Ian Rankin pens Rory Gallagher-inspired novella CRIME writer Ian Rankin has written a novella inspired by the music of guitarist Rory Gallagher. The book is being published as part of a compilation album of the Irish's rocker's music called Kickback City, which was in turn influenced by his love of crime fiction. Rankin, whose most famous creation John Rebus has appeared in a string of bestsellers, said: "I was approached by Rory's brother, Donal Gallagher, who asked if I knew that Rory was a big fan of crime fiction? And, of course, when you look at it, the songs, the lyrics and especially the titles: Kickback City, Continental Op (the title of a Dashiell Hammett book) - it all makes sense. Donal mentioned that he was thinking of putting together an album of Rory's songs that are to do with crime and thriller elements, and asked if I wanted to get involved. It was great fun, and writing the story for the Rory Gallagher album was just obvious to me. It would be noir: the classic Raymond Chandler or Philip Marlowe private eye. Rankin, whose creation Inspector Rebus is described in the books as a music fan, said the connection to his character could get "weird." He said: "If this album ends up in Rebus's record collection, I could end up writing a story in which Rebus takes out this album and sits reading an Ian Rankin story whilst listening to a Rory Gallagher album." Kickback City will be released on 28 October.