The hardback made this look like a zombie caper novel, as his teen books are, and I almost gave it to my reader in that area, but something made me keep it for myself. The sticker helped: "3 million people can't be wrong. Isn't it time you tried Darren Shan?" Three million and I'd never heard of him -- but then I'm not a teen reader. He wrote Cirque Du Freak, Zom-B and plenty of others. This is his first adult crime. Thankfully, the paperback jacket is more sophisticated, for it is a cracking read. A fast, compulsive, eerie nove with supernatural undertones, some really unexpected twists and great characters. It's a gangster/hitman/love story thriller: very special.