First things first.
I’m posting this a few days before the book’s release
because if you like the sound of it you’ll still be able to pick up a cheap
copy. It’ll be 85p or $1.32 (including tax) if you pick one up before Thursday
when Undercover will be released to the
world.
Mr Brennan was kind enough to send me a copy when he saw
that I’d pre-ordered. Thanks, sir.
“There’s no ‘I’ in team. There’s an ‘M’ and an ‘E’ though.
In fact, it’s an anagram of ‘ta me’ as in who you should pass it to if you want
to win.” Rory Cullen, CULLEN: The Autobiography
Undercover opens with an
uncomfortable scene in a hostage situation. Cormac Kelly is in the unenviable
position of being an undercover police officer who has infiltrated the gang who
have kidnapped a father and his teenage son. It stretches Kelly’s humanity to
watch the treatment of the victims at the hands of the bunch of thugs he has to
work for and it’s clearly not going to end well for someone. It might be easier
for him to cope if the young boy who has been taken could just accept the
situation, but his reactions are spirited and strong and happen to put him in a
more precarious position than he needs to be.
The mother (Lydia Gallagher) of the kidnapped pair is a feisty
lady who doesn’t find it easy to keep her mouth shut when faced with
connections of the men responsible. She also happens to be the agent of Rory
Cullen, the new signing of Manchester City Football Club. Cullen’s a course,
vain man who happens to be a great striker. He’s on tour trying to sell his
autobiography. With his Northern Irish nationality it’s easy for the press to
make comparisons between Cullen and George Best. Cullen doesn’t make too many
of those comparisons himself – he basically feels he’s better than Best (if grammar
will allow that to be).
When Cormac Kelly can take no more of the hostage situation,
he takes radical steps. This leads him to be on the hit-list of the mob and
also as a target for the police, who believe he has gone rogue.
What follows is a thrilling ride through the streets of
Belfast and London. It’s fast paced and exciting and the twists and turns of
the plot are cleverly handled by the author. One can never be quite sure where
Kelly is going next and the way the cleverness and experience of the man
contrast with his reckless nature constantly add drama to the story. If that
weren’t enough, a mercenary security expert, bent coppers and remnants of the
IRA really ratchet up the tension.
Not only is this a tense read, it also has some of Brennan’s
trademarks in there to ensure that it is not simply any old police thriller.
This is layered with humour, dark as well as witty, and there’s a great quality
to the observation of people and place throughout.
Each chapter opens with a wonderful quote from the Cullen
autobiography. These snippets are so well-written that if the autobiography
were ever to be published, I’d be the first in the queue to get mine.
This one’s a fabulous read and is a very worthy addition to
the already bejewelled Blasted Heath list. Super stuff.
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