Dead of Winter

June 3, 2013
In Millar’s densely plotted third novel featuring Belfast PI Karl Kane (after 2010’s The Dark Place), Kane wakens on a snowy winter morning to find a severed hand on his doorstep. Is someone trying to send a message? Is it a bizarre mistake? Kane’s violent past makes all things possible, and after notifying the police (and spurred on by a substantial reward), he begins his own investigation, which leads him on an incredibly byzantine trail through some of Ireland’s more sordid locations, including brothels, bars, and slaughterhouses. Eventually, two more severed hands are discovered, each tattooed with a tiny number “88.” Kane finds he’s been led to some extremely nasty criminals, a few of whom are on the police force. Shameless manipulators and unrepentant sadists people the book, but it’s Kane himself—with his caustic wit and a strong moral code—who carries this grim yet satisfying story.