1992, Alabama, Tuscaloosa, lunchtime in a bar. Two seated guys are checking out their Target. One leaves to bring the car round to the alley, the other stands up and - Magnum in hand - strides towards the Target, squeezing the trigger.
Three days earlier in Newry, Northern Ireland, Danny Maguire had taken a phone call from a man who had told him that someone called Finn O'Hanlon knew who had killed Danny's brother eight years ago. During those eight years, although he had never joined the IRA, Danny had waged war and taken revenge on a lot of people: informers and members of the security forces. Death was what he was good at. Now here's this man, whom he blames for Sean's death, giving him this piece of paper with an Alabama address on it.
In Tuscaloosa, Finn O'Hanlon watches the two guys on the other side of the bar. He is still watching as one stands up and strides towards him, gun in hand. The air explodes around the table but Finn is already halfway through the fire exit. In the alleyway he is cornered by gunfire from the other guy. Nothing for it but to return the way he came – and ask the pretty waitress where they keep their shotgun...

Actor John Gordon Sinclair has written a terrific début thriller with this story rooted in the violent tragedies of Northern Ireland. It started life as an idea for a film and it's a complex, fast-moving story criss-crossing the Atlantic between Alabama and Northern Ireland as it tells the story of two Republican brothers - the Maguires - one killed in an ambush whilst carrying explosives for the IRA, the other becoming a killer as a consequence and eight years later searching for the truth behind his brother's betrayal. But someone else wants that truth to remain hidden and when a list of IRA informers is stolen from police headquarters, mayhem begins. Not the least of which is the brutal collateral damage experienced by everyone connected to the Maguire brothers.
Sinclair's characterisations are vivid and the dry wit of his dialogue brings a touch of humour that is very necessary in order to warm this dark tale of callous trade-offs and cruelty. The book is reminiscent of Stuart Neville's writing in its uncompromising depiction of the harsh brutality and paradoxical legacies of the long Northern Irish conflict. An exciting and very accomplished first. ( )