CRIME writer Ian Rankin has admitted he cannot bring himself to “bump off” his Inspector Rebus character.
Rankin, who has released moe than 20 novels following the Edinburgh-based detective, says he “cannot imagine” killing his lead character, although he may stop writing about him soon.
He made the claim speaking to former real-life detectives, Tom Wood and Peter Ritchie, for the Radio Scotland show Good Cop, Bad Cop, broadcast yesterday.
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When he appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August, Rankin said “the clock is ticking” for Rebus.
He also admitted he had no plans to write a Rebus novel in 2017, to mark the series’ 30th anniversary.
Yesterday he said there will come the time when “enough is enough” for the inspector.
Rankin said: “I cannot imagine bumping him off. I can imagine an end point.
“He’s not going to become a cab driver, he’s not going to do the things that retired detectives ought to be doing.
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“If he ceases to be a detective he ceases to be.
“The only thing waiting for Inspector Rebus is a protracted slow death.”
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