Fame is a fickle thing. Particularly when a shadowy government agency prevents credit from being given where credit is due. After the death-defying takedown of the Followers of Eden – as detailed in Blood on the Broadcast – Jacob Kincaid expected the associated series of the Miss Gumshoe true crime podcast to bring about a dramatic upturn in business for Kincaid Investigations.

Unfortunately, after a representative of said shadowy government agency forcefully pointed out that legal proceedings against the cult might be prejudiced by the podcast, Kincaid and Natalie Amato, creator and presenter of Miss Gumshoe, agreed to shelve the series for the time being. As a consolation prize, however, Natalie did dedicate an episode to one of Kincaid’s old – and far less impressive – cases.

As a result, the turn of 2025 has not been particularly auspicious for Belfast’s least prestigious detective agency. And the rest of the city isn’t faring much better. It’s cold, grey and miserable, as are the divorce cases and insurance jobs that Kincaid has been relying on. Still, it turns out that his episode of the true crime podcast did impress at least one listener.

Deirdre Skelly wants to hire Kincaid to look into the disappearance of her son, Finbar, who absconded from Hartley House young offender institution in Millisle 44 years ago and hasn’t been seen since. While missing persons cases may be the bread and butter of every private detective, a case this cold is a near-impossible proposition. So of course Kincaid agrees to take it on.

Due to Finbar’s history of absconding and his family’s links to organised crime and paramilitaries, police at the time had not put much effort into locating him, and seemingly, neither did his family. By contrast, Kincaid and Natalie are quickly able to link his disappearance to a series of other missing teens. The cases share a startling commonality – the apparent involvement of Ned by Night.

Ned by Night is a local ghost story or urban legend. Back in the day, Ned was suspected of killing a farmer’s daughter, so the local community banded together to burn him alive. No body was found following the fire at Ned’s house, but a few days later, the children of those who set it started to disappear, taken by a figure wrapped in bandages. But a phantom couldn’t be responsible for the disappearances, could he?

He Calls By Night is a particularly macabre case for Kincaid Investigations, and that’s saying something. SDW Hamilton has concocted a seriously twisted case for Kincaid and Amato’s second investigation together, featuring violence, brutality and shocking revelations throughout. The gore and abuse involved are never gratuitous, but they certainly can be stomach-churning.

The story is a pitch-perfect example of Belfast noir, and the city itself is a vital character as well as an atmospheric setting, as was the case in Blood on the Broadcast. Given that Finbar disappeared back in 1981 – when he was supposedly in state custody – Kincaid and Natalie face both historic and contemporary obstacles as they try to discover what happened to him and the other missing young people.

Hamilton has a clear grasp on the history of the Troubles and on the echoes of that time still being felt today. The poorer citizens of Belfast – particularly if they were judged to be on the wrong side – did not receive adequate protection or consideration from the police back in the 1980s, and despite this being well known, the desire to keep a lid on it means that people involved at the time are still reluctant to help in 2025.

The case is further complicated by two well-established Northern Irish tropes. First, the possibility of paramilitary involvement. Finbar disappeared from the Falls Road in broad daylight, and no one apart from the army would have ventured there in 1981. Second, the role of the Catholic Church. Finbar was close to Father Jeremiah Pettigrew, who was subsequently reassigned to another parish, which can really mean only one thing.

As a consequence, there are plenty of dark and disturbing threads for Kincaid and Natalie to follow. Luckily, they don’t have to work the case alone. There were some decent police officers back in the day, both good at their job and not corrupt, some of whom never gave up hope of discovering what happened to individual missing persons. Help is also provided by a couple of serving officers, whether out of loyalty or a desire for fame.

The inclusion of friends and family, as well as certain new characters, allows Hamilton to shed more light on Kincaid’s character and what brought him to his present situation. His skill as an investigator was never in doubt, but it’s illuminating to learn more about his history and personality. This also helps to address a couple of lingering questions from the previous book, including Kincaid’s feelings regarding Natalie.

Given the historic violence and the very real possibility of deadly danger in the present, as well as the spectre of Ned by Night and all that his possible involvement implies, He Calls By Night is a truly chilling story. The disappearances are associated with numerous twists and turns, with each being seemingly murkier than the last, so Kincaid and Natalie have their work cut out wading through all the corruption, cover-up and obfuscation to reach the truth.

For more Belfast-based crime fiction, try Adrian McKinty’s The Detective Up Late.

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CFL Rating: 5 Stars