Even Dogs in the Wild

Ian Rankin

Average Rating 7/10 (1 Review)

Retirement doesn't suit John Rebus. He wasn't made for hobbies, holidays or home improvements. Being a cop is in his blood.

So when DI Siobhan Clarke asks for his help on a case, Rebus doesn't need long to consider his options.

Clarke's been investigating the death of a senior lawyer whose body was found along with a threatening note. On the other side of Edinburgh, Big Ger Cafferty - Rebus's long-time nemesis - has received an identical note and a bullet through his window.

Now it's up to Clarke and Rebus to connect the dots and stop a killer. Even Dogs in the Wild brings back Ian Rankin's greatest characters in a story exploring the darkest corners of our instincts and desires.

''Taut, dark and expertly crafted tale has plenty to satisfy the most exacting Rebus fan.'

'Even Dogs in the Wild is a complex, twisty tale expertly told by Rankin.'

Review by Ben Macnair (311216) Rating (7/10)

Review by Ben Macnair
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 7/10
Even Dogs in the Wild finds Ian Rankin’s most famous creation, Detective Inspector John Rebus doing what he does best, clashing with colleagues and criminals, drinking too much, and coming up against the darkest nature of human existence.

He is now officially retired, but is keeping his hand in, helping colleague Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox, but even there, there are changes, with cut-backs seriously reducing the amount of money that the force has to spend, and Fox, already feeling doubts about his position has to travel from Edinburgh to Dundee to cover shifts, and when an upstanding lawyer is found dead, with a threatening note, it is all he needs, so he calls in Rebus to lend his expertise.

Around the outskirts of his life, Rebus is changing. Once a policeman, always a policeman, it gets in the blood, give officers a sense of belonging, of going the extra mile. But as the investigation into the Judge’s death continues, it appears that he was the victim of a criminal turf war, and when Ger Cafferty, once one of Rebus’s sworn enemies returns to his life, they are no longer on opposite side of the law. There is a deep respect between both men, each recognising something of themselves in the other.

This is a fine addition to Rebus’s ever evolving story, and shows how, now as an older man, he is no longer fit for active duty, but still has a lot to offer to his former paymasters.
Ben Macnair (31st December 2016)