The hype surrounding this author's record advances rather over-shadowed the fact that here was a compelling piece of thriller fiction by a welcome new writer - and an Irish one at that. Not that Connolly sets his story on these shores: this dark tale begins in New York, with the horrific slaying of former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker's wife and daughter. Drowning in remorse and alcohol, Parker is offered a life-line when his ex-partner asks him to track down a missing girl. His investigation leads him into the shadowy world of the paedophile, and then on to a date with the serial killer known as The Travelling Man in the murky bayous of Louisiana. This book is not for the faint-hearted, but as an exercise in the dark night of the soul of thriller fiction it cannot be bettered.