"In the 1880s the Dublin Metropolitan Police classified crime in two distinct classes. Political crimes were classed as 'special,' whereas theft, robbery and even murder ... were known as 'ordinary.' [In] June 1887, the city swelters in a long summer heatwave, the criminal underworld simmers, and with it, the threat of nationalist violence is growing ... Then the mutilated bodies of a man and a child are discovered in Phoenix Park and Detective Sergeant...

""Bodies can tell you a lot. There can be an eloquence about the dead. But you have to be able to interpret what they are telling you. "This captivating, expertly crafted mystery captures the life and essence of Victorian Dublin and draws the reader on a gripping journey of murder and intrigue. When a Dublin Pawnbroker is found murdered and the lead suspect goes missing, Sergeant Joe Swallow is handed the poisoned chalice of the investigation....