The third Lou Perlman installment is certainly a winner. There are some gruesome moments that might make a stomach churn but fortunately they are appropriately spaced throughout the narrative. The disheveled Sgt Perlman, on extended sick leave after being shot in the shoulder, continues to antagonize his superiors as well as some of his co-workers. Perlman's wry humor is as much a part of him as the zeal he displays to rid Glasgow of a few more criminal elements. The death of author Campbell Armstrong makes a fourth novel unlikely unless another author can pick up where Butcher ends. We can only hope.