BKMT READING GUIDES
Collusion: A Jack Lennon Investigation Set in Northern Ireland
by Stuart Neville
Hardcover : 384 pages
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Praise for Stuart Neville:
"Neville's novel is a coldly lucid assessment of the fragility of the Irish peace . . . a rare example of legitimate noir fiction."--The New York Times Book Review
"Stuart Neville belongs to a younger generation of writers for whom the region's darkest years are ...
Introduction
Praise for Stuart Neville:
"Neville's novel is a coldly lucid assessment of the fragility of the Irish peace . . . a rare example of legitimate noir fiction."--The New York Times Book Review
"Stuart Neville belongs to a younger generation of writers for whom the region's darkest years are history?but that history endures, as his first novel, The Ghosts of Belfast, shockingly demonstrates. . . . This noir thriller plays out in a Belfast that, even in summer sunshine, remains oppressively gray. The clannishness of its inhabitants is vividly evoked. . . . A riot scene, one of the novel's best, captures a new generation's appetite for blood and an old veteran's nostalgia. . . . In scene after gruesome scene, Neville attempts to persuade us that this time around, with this repentant murderer, the killing is different."--The Washington Post
"Neville's tightly wound, emotionally resonant account of an ex-IRA hit man's struggle to conquer his past, displays an acute understanding of the true state of Northern Ireland, still under the thumb of decades of violence and terrorism."--Los Angeles Times
"Stuart Neville is Ireland's answer to Henning Mankell."--Ken Bruen
"The Ghosts of Belfast is a tale of revenge and reconciliation shrouded in a bloody original crime thriller. . . . Brilliant."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Neville's debut novel is tragic, violent, exciting, plausible, and compelling. . . . The Ghosts of Belfast is dark, powerful, insightful, and hard to put down."--Booklist
When Detective Inspector Jack Lennon tries to track down his former lover Marie McKenna and their daughter, his superiors tell him to back off. But now an assassin stalks Belfast, tying up loose ends for a vengeance-driven old man. As Lennon unravels a conspiracy that links his daughter to a killer named Fegan, the line between friend and enemy blurs.
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE"We're being followed," Eugene McSorley said. The Ford Focus crested the rise, weightless for a moment, and thudded hard back onto the tarmac. Its eight-year-old suspension did little to cushion the impact. McSorley kept his eyes on the rear-view mirror, the silver Skoda Octavia lost behind the hill he'd just sped over. It had been tailing them along the narrow country road since they crossed the border into the North. ...
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Discussion Questions
From the Publisher:1) Policing in Northern Ireland is uniquely political given the country's troubled history, and the role of the police force within that. How, if at all, does the book address this?
2) How important is the geographical setting of the novel? Does it help differentiate COLLUSION from other crime novels? If so, how?
3) Detective Inspector Jack Lennon is a severely flawed character, with many unsympathetic traits. But does he gain the reader's sympathy over the course of the story? Is it surprising that Gerry Fegan, a mass murderer, can perhaps seem more sympathetic on the page than a policeman with commitment issues?
4) A significant portion of the book is told from the primary villain's point of view. Is it fun to see the world through such a despicable person's eyes? Or would you rather stay with the good guys?
5) As was the case with the author's first novel, THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, the line between good guy and bad guy in COLLUSION is often blurred. Is this kind of ambiguity in a novel a good thing, or should the line between good and evil be more clearly defined?
Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
Note from the Author: When I finished my debut novel, THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, I was left wondering about something that is seldom addressed in fiction, whether on the page or screen: What happens to those left behind? While the first book did leave some loose ends ripe for tying up in the sequel, I was also curious how the people who survived the bloody climax would live in the aftermath, and how the authorities would deal with it. And what if an officer of those authorities had a very personal connection to the events? When Detective Inspector Jack Lennon was mentioned in passing as the father of one of the characters in THE GHOSTS OF BELFAST, I had no idea he would then form the backbone of my next book, COLLUSION, published this fall by Soho Crime. Lennon tries to track down his former lover Marie McKenna and their daughter, but his superiors tell him to back off. Now an assassin stalks Belfast, tying up loose ends for a vengeance-driven old man. As Lennon unravels a conspiracy that links his daughter to a haunted killer named Gerry Fegan, the line between friend and enemy blurs.Book Club Recommendations
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