“Evening,” he said, giving me an electrocuted nod. The now middle-aged detective is picking up his daughter Holly when his sister calls him with no warning. “So are you.”. I knelt down and used it to lift the lid. When he returned to Dublin years later, he kept his distance from his brawling family in the Liberties (the inner city), who he was sure had driven his beloved away. I’ve always been fascinated by that kind of rooted life because it’s something I’ll never have--my parents have a handful of nationalities between them, I grew up in several continents, I’m an international brat. Kevin’s a bit upset but I think that’s because he’s worried about how you’ll take it, he’s awful fond of you, you know, he still is. “No,” I said, leaning sideways so I could see Holly’s face. Everyone was staring at me. He has the key, even if it’s rusty from disuse and most of the locks have been changed. Faithful Place is two rows of eight houses, old redbricks with steps going up to the main hall door. There was one thing I wanted to know. . It was one of the reasons I loved her. The carpets are so deep that I’ve never heard a footstep, but even at four in the morning you can feel the hum of five hundred minds buzzing on every side of you: people dreaming, hoping, worrying, planning, thinking. No one mentioned the suitcase; apparently we were playing happy family breakfast, which was fine with me. “Why not?” and then I unlocked the door and got my first hint that Holly and I weren’t getting any pizza tonight. Trust is paramount, and when one partner can no longer trust the other, the end is nigh. To Rob, Cassie’s face “looked like a strangers, unreadable and risky,” and we can see that he’s become just as unreadable to her: “What the fuck goes on in your head?” she yells. Shut out of the police investigation because of his connections to the case, Frank, true to the genre, works behind the scenes, making enemies among his fellow detectives and risking his job. The first time someone tried to kill him was an accident. “Imelda, you wagon! Does it not seem like maybe someone might have . One of the things I love about this series is that each book in this series focuses on a different character's perspective. “Seamus Mackey! “Anyway,” Kevin said, lower. “Gotta go. . The side characters in Faithful Place were interesting and complex, everyone from Frank’s family to his ex-wife, Olivia, and daughter, Holly. Why the Guards?”, Cops like me are the reason why you never get posted where you’re from. They had to get on with their work—”, “It’s grand. We just figured . Shay was watching me and enjoying himself. White van and no chin, I guarantee you. “I know I was only a kid, but . . “I’ve to go anyway,” Carmel said. We lay there, in the faint patterns of light coming through the lace curtains, listening to each other breathe.