A June of Ordinary Murders

In the 1880s the DMP classified crime in two distinct classes. Political crimes were special, whereas theft, robbery and even murder, no matter how terrible, were ordinary . Dublin, June 1887: the mutilated bodies of a man and a child are discovered in Phoenix Park and Detective Sergeant Joe Swallow steps up to investigate. Cynical and tired, Swallow is a man living on past successes in need of a win. In the background, the city is sweltering in a long summer heatwave, a potential gangland war is simmering as the chief lieutenants of a dying crime boss size each other up and the castle administration want the celebration of Queen Victoria s Golden jubilee to pass off without complication.