LOST SOULS begins with the discovery of the body of a small girl, dressed as an angel, concealed in a pile of autumn leaves. It looks as if the child might have been the victim of a hit and run. It's Halloween. The streets had been full of children. But how did a three-year old come to be hiding there alone in the dark, dressed only in her flimsy costume? And why were the child's feet bare?

A ghastly crime, a bungled cover-up, several guilty secrets, innocence defiled, a community isolated, a lowering landscape across which a host of dysfunctional characters stalk, a twisting plot and Michael Collins's uniquely stylish and blackly humorous prose make this latest novel a gripping read. As always the landscape and people are vividly evoked. This novel is full of unforgettable images from its haunting and chillingly beautiful beginning to its brilliant denouement..