Inspector Rebus span a broad spectrum of Scotland, including council estates, tenements, business districts, nightclubs, prisons, dying mining towns, secluded villages and desolate hillsides, as well as the better-known pubs and streets of Edinburgh. Some of these locations are fictional, although they may be based on real places. For example, the Pilmuir estate is a conflation of the two real Edinburgh locations Pilton and Muirhouse. Other locations, such as the Oxford Bar, Arden Street, and St Leonards police station, are real. Frequent references to real places, or local politics firmly ground the Rebus series in the real world. Another strong feature of
John Rebus novel, so Rankin admitted that he might hold off on that plot for some time. In 2012, Rebus returned in "Standing in Another Man's Grave", where he is indeed working for the police, as a civilian, on cold cases. Rebus also has a chance to rejoin the police as retirement age has been increased. According to Ian Rankin, rights have reverted to him regarding the Rebus character. In 2017 Rankin said initially he aged Rebus in real time but since retirement he has slowed down Rebus aging. Rebus was 40 in the first book "Knots and Crosses" (1987) and should,