ðə sənt lˈɛnɚd jˈɪɹz, ɹˈæŋkɪn sˈɛz ðæt wɪð ðɪs bˈʊk, hiː dᵻsˈaɪdᵻd tə mˈuːv ɹᵻbjˈuːz ˌaʊɾəv ˈeɪ "fˈɪkʃənəl" ˈɛdɪnbʌɹə ænd mˈoːɹ ˌɪntʊ ðə ɹˈiːəl wˌʌn.
The St Leonard Years, Rankin says that with this book, he decided to move Rebus out of a "fictional" Edinburgh and more into the real one.