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LOOKING FOR MR NOBODY

Sue Rann

No Exit Press £9.99 Rel: June 2003

Reviewed by Ayo Onatade


Looking for Mr Nobody is the debut novel by Sue Rann. A dark gritty novel that tells the tale of Robin Carlson a military trained, martial-arts instructor, who is the rebellious daughter of a US general and Wolf a vagrant pavement artist on the streets of Amsterdam. While Robin tries to help her erstwhile boyfriend with whom she has a fractious relationship she soon finds herself drawn into the deep nasty world of illegal designer drugs. Wolf on the other hand remembers nothing prior to being treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds. He has the police on his back, men threatening him and a stranger whom he is not sure that he should trust. He follows his heart and soon finds himself in serious danger. Wolf and Robin’s paths cross, but they are both not sure whether or not they will survive.

For a debut novel, Looking for Mr Nobody is an excellent story. Tough, dark and extremely compelling, it has a graphic realism that makes the reader think twice as to whether or not this is in fact fiction. One of the most disturbing descriptions in the book are the incidents depicting the effects of the so-called designer drugs as they are tested on humans. Furthermore this is a highly contemporary novel as it features drugs that appear to be eerily comparable to those many suppose were employed in the conflict against Saddam Hussein. Who knows? If on the other hand this is the case then it certainly gives the reader a lot of food for thought.

While I don’t see this as being a series, if Looking for Mr nobody is anything to go by then I certainly hope that we will see another book by Ms Rann. A convincing start to what is to become hopefully a flourishing writing career.