A Traitor in the Family's ring of authenticity has a lack of realism

Genuine moments of superb tension with some deft plot twists

Crime Fiction: A Traitor in the Family, By Nicholas Searle, Viking, €14.95

This thriller by Nicholas Searle (following his acclaimed debut The Good Liar) opens at Christmas 1989 as two contrasting scenarios unfold.

As he sits unnoticed in an anonymous car at a German ferry terminal, Francis O’Neill – a calculating, highly trained IRA operative – checks and rechecks every detail of his mission to cold-bloodedly murder a German-based British soldier about to ...