Sean Devereaux

When local cop Sean Devereaux, who enjoys skating close to the edge, does a favor for his attractive neighbor, he unwittingly exposes a web of deceit and corruption. As he investigates the murder of a 16-year-old Epsom princess in his day job, his after-hours efforts have him stumbling into the aftermath of a scam involving senior colleagues, and he is soon enmeshed in an escalating cycle of kidnapping, murder and violent mayhem. With his unconventional ex-colleague-turned-security-specialist John Hale, Devereaux slowly begins to unravel the truth as the body count climbs and the stakes become personal. As an outwardly terse, street-savvy operator, Sean Devereaux emerges as an engaging and irreverent hero, becoming the catalyst for an absorbing, strangely uneasy murder mystery, set in unnervingly familiar surroundings. A superb blend of international-standard crime-writing with a strong local ambience that lures you in and delivers a strong and emotionally satisfying read.

Friday rush hour, Auckland city. A lone shooter fires across a packed street and kills a man. Detective Sergeant Sean Devereaux is assigned the case. He's not complaining - his Friday nights are seldom better spent. But the inquiry is not straightforward. Witness accounts are conflicting. The dead man appears to be an unintended victim, with the true target unknown. That's the least of Devereaux's worries, though. His current case load includes an investigation into the deaths of the wife and daughter of a wealthy finance company director. His examination has revealed the situation is far more complex than anticipated, casting real doubt upon the division of innocence and guilt. Devereaux's former colleague, John Hale, is in no position to help. Hale is occupied with his own pursuit of darkness, made all the more sinister by a dogged senior police officer determined to engineer his ruin. Together the two men hunt for the truth from those who pursue self-gain by any means.