Title: The Irish Crime and Punishment
Review: From the dark atmosphere of the novel, to the murder and eventual redemption of the murderer, this has to be the Irish equivalent of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Of course there are no real plot-point comparisons, but Grace, the main character, might possibly have been able to get away with the murder of her husband, just as Raskolnikov could have gotten away with the murder of the old pawn-broker woman. But both characters provide their own punishment, both give themselves up to authorities, and both characters redeem themselves of their acts. Ridgway, however, provides us with a likeable and sympathetic character in Grace, and a very believable family dynamic in the way she relates to her gay son. This was a surprisingly mature treatment of a complex plot, seamlessly presented, with equally in-depth character portrayals. --Ronald L. Donaghe, author of Common Sons
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