Anthony J. Quinn – Turncoat

‘Turncoat’ by Anthony J. Quinn is a literary thriller set in 1994 in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Troubles are slowly winding down, but that does not mean there is no violence now, far from it.

Detective Desmond Maguire is the only survivor from a sting went wrong. The biggest issue is, Maguire set up the sting on the word of an informant ‘Ruby’, and she has disappeared. Maguire knows the onus lies with him and he is under suspicion so he goes in search of Ruby. This leads him to the island of Lough Derg ad the pilgrims there that call it home.

The story takes an unsettling turn when Maguire arrives on Lough Derg. The author using his writing to deftly weave an account of the paranoia that Maguire experiences there, being the outsider and treated with distrust.
It is not an easy, light read, but how could that be expected when the Irish Troubles are involved. This country has suffered for so long this book is only like the tip of an iceberg. A period of darkness for Ireland as whole, North and South.

The issues of religion, corruption, mistrust and betrayal brought to the fore in this emotive and compelling book. One that I will remember for all the right reasons.

Thanks to Random Things Tours and No Exit Press for my copy of this intense book for me to give you my thoughts today.