Finished Stuart Neville's Ghosts of Belfast. Enjoyed it very much. For those unfamiliar with it, the book follows Gerry Fegan, a former IRA hit man, who is drowning in alcohol and guilt, as he tries to appease the ghosts of his victims who haunt him day and night. That involves killing the men who ordered the hits. It all sounds a little crazy at first: a man tormented by hallucinations committing murder to make up for other murders, all with a sort of Jason Bourne invincibility. But Neville doesn't hit a false note, at least to this reader, who admittedly is hardly an expert on the IRA or Belfast. I look forward to the second in the series, Collusion, which sounds like it continues with several characters, although not Fegan. And now I want to read Ken Bruen, another Irish writer, starting with The Guards. Next, though, I am reading P.L Gaus's Blood of the Prodigal, set in Ohio Amish country.
Now for a handful of interviews: David Suchet talks about playing Poirot and Murder on the Orient Express, which already aired on Masterpiece Mystery here in the U.S.; Joseph Wambaugh discusses his Hollywood Hills series, which may be made into a TV series; and an interview with Brad Thor about his latest book, The Athena Project.
Happy holidays!
