Book Review: Blood Hunt

Reviewed By: Lynn Harnett

Blood Hunt     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Ian Rankin
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
Little, Brown, March 2006, 400pp

This thriller from the Scottish author of the Inspector John Rebus books stands distinctly apart from that gritty, award-winning Edinburgh detective series. First published in the UK in 1995 under a pseudonym, it doesn’t have the dark, character driven, atmospheric pull of the Rebus series. What it does have are plot- driven thrills with lots of action and quick-thinking suspense.

Gordon Reeve is an ex-Special Forces soldier turned family man. He lives in rural Scotland where he runs a recreational training camp for weekend warriors, mostly survivalists and civilians with military fantasies. Then his journalist brother, James, dies in LA, an apparent suicide, and Reeve flies to LA to claim the body.

We, the reader, already know James’ investigation of a multi- national chemical company led to his murder. But James worked freelance and was very secretive. There’s little to say what he was even doing in LA. Reeve might have left things alone if the police weren’t so eager to see him go. But a few details niggle. And James’ drinking buddy-cum-driver is convinced he was murdered.

From LA to London, France and Scotland, the pace accelerates as the conspiracy becomes more globally labyrinthine, taking in mad-cow disease and the human food supply. Super-spy equipment and ingenuity fuel the lethal cat-and-mouse game. Reeve has rage and righteous revenge on his side; the bad guys have brutality and cynicism on theirs – as well as an ex-buddy of Reeve’s, long presumed dead. There are some over-the-top moments, which add to the fun. The action is highly explosive and the conspiracy is more than a little creepy. A non-stop page-turner.

Lynn Harnett

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Lynn Harnett

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