is a first novel. The story of a boy, an Irish boy, Brendan. Brendan has prodigious talents in two directions; mathematics and crime. Both skills have a common thread, both require a good deal of deep thought and forward planning. His mathematical skill is discovered by one of his school teachers. Brendan sets himself the ambitious task of solving a long-standing problem in mathematics (the so-called ‘Polygon Problem’).Out of financial necessity, he abandons school and is apprentic...