A Cool Head is part of the Quick Reads series and the first book by Ian Rankin that I have read. The story is about a simple soul nicked named, Gravy because he works in the local cemetery. Gravy is a conscientious worker but naïve. His kindness is often taken advantage of. He unwittingly helps his friend, Benjy who is a thief. However, when Benjy gets involved in a robbery that goes wrong, there’s little Gravy can do but as usual, he does his best for his friends.
For a short book, there are quite a lot of characters and at times it was a bit hard to keep track of them, though most were underworld crime figures. For a book of this nature, it was a pleasant surprise there was little bad language, in fact, I can’t remember any. This may be because it was Gravy’s story, and he doesn’t like swearing or perhaps Rankin feels he can create context and tension without bad language, which is a great skill.
Overall an entertaining quick read.
More reviews of this book can be found on Goodreads.
