Rebus: "The Black Book" by Ian Rankin Online Trivia | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What kind of establishment was John Rebus in at the start of 'The Black Book'?

Answer: A massage parlour

The 'Organ Grinder' was a straight massage parlour and Rebus was there seeking refuge from his domestic woes. It wasn't a question of his girlfriend not understanding him that bothered Rebus; on the contrary, she knew him too well.

2. In 'The Black Book', we were introduced to a new assistant for Detective Inspector John Rebus. Detective Constable Siobhan Clarke was born and raised in England and was a fervent supporter of a certain football (soccer) club. Which club?

Answer: Hibs

Clarke had a university education and Rebus was impressed by her diligence and powers of recall. He was, of course, too much of a curmudgeon to give her any praise. Clarke's parents had been lecturers in Edinburgh but moved to England when she was young.

She had studied at university in Edinburgh and had fallen in love with the city. She supported Hibs with a passion. Hibernian FC and Heart of Midlothian FC were the local big clubs in Edinburgh. As an aside, the television shows based on Rebus - and didn't Ken Stott hit him to a T? - suggested that he, too, supported Hibs, but that was never so crystal clear from the early books.

3. In 'The Black Book', Detective Sergeant Brian Holmes was attacked outside a cafe that had a rock and roll theme. On which rocker was it based?

Answer: Elvis Presley

The 'Heartbreak Cafe' had Elvis memorabilia on the walls and on the menu were dishes such as 'King Shrimp Creole' and 'Love Me Tenderloin'. The black book mentioned in the title of the novel was a reference to a notebook in which Holmes scribbled down tidbits of information he heard.

4. John Rebus's brother, Michael, was a stage hypnotist and made a reappearance in 'The Black Book'. Where had he been for the previous three years?

Answer: In prison

Michael Rebus had been jailed for dealing drugs. With his marriage in tatters, he was forced to seek refuge in Rebus's flat, which had been let out to students. With Rebus shown the door by his long-suffering partner, he too moved into the flat, sleeping on the sofa while Michael had the boxroom.

5. In 'The Black Book', D/I John Rebus reopened an investigation into a fatal fire at an Edinburgh hotel. What was it called?

Answer: The Central

The Central was on Princes Street and had gained a seedy reputation. After it was burnt down, an unidentified body was found in the debris. The fire had been five years before the events that unfolded in 'The Black Book.'

6. In 'The Black Book', John Rebus was involved in a money-laundering investigation against local criminals. Who was the suspected mastermind?

Answer: Big Ger Cafferty

The money-laundering scheme operated from a pub in Tollcross, with money taken to a taxi office. Police officers and Trading Standards officials set up a covert observation from a derelict building nearby. Rebus and the entire police department had been trying for years to make a case against Cafferty, a man involved in many crimes.

7. Andrew McPhail was an ex-convict who returned to Edinburgh in 'The Black Book'. What kind of criminal had he been?

Answer: A paedophile

McPhail found a lodging house overlooking a primary school and liked to watch the children. Ultimately his location was leaked by an out-of-town detective to a relative of a girl he had molested. McPhail went on the run after the relative came looking for him.

8. In 'The Black Book', we were re-introduced to Matthew Vanderhyde who had featured in an earlier Rebus investigation. From what disability did he suffer?

Answer: He was blind

Rebus believed that Vanderhyde had information that he needed about the fire. Vanderhyde seemed willing to help, but had his own agenda and was passing on Rebus's interests to people who did not want the fire murder solved.

9. What misfortune befell Michael Rebus in 'The Black Book'?

Answer: He was kidnapped and intimidated

The kidnappers mistook Michael for D/I John Rebus and left him blindfolded and suspended upside down from a bridge. An attempt was also made to run John Rebus down by criminals in a car and he was also beaten up.

10. When John Rebus needed help with his investigation in 'The Black Book', which unlikely source did he turn to?

Answer: Morris Cafferty

Morris 'Big Ger' Cafferty was a recurring 'baddie' in the Rebus series. Cafferty ran a crime empire and lived in a high class area, enjoying the annoyance of the professional classes of the area who knew his background.

11. In 'The Black Book', what was the reason for John Rebus being suspended?

Answer: An unlicensed gun was found in his car

Rebus bought a gun from an informer for protection. A rival D/I was tipped off and Rebus found himself carpeted. The gun had been used in a murder five years before.

12. As the investigation in 'The Black Book' continued, John Rebus began to ask questions of a man called Aengus Gibson. What was the nature of the Gibson family's business?

Answer: They were brewers

Aengus Gibson had had a wild youth. "Public drunkenness, mostly, usually with associated high jinks. Knocking the policeman's helmet off seemed to be a game enjoyed by the youthful Gibson and his cronies. Other indiscretions included kerb-crawling in a part of the town not noted for its prostitutes, and an attempt to enter a friend's flat by the window (the key having been lost) which landed him in the wrong flat," Rebus was aware.

He also knew Gibson had been out of trouble for five years.

13. D/I John Rebus spent a lot of time in 'The Black Book' chasing down a man who seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth after the hotel fire. In what kind of establishment did he eventually find Eck Robinson?

Answer: A bookmaker's shop

Eck Robinson confirmed to Rebus something of what had happened on the night the hotel burnt down. After a man was killed, Robinson ran, taking with him a lot of money belonging to Big Ger Cafferty. Knowing that Cafferty would do unpleasant things to him, he changed his name and appearance and set up business in deepest Fife.

14. The full story of what had happened the night the hotel burnt down was revealed to Rebus in a diary kept by one of those who had been there. Who wrote the diary?

Answer: Aengus Gibson

Gibson, Cafferty and Eck Robinson had been playing poker at the hotel along with a butcher, and Robinson's brother, Tam - a notorious cheat. The Robinsons had not wanted Cafferty there, and he needled them all night. Eventually Tam Robinson was shot dead and the others fled, but not before starting the fire to obliterate any clues.

15. John Rebus was nothing, if not devious. Which character did he use to set up Big Ger Cafferty for a fall in 'The Black Book'?

Answer: Andrew McPhail

Rebus spread a rumour that a rival gang was trying to muscle in on Cafferty's territory and arranged that McPhail went to the taxi office with a note for Cafferty. He promised McPhail help to get treatment and make a new start. Cafferty arrived and proceeded to attack McPhail with a snooker cue - and all the action was caught on camera from the police stake-out that had been part of the earlier money-laundering investigation. Holmes and Clarke made the arrest, with Rebus looking gleefully on. That was enough, also, to persuade others to give information about other crimes committed by Cafferty, including a particularly gruesome one. If you want to know what that was, buy the book.

Source: Author darksplash

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Rebus: "The Black Book" by Ian Rankin Quiz

Things turned very personal for Detective Inspector John Rebus when he reopened an old investigation in 'The Black Book' - an investigation that some people wanted halted, at any cost.

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