"Ireland's 'Celtic Tiger' economy has imploded, but something stirs in the rubble, striking a chord with the public: Patrick Larkin, a homeless man, alcoholic and mentally ill, is beaten to death in a park. Larkin was a well-known fixture. His solitary walks along the coast road in a posh suburb near Dublin had earned him the nickname 'The King of Ireland.' Months pass and the case goes cold, but indignation rises: has the case been 'kicked into the long grass?' Inspector Minogue leaps at the opportunity of a posting in 'cold cases.' Along with his partner, Tommy Malone, he's just about to launch their first case review when the two of them are abruptly shifted to the Larkin case. Did Larkin die because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Was he an unwitting witness to a drug deal? When someone peripheral to the case also turns up dead, Minogue senses that the past is gaining on the present."--P. [4] of cover.