Collusion

Irish author Neville follows his stunning debut, The Ghosts of Belfast, with an even more powerful tale of revenge, violence, and redemption. Collusion among Loyalists, IRA members, and the cops stymie the efforts of Det. Insp. Jack Lennon to find his former lover, Marie McKenna, and their daughter, Ellen, who've been targeted by Belfast crime boss Bull O'Kane. Jack finds an unlikely ally in former paramilitary killer Gerry Fegan, who knows that his murderous actions at a border farm where O'Kane was wounded and the gangster's son died have put mother and daughter at risk. Neville rides the perfect Celtic storm in an action-packed, cerebral thriller with fully realized characters and an insider's view of the ever-shifting politics of Northern Ireland, where the "peace boom" has also brought hordes of investors. Jack and Gerry emerge as two distinctly complicated antiheroes, neither of whom has illusions about himself. (Oct.)