Death by dialogue--no Gary Cooper/Clint Eastwood cops, these. Words cajole and banter as the head inspector (traditional, tough, tea-drinking guy ) gives and takes with his younger upstart understudy, Minogues, (non-believer, feminist leanings, coffee man). He jousts words with his wife and daughter. The police chief "God Almighty" spits it out with everyone. (And so on and on for all characters in Dublin, except for two dead ones.)

But, that once sparkling city--at least it was in my mind--has been smeared over badly in the pages here. After reading the book, my wife said "Let's not go there." I am not so sure--you gotta show the underbelly when writing modern crime, but there seem to be few top cuts left to Dublin, at least for this writer.
But five stars for Brady, if only for his characters. I need to know Brady better. And maybe skip Dublin. ( )