A thrilling police procedural, which will particularly appeal to those who love Irish crime novels.
Our narrator is Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan of the Bureau for Serious Crime in Dublin. She is dealing with the disappearance of a popular television presenter, Teddy Dolan, and the investigation is not progressing well.
A red box addressed to her, is delivered to the Bureau. It contains a very well-presented murder game. Frankie's partner, Baz Harwood, who she trusts completely, is behaving oddly. He keeps making excuses for not accompanying her as she begins investigations on the source of the mysterious box. The clues in the box include a forensic slide containing a section of a human heart, which is genuine, although the Bureau's forensics confirm that the sample was not taken by a professional, as it is too thick. Frankie becomes convinced that the murder is real. Not only that, the internet reveals that Frankie is not the only recipient of the box. It has also been sent to several students at Trinity College.
Shortly after this, a young woman reports her flatmate missing. Frankie becomes convinced, without any real evidence, that the disappearance of Teddy Dolan and the young woman are linked, and that they were perpetrated by a psychotic serial murderer.
Frankie's boss completely disagrees with this idea and tries to take her off the case, but she pursues it secretly, with the aid of her team. They have a few suspects, including some of the students. Then a parcel is sent to the Bureau containing one of Teddy Dolan's fingers. The team are ordered to concentrate on the Teddy Dolan case. But a young woman's body is found in the River Dodder, dismembered and packed in two suitcases. Forensics reveal it to be that of the missing Lydia.
The remainder of the novel is increasingly exciting and keeps the reader on tenterhooks until almost the final page.
