Little Criminals

Justin and Angela Kennedy have money, love, children and a limitless future. Jo-Jo Mackendrick is a pillar of Dublin gangland society; a man determined that nothing will endanger his hard-earned supremacy. Into their lives come Frankie Crowe, an ambitious criminal tired of risking his life for small change. Kidnap could be the first step on his climb to a better life, and he knows just the kind of dangerou men to make it happen...

The bumbling criminals in Irish journalist Kerrigan's second novel to be made available in the U.S. (after The Midnight Choir) will remind readers of the hapless losers who populate some of Elmore Leonard's books. Smalltime Irish hoodlum Frankie Crowe plans to kidnap Justin Kennedy, a wealthy, up-and-coming Dublin entrepreneur. But when Crowe finds out his intended victim is less flush than he'd believed, Crowe and his cohorts decide instead to abduct Kennedy's wife, Angela. The bulk of the book centers on the attempts of Crowe's crew to collect Angela's ransom and the efforts to foil them led by Crowe's bête noir, Det. Insp. John Grace. The framing device—the recollections of an older man who's plotting revenge against Crowe for his role in an armed robbery of a pub—proves more interesting than the main action. The author's fine ear for dialogue helps compensate for a less than compelling plot. (May)
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"A savage x-ray picture of contemporary Ireland... beautifully etched characters" Guardian 20050618 "this is a terrific novel, tense and exciting. I spun through it quicker than it takes to tell" Independent on Sunday "A great writer, a great story, relentless and brilliant" -- Roddy Doyle "He writes with a light touch that makes his darker final chapters all the more disturbing" Daily Telegraph