 The hunter becomes the hunted in entertaining werewolf romp If you fancy an enjoyable evening barking at the moon (but remember to check it’s not full first) then take a huge bite from Dave Jeffrey’s new werewolf romp Tooth and Claw. In his latest offering the always versatile Jeffrey abandons his Himalayan yetis of Frostbite and sets this toothy tale in a secluded stately home, Cofton Grange, which is owned by a very rich, and dangerous career criminal, Jacob Rothschild. This guy is a truly nasty piece of work, who specialises in crimes which are very hard to prove and which net his organisation huge profits. However, his latest racket involves a wheeze which is substantially trickier than fencing a nicked Picasso. Werewolves! In a recent conversation Jeffrey called his latest novella “low-brow werewolf hokum” and this slightly self-depreciating comment does this talented author a disservice. Yes, it is low-brow and, yes, it is hokum and does not attempt to dress itself up as anything else, but Jeffrey is very, very good at this sort of thing. If you’re after an easy to read, trashy, shaggy-dog story then look no further, this is great cartoon level horror with a nice balance of dumbness and readability. The prologue opens with an unfortunate man being hunted for sport by unscrupulous big-game hunters who are after the ultimate prize, killing a human. But before long they realise killing a man is no longer the ‘ultimate prize’ as Jacob Rothschild has something with more teeth than a piano, a dangerous threat which is worth a lot of money. Hunting man for sport is nothing new, and Tooth and Nail had me thinking of 1990s action movie with Jean Claude Van-Damme, Hard Target, but throwing a werewolf into the mix takes it closer to Schwarzenegger’s Predator than Van Damme. Come to think of it that would be a cool match up; Jeffrey’s werewolf versus the Predator! The werewolf does not make its first appearance until about 25% into the novella and until then the author nicely builds the story by introducing the cannon-fodder. It’s pretty obvious which of these guys is going to end up on a werewolf toothpick, but Jeffrey still gives us colourful backstories to the big-game hunters who don’t realise their roles will soon be horribly reversed. They’re all rich, nasty, cartoon villains and you’re going to cheer when they meet their end. Actually, some of them were killed a little too easily for my liking and they could have put up more of a fight before ending up as lunch. We have cousins Pippa and Antonia Okill, two young women who love to kill, then there is Martin Woodhead, a man small in stature and with serious daddy issues and also the deeply unpleasant Oscar Jarman. After watching a video of a man turning into a huge wolf, the group of hunters question the validity of what they just saw; why should the hunters all pay two million pounds each to kill a CGI monster they ask? After realising the beast is real the hunt truly is on, but who is the hunter and which sucker is heading for the end of a kebab stick? All the killers are desperate to have a werewolf head adorning their mantlepiece and the hide tickling their toes as a rug, but you just know it’s not going to pan out that way in this fun and speedy-to-read novella. It does not bring anything particularly new to the werewolf myth, but when the story ended at 89% on my Kindle I was disappointed and could happily have seen the story spin out longer. Throw an undercover policeman and a police snitch into the mix and you have a well-crafted and self-contained yarn which does not take itself too seriously. If you’re read Jeffrey’s Frostbite yeti novella, this is in the same ballpark, but I think this story has more going on than the yeti tale. You’re not going to think too much about a story set over a few hours, but serious students of werewolf fiction may question the lack of silver bullets as weapons? Also, Tooth and Claw neglects to go into the origins of the werewolves, or any of their mythology, however, that could feature in a future instalment as there is certainly scope for the story to continue. You’ll romp through Tooth and Claw in a couple of hours and if you enjoy this the very talented Jeffrey has plenty of other great books dip into, including the freaky supernatural thriller Bad Vision and the engaging YA supernatural Beatrice Beecham series. 4/5 Tony Jones TOOTH AND CLAW BY DAVE JEFFREY - BOOK REVIEW There's no place quite like Cofton Grange. Set in twelve-hundred acres of hills and woodland, it is a playground for the wealthy where, for the right price, every desire is made a reality. Tonight is special; a group of hunters have bought into the most exclusive contest, the opportunity to track and kill a fantastic and terrifying creature not of this Earth. The stakes are high, each competitor determined to claim the kudos that will come from taking down their incredible prey. But as the moon rises and the pursuit begins, each hunter is about to find out that sometimes there are fiercer things than the competition. Tooth and Claw—The hunt is on!   Comments are closed.
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