Library Journal: As head of homicide in Melbourne, Australia, Inspector Stephen Villani devotes himself to serving justice. Yet even as he pursues cases with single-minded intensity, he can't ignore a foreboding that the job is destroying him. Faced with a brutal triple homicide and an unidentified victim found in a penthouse apartment, Villani uncovers a sinister political dimension to the crimes as major players in the upcoming state elections try to influence the investigation. Meanwhile, Villani's drug-addicted teenage daughter is out on the streets, his marriage is in crisis, and bush fires threaten his father's life. VERDICT In this follow-up to the award-winning The Broken Shore, Temple spins a complex and powerful story with writing so top-notch that readers might be tempted to slow down and savor the prose if the plot line weren't so compelling. Villani is an unforgettable protagonist, a miserable, conflicted cop who somehow embodies grace in a malevolent world. Already acclaimed in Australia, Temple proves once again that he deserves to be better known among American crime fiction fans. Talk it up; highly recommended.?Kelsy Peterson, Johnson Cty. Community Coll., Overland Park, KS