ‘The Only True Comedian’ (read by Steven McNicoll), ‘The Confession’ (read by Alec Heggie), ‘Unlucky in Love, Unlucky at Cards’ (read by Billy Riddoch), ‘A Deep Hole’ (read by Steven McNicoll), ‘Step Right Up’ (read by Dominic Cooper), ‘Facing the Music’ (read by James MacPherson), ‘Herbert in Motion’ (read by James Bryce) and ‘The Hanged Man’ (read by Steven McNicoll). Ranging from the comic to the macabre, they feature hit men, con men, comedians, a private eye, a road digger, an art curator, a serial killer – and Edinburgh’s very own John Rebus.


Contents

The Serpent’s Back
The Third Gentleman
Let it Bleed
The Deathwatch Journal
‘The Only True Comedian’
‘The Confession’
‘Unlucky at Love, Unlucky at Cards’
‘A Deep Hole’
‘Step Right Up’
‘Facing the Music’
‘Herbert in Motion’
‘The Hanged Man’

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