Synopses & Reviews
In Belfast, Northern Ireland, memories of the city’s troubled history
haunt every street corner, but for one tortured soul, the incredible
violence in his past is also his most cherished legacy.
Rea Carlisle, daughter of influential Northern Irish politician Graham
Carlisle, has inherited a house from an uncle she never knew. It doesn’t
take her long to clear out the dead man’s possessions, but when Rea
forces open a locked room, she finds a leather-bound book. Tucked in its
pages are fingernails and locks of hair: a catalog of victims.
Horrified,
Rea wants to go straight to the police, but her father intervenes — he’s
worked too hard to have his brother’s twisted legacy ruin his promising
political career. Thwarted by her father, Rea turns to the only person
she can think of: disgraced police inspector Jack Lennon.
Meanwhile,
Lennon finds himself the lead suspect in a murder investigation led by
one of the force’s toughest cops, DCI Serena Flanagan. His implication
in the murder, coupled with the story Rea has brought to him, leaves
Lennon more than slightly suspicious that the two are part of a grisly
conspiracy.
Review
“Engrossing . . . the action builds to a chilling conclusion.” Publishers Weekly
Review
“Neville’s gritty tale sets a man barely holding on to his personal worth loose in a city still recovering from the Troubles.” Kirkus Reviews
Review
“This is the fourth Lennon tale with the shadow of Northern Ireland’s
past bloody sectarian violence, the Troubles, still hanging over all . .
. Alternating points of view reveal the horrifying mind of the killer
as well as the hate and suspicion that remain years after peace has been
declared . . . [A] highly regarded series.” Library Journal
Review
“Superlative . . . A pulse-pounding crime novel from a master of the genre.” Booklist, Starred Review
Review
“Like dispatches from a war zone — terse prose, dark thoughts, raw
feelings . . . A more formal mystery than Neville’s previous ones, its
characters remain possessed by Belfast’s old, familiar ghosts.” The New York Times Book Review