The great thing about America is I always come back with more books and more tip-offs of who to read. It's a country in love with crime fiction.

When I'm writing, I won't know whodunnit until maybe two thirds of the way through. Until then, I know as little as my detective. I just make it up as I go along. It's nerve-wracking, actually. You'll be half through and not know your conclusion. You worry one of these days the ending won't come. I'll be left with only two-thirds of a novel.

People aren't coming to me looking for political essays or polemic - they're looking for a rattling good story.

Ian Rankin Quotes