The first book in a pacey and evocative detective series set in Victorian Dublin. In the 1880s the DMP classified crime in two distinct classes. Political crimes were 'special', whereas theft, robbery and even murder, no matter how terrible, were 'ordinary'. Dublin, June 1887: the mutilated bodies of a man and a child are discovered in Phoenix Park and Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow steps up to investigate. Cynical and tired, Swallow is a man living on past successes in need of a win. In the background, the city is sweltering in a long summer heatwave, a potential gangland war is simmering as the chief lieutenants of a dying crime boss size each other up and the castle administration want the celebration of Queen Victoria s Golden jubilee to pass off without complication. Underneath it all, the growing threat of anti-British radicals is never far away. With the Land War at its height, the priority is to contain special crime. But these murders appear to be ordinary and thus of lesser priority. When the evidence suggests high-level involvement, and as the body count increases, Swallow must navigate the waters of foolish superiors, political directives and frayed tempers to investigate the crime, find the true murderer and deliver justice. A June Of Ordinary Murders captures the life and essence of Dublin in the 1880s and draws the reader on a thrilling journey of murder and intrigue.
As the city swelters in a summer long heatwave, a potential gangland war simmers and the land war rages, the bodies of a man and a child are uncovered in Dublin's Phoenix Park.
The man charged with uncovered their murderer and the reasons for their deaths is Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow. Cynical and frustrated by incompetent superiors, Swallow must navigate the tricky waters of high politics and rising gang tension to uncover the truth.
