I AM the WolfmanTooth & Nail
Ian Rankin
Orion Books
I read in the introduction to the novel that the original title of this book was Wolfman. It made me wonder how people come up with both titles and cover art. Does the publisher make the decision? Does the author have any creative control? And in the case of this particular novel, what do hydro lines and what looks suspiciously like starlings, have to do with a serial killer that bites his victims on the belly post-mortem? Maybe it's like a Warhol album cover for the Velvet Underground -- conceptual and far beyond my level of understanding.
Enough musings -- on to the meat of this post. Tooth & Nail is the third installment in the Inspector Rebus crime series by Ian Rankin. In this "episode", John finds himself shipped off to London to assist in the investigation of a particularly gruesome series of murders. As you would expect, nobody is terribly keen to have to listen to the "import" and as such, he seems more a fish out of water than ever. I particularly enjoyed the way Rankin used language in this novel to highlight Rebus' alienation. When Rebus' first gets to London, his accent and idiom are so thick that no one can understand him. We are meant to feel a little sorry for the rumpled old bloke. And I did.
I imagine we'll see Inspector Rebus at least a couple of more times over the course of the new year. For 2009, I'm going to try to branch out a little and read selections from outside my comfort zone. As for Tooth & Nail, this crime novel gets three hoolit cheers out of five. Fangtastic!
Enough musings -- on to the meat of this post. Tooth & Nail is the third installment in the Inspector Rebus crime series by Ian Rankin. In this "episode", John finds himself shipped off to London to assist in the investigation of a particularly gruesome series of murders. As you would expect, nobody is terribly keen to have to listen to the "import" and as such, he seems more a fish out of water than ever. I particularly enjoyed the way Rankin used language in this novel to highlight Rebus' alienation. When Rebus' first gets to London, his accent and idiom are so thick that no one can understand him. We are meant to feel a little sorry for the rumpled old bloke. And I did.
I imagine we'll see Inspector Rebus at least a couple of more times over the course of the new year. For 2009, I'm going to try to branch out a little and read selections from outside my comfort zone. As for Tooth & Nail, this crime novel gets three hoolit cheers out of five. Fangtastic!
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