Tooth and Nail

I've read books by Rankin before and enjoyed them. This one did not disappoint me either. Just the right mix of amusing and serious story lines. I also enjoyed the narrator. I'm no expert on accents, but i thought he provided a perfect voice for Rebus. I'll definitely download more of the series. For reference, other authors I've enjoyed recently on audio include John Sandford and Daniel Silva. (If you've read those authors too, you can tell if we have similar tastes.)

The best thing about "Tooth and Nail" is the chance to see London through John Rebus's bemused eyes. Rankin has fun skewering some of the sillier and more self-inflated aspects of the English capital circa 1990—and London attitudes toward their Scottish neighbors—but gives due props to the city's vitality and variety as well. The next best thing is Rebus's London colleague, Inspector George Flight, and his interaction with Rebus; but then in the early Rankin mysteries I've read so far Rebus's collegial relations are a lot more engaging than his love interests. As for the plot... well, I can't say I found the psychology of the serial killer here very convincing, and the killer's internal monologues are pretty excruciating to have to listen to, but Rankin does a nice job of throwing red herrings in the reader's path to figuring out who it is.

Narrator Samuel Gillies is English and does a fine job with the London characters, but his voicing is too plummy for my taste and he has to work too hard at Rebus's Edinburgh accent to make him entirely convincing.

I enjoyed the underlying quirky humor. Intersting to learn about the Scottish view of Enland and vice versa. I felt the plot was okay, even though it was suspensful.

If you have never heard any of the books by Ian Rankin which feature Detective Inspector John Rebus, please do yourself the favor of starting with some of the more recent books. Then, if you want to work backwards I think you will be surprised to see how much Rankin's writing and character development improved over the years. I did not enjoy this book and would have never bought another Rebus book had I not begun with a later release but listen repeatedly to later selections. I'm so sorry the series has ended with the book Exit Music !

Its not the accent that bothered me but the style in which the words were gushed out. I just gave up which it too bad since this author had been highly recommended.