A
bizarre suicide leads to a scandal and then still more blood, as one of
our most brilliant crime novelists reveals a world where money and sex
trump everything
It's a fine day for a sail, and
Victor Delahaye, one of Ireland's most successful businessmen, takes his
boat far out to sea. With him is his partner's sonÑwho becomes the sole
witness when Delahaye produces a pistol, points it at his own chest,
and fires.
This mysterious death immediately
engages the attention of Detective Inspector Hackett, who in turn calls
upon the services of his sometime partner Quirke, consultant
pathologist at the Hospital of the Holy Family. The stakes are high:
Delahaye's prominence in business circles means that Hackett and Quirke
must proceed very carefully. Among others, they interview Mona Delahaye,
the dead man's young and very beautiful wife; James and Jonas Delahaye,
his identical twin sons; and Jack Clancy, his ambitious, womanizing
partner. But then a second death occurs, this one even more shocking
than the first, and quickly it becomes apparent that a terrible secret
threatens to destroy the lives and reputations of several members of
Dublin's elite.
Why did Victor Delahaye kill himself, and who is intent upon wreaking vengeance on so many of those who knew him?