Ian Rankin chose fictional Highland village for new crime novel after locals were upset he used real one
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Ian Rankin has revealed he chose to use a fictional Highland village for his new novel after he was criticised by residents previously for using a real one.
The crime writer has told how he invented a location for latest Inspector Rebus book, A Song For The Dark Times, after he caused upset for featuring Rosemarkie, a village on the Highland peninsula Black Isle, in a previous novel.
The Fife-born writer featured Rosemarkie in his 2012 book Standing In Another Man’s Grave, which saw his famous detective travel to the north of Scotland to investigate the disappearances of a number of women.
Although Mr Rankin was initially encouraged by residents he met in the village of Rosemarkie to use the area in one of his stories, he revealed locals were not amused that he set a murder tale there.
Rankin, 60, said he started visiting the area for holidays and he now has a home in Cromarty where he goes to write his books.
Mr Rankin said: "I didn't take Rebus as far as Cromarty because I didn't want to make any enemies.
"So in one of the Rebus novels, Standing In Another Man's Grave, bad things happen on the Black Isle.
"The year after the book was published I would go to Rosemarkie beach and people would say 'Oh why did you have that terrible thing happen in Rosemarkie?'
"I would say 'Because you asked me to. I write crime novels and if you want me to set a book up here it's obviously going to be a crime book'."
Rankin said the experience has led him to create a fictional Highlands village for his latest Rebus book which was published in October.
Speaking on the FarNorth podcast, he added: "For the latest Rebus novel I decided not the Black Isle."
He said he considered Tongue, but "didn’t want to get in trouble with the locals as yet again something bad was going to happen there," so he invented a village called Naver.
The Rebus series, which has sold more than 20 million books, accounts for an estimated 10pc of all crime book sales in the UK and has been translated into 26 languages.
A new television series featuring the detective is also in the pipeline.
