Ian Rankin for The Heights

Ian Rankin is coming to The Citadel on Tuesday 13 October, and he's bringing his latest book, The Heights. If you've followed his work, you'll know him as the man behind John Rebus, the detective who's carried him through more than thirty novels. The Heights is a bit of a departure, though: it's his first standalone thriller in two decades, so it doesn't feature Rebus at all.

Instead, the story follows Gillian Gish, a born-and-bred Londoner, as she investigates the murder of a night concierge in a high-end high-rise overlooking Hyde Park. It's a London setting, and a standalone one, which makes it a good place to pick up if you've never dipped into the Rebus series before.

Rankin's a big name in crime writing, and the numbers back it up: he's sold millions of copies worldwide, with his books translated into thirty-six languages and adapted for radio, stage and screen. He's picked up four Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards, including the Diamond Dagger, and was awarded an OBE. He's also a Fellow of The Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature, and he was knighted in 2022. It's a lot of recognition for a career built on the kind of crime fiction that's kept people reading for decades.

The evening is at The Citadel (York City Church) on Gillygate, YO31 7EA. It starts at 7pm, with doors open from 6.30pm, so there's plenty of time to get settled before he takes the stage.