Blood Hunt

January 2, 2006
Admirers of Edgar-winner Rankin's bestselling series featuring Edinburgh's Insp. John Rebus (Fleshmarket Alley
, etc.) may be disappointed by this stand-alone suspense novel, which has more in common with the works of Frederick Forsyth and Robert Ludlum. Gordon Reeve, an ex–Special Forces soldier with serious anger management issues, has settled down to a tranquil second career running a survival camp in a remote part of Scotland. When he learns that his journalist brother, Jim, with whom he hadn't been close for years, has shot himself in California, Reeve resolves to seek answers. Once in the U.S., Reeve begins to suspect that his brother was murdered because of an investigative piece he was working on involving a major chemical company. But that Grisham-like plot is soon made secondary to a game of cat and mouse Reeve plays with a deranged former military colleague, leading to an anticlimactic and predictable ending. Rankin's gifts as a writer will have many quickly turning the pages, but longtime fans will hope for a return to form in his next outing.

February 1, 2006
Better known as the villain of "Knots and Crosses" George Reeve stars as the hero of this effort by Edgar Award -winning author Rankin, who previously released this title under the pseudonym of Jack Harvey. When Reeve's journalist brother, Jim, dies of an apparent suicide while investigating a story, George flies to America to retrieve the body for burial. Unable to see his brother as the suicidal type, he begins an investigation that eventually leads to a corporate cover-up. George is soon gripped with the need to exact revenge for his brother's death while attempting to avoid slipping back into his violent, military past. Rankin's skill is evident, but this novel isn't as gripping as those in the Inspector Rebus series. George simply isn't that likable, and the sections involving computer technology seem dated. Still, it's interesting to see what Rankin was working on during the early days of his Rebus novels, and readers of that series will likely want to pick this one up. Because of Rebus's popularity, this book is recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ"11/15/05.]" -Craig Shufelt, Lane P.L., Oxford, OH"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2006
Fans of Rankin's gold-standard Inspector Rebus series need to know that " Blood Hunt" is " not" the latest installment. With the author's name deservedly the perfect marketing tool, the publishers are reprinting another book (like " Witch Hunt, " 2004) that Rankin, writing as Jack Harvey, originally published in the UK in the 1990s. Unlike the Rebus procedurals, which pit a contrarian cop against his own demons in an unrelentingly gritty Edinburgh, this globe-trotting tale delivers more traditional thrills. Gordon Reeve is an ex-SAS soldier who now makes his living training weekend warriors in rural Scotland. Told that his brother has committed suicide in California, Reeve goes to the funeral and quickly decides that the investigative reporter was murdered. Trying to get the story and then revenge, he finds himself pitted against both an amoral chemical conglomerate and an unwelcome face from his own past. Reeve is no Rebus--though he battles his ferocious temper, he's too efficient a killing machine to be as deeply interesting--but those who like their thrillers fast and chilling will be in miserable bliss. This 10-year-old novel ties in perfectly to today's concerns about multinationals and big-business science--the poisons in men's hearts that leach out into the world. Not Rankin's best but still awfully good. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)