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Even Dogs in the Wild
Inspector John Rebus #20
Ian Rankin
Read by James Macpherson

Hachette Audio
01/19/2016/ ISBN 9781478905134
Scottish Police Procedural / Audiobook - Unabridged

Reviewed by Brenda Weeaks

 

Even dogs in the wild; Could do better than this. -- The Associates

Rankin’s latest novel, Even Dogs in the Wild, begins with a little music, a deadly Hit gone wrong, and DI Malcom Fox (The Complaints; The Impossible Dead) feeling like he’s one too many at his current posting. He’s traveling to various villages to fill empty posts, and still suffering the occasional door in the face as a result of working for the Professional Standards. Today, he’s losing his desk at St. Leonard to the Scottish Campus Crime, a unit that works organized crime and counterterrorism. Wait. Gangsters in Edinburgh?!

Malcom and Siobhan have grown close, but not romantically. Between Malcom, Rebus and Siobhan, Siobhan is the voice of reason, even when she’s being loud about it. DCI James Page has made Siobhan second on the Minton enquiry. Lord Minton, known for prosecuting Scotland’s high profile criminals, is murdered in his home. A threatening note is found in his wallet.

John Rebus isn’t taking retirement well. It’s a strange relief when an old gangster named Cafferty locks himself in his house and will only speak to Rebus. They have a history. It’s an odd dance between these two – professional dislikes soften by mutual respect for surviving. Someone took a shot at Cafferty, and it turns out he received the same note as Minton.

Rebus, Siobhan, and Fox are working different cases, but, technically, they are back together. The trio work to solve their current cases, as well as the mystery of the lucky lad connected to the deadly Hit gone wrong. Rebus is tenuous in his case, and when he finds the son of that lucky lad, Rebus discovers a song and a dark, hidden truth.

Scottish actor and narrator James Macpherson transports listeners to Edinburgh and brings Rankin’s characters to life as only he can. In this narration, life in Edinburgh moves from dark and seedy to words of comfort and hope. It’s an intense storyline where Rebus and Fox loom large, but for me, Siobhan rises above them all.

Reviews of other titles in this series

Resurrection Men #13 [book] [audio]
Question of Blood #14 [book] [audio]
Naming of the Dead #16 [audio] [book]
Exit Music #17 [audio]
Saints of the Shadow Bible #19 [audio]
Standing in Another Man's Grave #20 [audio]
The Beat Goes On [audio] (short stories)
Impossible Dead [book] (Malcom Fox #2)
Rather Be the Devil #21 [audio]

 

Reviewed 2016
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