Des McGinlay is a down-on-his-luck PI from the gritty, industrial city of Birmingham, England. Lately, business has been poor, mostly because Des likes booze more than he should but also because he's suffering from being unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend. So when he is asked by Bertha Turton to investigate the suspicious death of her daughter, Claudette, Des is pleased to get off the self-pity slow train and onto the money-making express. Bertha's willingness to fill the empty side of Des' bed doesn't hurt. Des soon realizes that Claudette was murdered, and the killing was ordered by a rich but corrupt politico with lots of clout and the power to make Des' future miserable, or worse, nonexistent. Dalton's debut is a clever, atmospheric, quirky, violent thriller featuring an antihero who's quite unlike the typical private eye.
