The standalone sequel to Fresh Breath, and the second installment of the hard-boiled, noir cop series.

Detectives Joseph Morris and Hugo Carrillo are back; back to ribbing each other every chance they get in this dark, morbidly funny crime thriller.

A dead body found hanging upside down behind an old factory launches an investigation that takes them on a savage, blood-soaked adventure, delving into grisly crime scenes, murky family histories, bloated corpses and suicides, possible serial killers, and to the city zoo where something is not quite right; imposing animals that are eerily hollow-eyed or milky-eyed, and exhibiting mysterious wounds and scars - one former zoo employee simply attributing it all to evil.

With very different personalities - as compatible as stale water and rancid oil - this bantering police duo; foul-mouthed and irreverent, nevertheless makes their differences work to their advantage, which reflects in the unconventional methods they often employ. Though not always to the best of results...

Trying to piece together a both physically (due to interpersonal corporal punishments being meted out for the delivery of trenchant jokes) and mentally (due to incessant dark-humored eccentricities) demanding job with personal problems, aspirations and desires, proves very trying at times. A taxing family life, old age, debt, addictions and recurring nightmares frequently ram bones of varying density into the already crooked spokes of their respective lives, making progress a struggle.