THE death of a young African in hospital after an attack in the Dublin Mountains poses a pile of problems for Insp Quilligan and Molly of the Irish Police Force Murder Squad.

It leaves them both deeply disturbed with the motive darkly hidden - could it be a racist attack, sadism or even a mysterious sacrificial murder.

There is a whiff of the underworld about in more ways than one and things take a more sinister turn when the mans younger brother swears a solemn oath to find the killer.

Benedictine monk Nugent takes an unholy glee in the gruesome and the macabre as well as political correctness and old-fashioned pomposity, and while he sweeps you along with a high velocity plot, he does it with a touch of charm and a wry sense of humour.