Back in April I spoke about my personal challenge of trying to read the whole of Ian Rankin’s Rebus series again from the start, and, in-between other books, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. It’s strange though because in a way Rebus feels like an old friend, but the early Rebus books don’t quite have the fully formed character that we all got used to. Then again, they say that life’s experiences shape a person and I’m going back and seeing exactly what shaped John Rebus into the man he is in those later books.
When I started with Knots and Crosses it felt strange going back and meeting him all over again. Then the second book, Hide and Seek (which I don’t seem to have written about), is a whole different type of book again. It delved into the occult a bit and if I’m totally honest I found it a bit slow going in parts. The third book – the one I searched charity shops for for absolutely ages – Tooth and Nail couldn’t have been more different though. The pace of this book felt incredibly fast, even more so compared to the dragging of Hide and Seek, and it felt like I got through it in mere days, leaving me hungry for more of Rebus’ adventures.
Down South
The most striking thing about Tooth and Nail is that it’s not set in Scotland. Rebus has come south to London to help the Met Police catch a serial killer and, apart from a day trip flying back to Glasgow to give evidence in court, all the action is set there. And boy is there a lot of action!
The hunt for serial killer Wolfman sees Rebus back in the same city as his ex-wife and daughter and I think Tooth and Nail strikes a really good balance between the drama that you’d expect in a crime fiction book alongside some really tender moments with Rebus’ thoughts about his old family and what he now misses. Certainly there is a vulnerability to him away from his familiar stomping ground that I don’t think we’ve seen before.
Gruesome and over the top?
One thing that really did surprise me in Tooth and Nail was just how gruesome it becomes in some of the descriptions of the actions of the serial killer Wolfman. Definitely more so than in the first two Rebus books. It felt a bit shocking in a way, but I now need to remind myself as to how much bloody detail Ian Rankin goes into in later books, as I simply can’t remember.
Without giving too much away, I can say the the main climax of the book results in a chase across central London taking in some of the major landmarks and finishing in a very high profile place indeed. Whilst it gave readers a really good image of where the action was taking place, at the same time it also felt rather unrealistic. I know Wolfman was supposedly one of London’s most prolific serial killers ever, but even still, this part of the book felt a bit more like a film setting than a book.
My thoughts
Out of the three Rebus books I’ve read so far this year, Tooth and Nail has to be my favourite as the pace of the story was much more like what I remember Rebus books to be like. I also think this is a story I’ve read before. One of Wolfman’s “calling cards” was definitely very familiar to me and with this second read I possibly looked more carefully at the clues along the way.
The book was originally released under the title Wolfman, and actually I think that first title helps you get a bit more ready for the gruesome scenes that the book contains. They certainly seemed horror-like in places and that’s the general vibe that the title Wolfman gives me. I’m still left wondering why this book is one of the hardest to find in charity shops though. Or maybe it’s just a quirk of the charity shops I’ve been looking in.
Tooth and Nail is available to buy online here.
Like Crime Fiction?
If you’re interested to see what other crime fictions I’ve been reading lately then you can see my reviews here.
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