REBUS author Ian Rankin saw his wealth soar by almost £1 million last year despite taking a year off.
The Scots writer boosted the coffers of his company as royalties rolled in from the comeback of the hard-bitten Edinburgh detective.
New figures from his firm John Rebus Limited, named in honour of his famous creation, show it has boosted its total assets to more than £2.3 million.
The accounts, which have just been filed at Companies House, reveal Rankin, 54, has an investment portfolio worth £730,000 and around £1.6 million in the bank.
That leaves the firm's value at £2,302,980 - up from the previous year's figure of £1,536,920.
The accounts also show that Rankin bought an investment property during the year for £291,000.
Rankin, who has sold more than 20 million books, took a 'sabbatical year' in 2014 after a busy spell which saw him bring back Detective Inspector Rebus following a five-year absence.
The no-nonsense detective teamed up with new Rankin character Malcolm Fox in the novels Standing In Another Man's Grave and Saints Of The Shadow Bible.
The author confessed that, despite not writing a novel, he had remained busy during his year off by going on book tours and penning short stories.
Rankin, of Edinburgh, set up John Rebus Limited in 2001 to channel his earnings from his books.
Fife-born Rankin is a director of the company along with his wife Miranda Harvey.
In a recent interview about his finances, Rankin told how he sometimes regretted setting up the company as it took up a lot of his time.
He said: "I have possibly thought that becoming a limited company wasn't a great idea.
"My accountant persuaded me to go down that route. It is fine but it means more meetings, more bureaucracy, more rigmarole, and more papers to fill in."
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