Neville is brisk, tough and always surprising -- you think you know what will happen about 25 percent in, then you revise and revise -- and are still surprised by a twist in an always thrilling conclusion. Neville isn't the most "writer'y" writer, but that's fine for his books. I'd describe him as more muscular, with a fine sense of the inner lives of his characters, much more interesting than the mystery itself. As someone who's come to know Belfast a little over the years, I love the way he introduces us to the fascinating, contradictory, troubled city -- spit-polished now, but still fractured and complex just a millimeter beneath. DCI Lennon's a great character -- but so is a new one (for Neville), DCI Serena Flanagan, so human and also a strong, smart woman. No spoiler here, but when she gives another officer his come-uppance (this involves a secret file from a previous mystery, a slammed drawer and a very bloody hand), I wanted to jump up and shout, "Shove it again!" A wonderful stay-up-late read.