Beneath The Surface

Ryan Finnegan, a high-ranking government official, is brutally slain in Leinster House, the seat of Irish parliament. Detective Inspector Tom Reynolds and his team are called in to uncover the truth behind the murder. As the suspects start to rack up, Tom must untangle a web of corruption, sordid secrets and sinister lies.

Irish crime thrillers are hot stuff at the moment, and this one has a couple of distinctions setting it apart from the rest. First of all, the opening paragraphs are from the view point of the victim as he faces his killer and realizes he’s about to die, expressing regret at the mistakes he’s made and the fact that he will never see his wife and baby daughter again. This is an effective method of drawing the reader in. In those first few pages we know something about the murdered man. But as to why he was murdered – we have to keep reading to find out.

The second thing that sets this apart from the usual Irish crime novel is that this one takes us to the heart of Irish politics, from a writer who’s clearly been thorough in her research.

There were a couple of niggles I had with this book. There were far too many viewpoint characters, and there were more politics than I prefer to have in my fiction. But these are personal views. There is a lot to like in this gripping thriller, and though it is the second in a series, it can be read as a stand-alone. For those that are into the series, however, the main characters are interesting enough to want to follow their lives through to the next book. And the epilogue throws out some rather tantalizing crumbs of intrigue to set up a future story.

This competently written and tightly-woven thriller is a must-read for fans of political thrillers and Irish crime novels.