A policeman has been killed and Maeve Kerrigan and her colleagues are sent to investigate. Terence Hammond doesn't come across as a very nice person and having an affair sounds like a reason he may have been shot. That is, until more police personnel are killed, and now it's much more important for Maeve and her colleagues to find the motives behind the killings and stop them. 
 This novel is not the first in the series, I believe there are about 4 before it. Although one can apparently read it as a standalone, there were really enormous and vital gaps in my understanding which meant I did not get as much out of this book as I think I might have done if I knew more. 
 The character of Maeve Kerrigan herself is well written and quite interesting. The cast of supporting characters, I didn't feel had nearly as much about them and I definitely needed to know more about at least a couple of them to be able to appreciate the novel and understand the plotting. As it was, I don't feel as if I got as much pleasure out of the book as I should have done and I certainly wouldn't recommend starting with this novel if you are new to the author - much better to start at the beginning and I feel I might have cared much more about the outcomes.