SCOTS crime writer Ian Rankin has revealed that his new novel was inspired by the mysterious death of a lawyer in 1985.

The Edinburgh-based author claimed that the intrigue surrounding the apparent suicide of nationalist Willie McRae helped with the creation of The Impossible Dead.

McRae’s body was discovered just off the A87 in the northwest of Scotland on April 6, 1985. The solicitor, who had links with terrorist group the Scottish National Liberation Army (SNLA), had suffered a single bullet wound to the head.

It was deemed suicide but a Fatal Accident Inquiry was never carried out.

Many conspiracy theories now surround McRae’s death -- including that he was killed after making a discovery about the nuclear industry.

Mr Rankin said that he first discovered the case in 1994 in the non-fiction book No Final Solution and became intrigued by what happened.

He then studied newsreels from the time of the death and said that it gave him an insight into the fear the nation was experiencing at that time.

He wrote in his notes at that time: “Theme, I guess, is that we always live in an age of fear. In the past we had the coming ice age, CFCs destroying the ozone lawyer, acid rain, the cold war and the IRA.

“Now we have climate chaos, North Korea, Islamic extremists and the possible collapse of capitalism.”

Mr Rankin added that he also read up on the SNLA before finally sitting down to write the novel.

He said: “Authors are often asked ‘where do you get your ideas?’ Mine come from many sources; some begin life as stories torn from newspapers and kept in my ideas file.

“Black and Blue features a real-life killer called Bible John who has yet to be identified.

“The Falls began when I saw an exhibit in a museum -- 17 tiny coffins found hidden on an Edinburgh hillside in the 19th century.

“No one could explain them and that was all the challenge I needed.

“The victim in my new novel is not Willie McRae but a married Edinburgh lawyer called Francis Vernal, who dies on a lonely road in Fife.”

The writer added: “We may never know what really happened to McRae, but his life has provided me with inspiration for a work of fiction looking at the fears we had back then.”

  • The Impossible Dead, by Ian Rankin, is published by Orion and available in paperback this week.