Maybe I should read Ian Rankin's short novella, A Cool Head, five times for good luck. One should know that's not entirely impossible either - a book spanning only 107 pages of large print shouldn't take more than an hour, depending on distractions and your speed.

The story starts off with Gravy, a thirty-something OCD guy, working at the graveyard when a BMW drives awkwardly up to him. From out of the car steps out a friend of Gravy's, a man called Benjy. Benjy's got a bag in one hand and a hole in his chest. Unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation, Gravy thinks this is just another visit from his friend. However, when Benjy's fate is finally met, Gravy feels the need to tell someone. Not to mention deliver the money he's found in the car.

Meanwhile, gangster Gorgeous George is having a little predicament of his own. Someone's taken his money. His right hand man, Don, has a little problem of his own. A deal that should've have been flawless has one man killed and another taking his BMW.

On the ride are a few detectives making an attempt to put two and two together and a woman who's running for her life.

How can such a short book deliver such a powerful storyline in only a few short pages? I don't know but I'm convince - this being the first time I've ever read one of his books - that Ian Rankin is a genius. I'm glad I decided to buy a book after he was mentioned in Yes Man.

A Cool Head is one part detective novel and one part humor, creating a read that's worth the time and money - this book only cost me $2.93, as it is a part of Quick Reads series - "bite-sized books by bestselling writers and well-known personalities for people who want a short, fast-paced read," and "are designed to be read and enjoyed by avid readers and by people who never had or who have lost the reading habit." This is a series and a writer I can get behind. Trust me, there will be more books from both purchased by me in the future. ( )

Originally reviewed at mightylewry.wordpress.com

“My dad used to say to me, ‘Try to keep a cool head and a warm heart’. At least, I think it was my dad, I don’t really remember him….”

Rating 3.5 out of 5

This book has everything: A Councillor, Gangsters, Mental health issues, Scotland and Celine Dion.

I have never read any of Ian Rankin’s work before, and I was pleasantly surprised, I don’t normally go for “Thrillers”, but as part of my challenge for the weekend I set myself – Reading three titles over the weekend, I thought I would hedge my bets by getting short stories and as I don’t normally read these either, but in for a penny in for a pound.

The story starts of with a chap called “Gravy”, it becomes apparent very quickly he has mental health issues, he lives in a hostel, and life to him is simple. He has a friend called Benjy, who comes to him to hid things. One day Gravy is working and Benjy turns up in an unfamiliar car and clutching his chest asking Grave to hid a bag.
I thought this would be a great plot line in a Guy Richie film, the characters are similar to Lock Stock and that is why I initially and naively thought it was based in London, especially with a character called “Gorgeous George”.

It was a great story that had its moments of suspense – I found myself attributing what I had watched as gangster behaviour in films and expecting the story to go a certain way based on that preconceived idea. I am pleased to say I was partially wrong, there is a hard man image associated with gangsters and that way of life, but while this title portrayed this expected behaviour, it also shows a different side, a more personable side, which was a nice addition.

All in all this was a great little read and wasn't quite what i expected, don’t quite know what i was expecting, but this wasn't it and it was a pleasant diversion

( )

A cash exchange goes wrong and two people end up dead. But the money is now missing, and several people want it back.

A Cool Head isn't part of the Quick Reads series for nothing. It is just over 100 pages, and it seems like the length has seriously limited Rankin's ability to create an intricate plot or indepth characters. Some interest is however, added by one character who appears to have OCD tendancies, and the mental age of perhaps a 5 year old.

This book was an enjoyable fast read, but as this was the first of Ian Rankin's books that I've read, I'm reserving judgment on his work until I can read one of his full length books. I'm not convinced that A Cool Head gives a true indication of Rankin's ability. ( )

I struggle with short stories because they so often do not have the complexity of plot. This book does not fall into that trap but, of necessity, it can only sustain one plot line. It is for this reason that I can only mark this as an acceptable offering. ( )

Bad story, bad chracters, I Won't be reading anything by Ian Rankin again. ( )