TOOTH AND NAIL

This is an early, prize-winning installment in Ian Rankin's atmospheric crime fiction featuring Detective Inspector John Rebus of the Scottish police. This time, Rebus has been detailed from Edinburgh to London to help catch The Wolfman, a serial killer who takes a bite from each victim. Baritone-voiced Samuel Gillies gives the varied Scottish and English characters an array of well-chosen voices that highlight their personalities. Yet, he also tried to inject drama into the perfectly serviceable narrative sections--declaiming instead of reading, and adding an exclamation point to almost every sentence. It's a shame for Rankin's many fans, but this is a near miss. A.C.S. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 02]