Tooth and Nail

Tooth and Nail (1992) Ian Rankin

In some ways, 1992 doesn’t seem that long ago to me. But reading this book, it seems a lifetime ago. Tooth and Nail was written in 1992, it many of the little things in the book made it feel old to me: the lack of cell phones, the smoking, little things like that.

Somehow, reading a story that feels dated, and realizing that I was 22 when the book was written is… disconcerting.

Despite the details feeling dated, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and gulped it down in a couple of hours.

Several years have passed since the incidents in Knots and Crosses. Rebus is slightly older, slightly more bitter, and still lonely. Yet he seems to have survived after the events of Knots and Crosses. And now he’s been called down to London to help as an “expert” in finding a murderer who has been killing women in a particularly brutal way.

Ian Rankin’s mysteries are not necessarily easy to read. The details can be quite graphic, but they also give you a feel for the scene and the area, though some may feel the details are overmuch.

One other thing to note, this is a British novel, and as such, the language is properly British, and there were a couple times I really had no idea what a word or phrase meant. I didn’t bother me though, just made me realize that my English is more parochial that I often care to admit.
Rating: 7/10

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