The second book from Stuart Neville Collusion continues the story of the violence in North Ireland during the “peace”. It is a bit different from the first (Ghosts of Belfast my review:

http://www.jackreidy.com/blog/2010/10/29/the-ghosts-of-belfast-by-stuart-neville/).

I liked both books. And although both were very violent, the violence hit me differently. I’m not sure why. I think it was because much of Ghosts was about a killer and the violence seems to fit naturally. But Collusion was perhaps less violent overall (I didn’t count the torture and death scenes) and more of a exploration of inner conflicts, right and wrong, and justice.

Much of this is done through the character of Jack Lennon. He was briefly mentioned in Ghosts (perhaps not by name) but here he is the center of attention. An Irish Catholic, he joined the Northern Irish Police because he thought it was the right thing to do and 15 years later is still struggling with the consequences of that decision (and with his Protestant superiors). The internal conflicts in Jack Lennon character are interesting and this book does an excellent job of presenting them. I hope to see him more in future books.

Other than one critical showdown near the end which I thought was overdone, it was a very good read. But the overdone business is just my taste. Another reviewer has a different take on this, see:
http://fionnchu.blogspot.com/2010/10/stuart-nevilles-collusion-book-review.html

If you have a kindle, you may want to consider the option of getting both books in kindle format.