Sheffield, England. 1998. Two policemen find the grisly remains of a dead man in an abandoned warehouse. At least they think it's a man. It's difficult to tell since the creature has had every inch of skin sandblasted from its body. Its face and genitals have been removed, and even its teeth have been blasted away. Detectives Singleterry and Naylor are put in charge of the case, but after several months, they're no closer to finding out the identity of the dead man, let alone discovering who killed him. They're both jaded, disgruntled, angry cops who should have quit the force years ago. Instead, they bury evidence, brutalize their suspects, and hope for retirement, Naylor passing the time destroying his liver with alcohol, and Singleterry spewing hatred at suspects and colleagues alike. Then a chance encounter at the sandblasted victim's long-delayed funeral results in a confession, but the unexpected break takes a terrible turn. Extremely dark, bloody, and menacing, this expertly plotted first novel is difficult to read but utterly compelling.""--BOOKLIST
