Wednesday 4 January 2012

Best of 2011 Part 1

If you haven't read Stuart Neville yet, you really should. I read both "The Twelve", or "The Ghosts of Belfast" as it's called in America, and the follow up, "Collusion", last year.


I came across "The Twelve" by Stuart Neville completely by chance in my local Easons early last year.

I'd never heard of him before as it was his first published novel but the cover looked good so I picked it up, read the blurb on the back and had to buy it.Turned out to be one of the best buying decisions of the year.

It was nothing short of a masterpiece.

In Gerry Fegan he created one of the most compelling protagonists I've read in years (it's probably not accurate to call him a hero). The story dragged me through the streets of Belfast, populated with the remnants of the Troubles and showing the new face of power sharing compromise.

To say that it's a pulse pounding page turner, which it is, almost robs it of some of it's power. This is more than just your average thriller. In a sense the novel has similarities with the excellent John Connoly's work as Neville expertly interweaves elements that may be supernatural and may not.It examines actions and consequences and shows the wounds that can sometimes never heal.

It's a blistering debut novel and should be on everyone's "to read" list.

The follow up, "Collusion", picks up the narrative some time after the close of the first novel.


One of the aspects of the novel I loved most was that Neville ups the stakes with Gerry Fegan and his possible supernatural connections. This builds in intensity throughout the novel as Fegan is inexorably pulled towards further redemption.
"Collusion" also brings another figure, Detective Inspector Jack Lennon, to the fore. We follow his journey as he searches for his daughter while a fearsome killer, "The Traveller", follows his every move.

The two novels are among the best of the Irish crime writing that I have read and Neville's next book, "Stolen Souls", is among my most anticipated reads for this year.

Find out more about his books on Amazon by clicking here.

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