Frankie Crowe is not one of the great criminal masterminds. A small time thug, he thinks—to the extent he can—that kidnapping one of Dublin’s newly rich businessmen just may be the low risk fast track to the status and money he knows he deserves. When the local crime boss refuses him permission to make the snatch, he shoots the boss and commences with his plan—such as it is.

After a somewhat haphazard selection, this crew of casually vicious miscreants kidnaps the wife of a moderately prosperous lawyer rather than the spouse of the wealthy banker Frankie thought he had chosen. From that point forward, no one from Inspector John Grace to that pillar of Dublin gangland Jo-Jo Mackendrick can predict the next twist in a scheme that has gone from wrong to bad to worse.

Kerrigan’s writing, like Elmore Leonard’s, is driven by character rather than plot. His novel is alive to the codes and expectations of the different sections of modern Irish society. His narrative is taut and harrowing, his dialogue spot-on. The resulting story is everything Frankie Crowe is not: smart, assured and confident—mixing an exciting combination of entertainment and art available only in superior crime fiction.

“Little Criminals is a terrific novel, tense and exciting.”—The Independent on Sunday

“Gene Kerrigan’s writing is magnificent. It is graceful, tough, hardboiled and tender, as razor-sharp and gritty as it is lyrical and truthful.”—Joseph O’Connor, author of *Star of the Sea*

“A novel of great emotional impact and beautifully etched characters.”—The Guardian

**

### From Publishers Weekly

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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### Review

"A savage x-ray picture of contemporary Ireland... beautifully etched characters" Guardian "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