'Big Ger' Cafferty

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Morris Gerald 'Big Ger' Cafferty is a notorious Edinburgh crimelord in the Inspector Rebus series of novels by Scottish author Ian Rankin. He first appears in The Black Book. Physically intimidating, as well as being ruthless and manipulative, he is one of Scotland's most powerful gangsters. Whilst he prefers to rely on intimidation, coercion and bribery to achieve his goals, particularly in the later novels, he is also quite willing to personally execute his enemies.

His relationship with Rebus is enormously complex, ranging from outright hostility to an uneasy partnership. At one point, Rebus puts him in jail, but he later relies on the Inspector to find the killer of his son. As a result of their relationship, Rebus is often accused of being 'in Cafferty's pocket'.

Cafferty always refers to Rebus as 'Strawman', a reference to a mix-up by a court official in a trial.