Kirkus (starred review): "A ripping crime tale, impressive in scope and crackling with energy, as well as a fascinating portrait of contemporary Ireland."

 A clutch of violent cases challenges the Gard, Ireland's storied police force.
 
While Garda Joe Mills tries to talk a jumper in from a ledge in Galway, his boss, Inspector Harry Synnott, is interrogating young Teresa Hunt about a rape charge in Dublin. On a nearby street, drug addict Dixie Peyton uses a syringe filled with red liquid to rob American tourists. The turmoil of multiple urgent cases is typical of life at Dublin's Gard and of this sequel to Little Criminals (2000). After Mills talks down the jumper, Wayne Kemp, he clams up in his cell for days. Synnott hits a temporary roadblock with alleged rapist Max Hapgood, whose irrational family tries to thwart the investigation at every turn. And Dixie has inside information she's afraid to disclose about a daring bank robbery. Solving the robbery becomes crucial to Synnott's hoped-for promotion. Woven in are several minor cases, along with the personal stories of the detectives and some revealing glimpses of Dublin's criminal underworld. Veteran journalist Kerrigan focuses especially on crime boss Lar MacKendrick, whose involvement in the robbery seems obvious, as he deals with both the violent murder of his brother Jo-Jo and the unexpected death of reliable muscle Owen, Dixie's late boyfriend.
 
A ripping crime tale, impressive in scope and crackling with energy, as well as a fascinating portrait of contemporary Ireland.