Paul Weiss's Reviews > Tooth and Nail

“Murderers don’t just appear … they’re created. To create a serial killer takes time.”

Inspector John Rebus is surprised to find himself, at the behest of somebody who imagined him to be an expert in the investigation of serial killers, seconded to London to assist the local Scotland Yard constabulary in bringing a gruesome murderer to heel. A profile put together by an attractive young female (of course) psychologist adds a soupçon of romance to the mixture and TOOTH & NAIL, a workmanlike and enjoyable police procedural is off to the races.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the character of John Rebus in TOOTH & NAIL is derivative. But it certainly doesn’t plow any new ground that hasn’t been turned over, seeded, fertilized and harvested by many, many authors many, many times before. Rebus is flawed to a fault (LOL) – a failed marriage; a loving father who can’t seem to find the time and the ability to be the father he wants to be; a lone wolf detective with a disdain for his colleagues and serious issues with authority and the protocols that a police officer must deal with; a weakness for a pretty face and the opposite sex that certainly approaches misogyny; an enjoyment of alcohol that borders on abuse, dissatisfaction with his career … well, you get the idea. You won’t be the first to see similarities to such well known literary characters as Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch or Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks.

All of that said, I’ll confess that I still thoroughly enjoyed TOOTH & NAIL and would rank it as the best in the Inspector Rebus series thus far. I’m definitely a fan and will be looking for a copy of STRIP JACK, the next entry in a series that has obviously been successful for many years.

Paul Weiss