In the long shadows of an alley a young man is murdered, savagely kicked and beaten to death by assailant or assailants unknown. It is a crime shocking in its raw brutality, and its shattering repercussions will be felt throughout a small provincial community on the edge - because the victim was far from innocent, a youth whose sordid secret life was a tangle of terrifying contradictions and virulent racial hatred. And now a dedicated policeman beset by his own tormenting demons must follow the leads into the rankest pits of man's inhumanity to man - to catch a killer before his village explodes. FROM THE BLURB ON THE BOOK COVER

This is the US version of a book called "Dead Right" in the UK.

Another in the continuing saga of DCI Alan Banks, stationed in Eastvale, Yorkshire. Unfortunately not one of the best. This is the first time that Robinson hasn't solely dealt with the crime at hand and let us see more of Banks' personal life. I'm sorry to say that it left me cold, which is a pity as the plot had promise. Nevermind, on to the next in the series :o)