UK’s best-selling crime writer, Ian Rankin, in India as part of Lit Sutra programme by the British Council, faces an investigation by Srirekha Pillai

You are one of the most prolific writers. How do you manage that?
I write full time since I don’t have another job. At times, people give me ideas. I also get ideas while reading newspapers and listening to news. Also, if you are into crime fiction, readers want one book per year. So, you got to work hard.

Often authors create characters that turn out to be bigger than them, like James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. You had any inkling that John Rebus was going to be this popular?
Absolutely not. Earlier on, my books were not widely read and Rebus wasn’t that well known. It was kind of a slow progression. So, I had a lot of time to get used to the idea that this guy was getting more famous than me.

Comparisons are inevitable between Malcolm Fox, whom you have introduced in The Complaints, and John Rebus. Do you feel pressurised by it?
I wouldn’t say so. I was clear in my mind that I wanted to make Malcolm Fox as different from John Rebus as I could. I didn’t want him to be an extension of Rebus.

What makes Edinburgh a crime scene waiting to happen?
Edinburgh’s a repressed city. It's a place of conspiracies, a city with a village mentality, where everybody knows everybody else.

The Complaints,
Hachette India, Rs 595

Be Rich & Happy: Develop
New Habits for Financial &
Emotional Success,
Robert T Kiyosaki,
Jaico Books, Rs 195

Educational systems nowadays are structured as employment training agencies that do not teach children how to cope in life. Instead, as Kiyosaki says, we need to teach our kids to be independent and self-sufficient. According to the author, only real education will make you wealthy and it is essential to recognise the importance of money in today’s society. However, many people might not agree with Kiyosaki.

Dork: The Incredible Adventures of Robin ‘Einstein’ Varghese,
Sidin Vadukut, Penguin Books India, Rs 199

First in a trilogy of office culture humour novels, columnist and blogger Sidin Vadukut’s Dork: The Incredible Adventures of Robin ‘Einstein’ Varghese is an amusing and engaging read. On graduating from a business school, Robin ‘Einstein’ Varghese lands up with a job at a consulting firm largely run by jerks. What ensues is a laugh riot. As a reader, one is hooked on to the book, and many would identify with Robin’s character.

They’ve got your
number,
Stephen Baker, Vintage Books, Rs 399

Numerati, Baker’s term for those who work with
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our shopping cart, our blogs, our jobs, our medical
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The Beast with Nine Billion Feet,
Anil Menon, Young Zubaan,
Rs 295

This exciting and deliciously complex futuristic fantasy is set in India. It is 2040 AD in Pune. Liquid computers, flawless skin, emotional cars are all part of Synthit, a world full of complex questions and endless possibilities. Thirteen-yearold Tara and her brother find themse struggle for power and control over the genetic code to life itself. This spellbinding novel is filled with brilliantly original ideas and intelligent wit.