ACTS OF ALLEGIANCE

Cunningham's novels are said to fuse political material with psychological realism and a lyrical sensitivity to place. This novel is a wonderful brew of politics, family, violence, love and betrayal and it is intricately structured, taking us on a devastating tour past the landmark events of the Troubles, through Bloody Sunday and centres around one man's conflicted self and his search for his father. Paris, May 1969. Irish diplomat Marty Ransom has been asked by Minister of Finance Charles Haughey to become a go-between with the new IRA faction in the North where Marty's cousin Ignatius is a key player. But Marty is secretly reporting to MI5 in Dublin, playing a deadly game that will force him to choose between the past and all he holds dear. A wonderful novel about an Irishman who spies for the British in the modern era and a moving portrait of human nature tucked into a thriller. 275pp, paperback.