Bloodland, by Alan Glynn

Faber and Faber, €13.99; Kindle £6.66

BESTSELLING author Alan Glynn is garnering a reputation for unpredictable thrillers, and Bloodland is no exception.

His first novel, The Dark Fields, was recently adapted for the big screen and released as Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.

There’s no doubt that Bloodland could stand up to similar Hollywood treatment.

Rooted firmly in the here and now, it is a tightly plotted thriller set in Dublin, London, Verona, New York and the Congo and featuring everything from a dead tabloid celebrity to an alcoholic Irish ex-prime minister and a seemingly heroic wannabe US presidential candidate.

The guy who finds himself at the heart of it all is Jimmy Gilroy, an unemployed journalist who is definitely the star turn of this book.

Occasionally the storyline is a little too dense to follow easily, but overall this is an absorbing read.