Even Dogs in the Wild

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox book |  | name = Even Dogs in the Wild | orig title = | translator = | image = Even_Dogs_in_the_Wild.jpg | caption = First edition | author = [[Ian Rankin]] | cover_artist = | country = Scotland | language = English | series = [[Inspector Rebus]] | genre = [[Detective fiction]] | publisher = [[Orion Books]] | release_date = 5 November 2015 | media_type = Print | pages = 352 | isbn = 1409159361 | oclc= 60794519 | preceded_by = [[Saints of the Shadow Bible]] | followed_by = [[Rather Be the Devil]] }}

'''''Even Dogs in the Wild''''' is the twentieth instalment in the bestselling [[Inspector Rebus]] series of [[crime novel]]s, published in [[2015 in literature|2015]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rankin |first1=Ian |url=https://www.ianrankin.net/titles/ian-rankin/even-dogs-in-the-wild/9781409159384/|title=Ian Rankin's official website - Books - Even Dogs in the Wild|date=19 July 2018 |publisher=Orion Publishing Group, Limited |isbn=978-1-4091-5938-4 |accessdate=26 July 2022}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/23/even-dogs-in-the-wild-by-ian-rankin-review-rebus|title=Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin review – a satisfying return for Rebus|date=23 October 2015|work=The Guardian|accessdate=6 January 2016}}</ref> The novel takes its name from the song of the same name by the [[Scotland|Scottish]] band [[The Associates (band)|The Associates]] from their album ''[[The Affectionate Punch]]''.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owejRH8Dgqk |title=Ian Rankin - Where does the title Even Dogs In The Wild come from? |date=2015-09-10 |last=Orion Publishing Group |access-date=2025-05-25 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

== Plot summary == A former Scottish senior prosecutor has been found dead, with a threatening note in his pocket. [[Siobhan Clarke]] is in charge of the high-profile case. Then the semi-retired gangster [['Big Ger' Cafferty]] receives a similar note and someone shoots at him. [[Detective Inspector John Rebus|John Rebus]] has retired (for the second time), but he is asked to join in the investigation.<ref name=":0" /> Meanwhile [[Malcolm Fox (detective)|Malcolm Fox]] is drafted into a surveillance team monitoring a group of [[Glasgow|Glaswegian]] gangsters who look set to move on [[Edinburgh]].<ref name=":0" /> Cafferty, the young Edinburgh gangster Darryl Christie, and the Glasgow gang are all looking over their shoulders at each other and at the police. Cafferty is the one who recognises the history behind the vendetta against him and a few other survivors of a disastrous event thirty years earlier.

== Themes == The novel deals with themes of father-son relationships and their rivalries, as portrayed by the relationship between Rebus and Fox.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McGrath |first=Melanie |date=2015-10-23 |title=Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin review – a satisfying return for Rebus |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/23/even-dogs-in-the-wild-by-ian-rankin-review-rebus |access-date=2025-05-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

== Reception == ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' felt that the novel was "uneven", and criticized the character of Fox as "milquetoast",<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 21, 2025 |title=Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780316342513 |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=www.publishersweekly.com}}</ref> but the book was praised by Melanie McGrath in ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "a twisty, darkly topical and immaculately executed tale,"<ref name=":0" /> and ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' says that although the plot is a slow-burning one, "it's well worth the wait to see how the latest entry in this celebrated series fits all the pieces together."<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ian-rankin/even-dogs-in-the-wild/ |title=EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD {{!}} Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:2015 British novels]] [[Category:Inspector Rebus novels]] [[Category:Orion Books books]]