CELTIC TIGERS EAT PEOPLE

I have just started to read In The Woods by Tana French, and although I am usually intimidated by 600 page books that have not been written by Jo Nesbo, this one is gradually seducing me.

Tana French writes with enticing beauty and describes every little detail of the locations and characters. She also, like Ken Bruen and Declan Burke, is blunt and honest about the harsh corrupt world in which we live.

I particularly liked these passages:

"We are going to have to find out who has a serious stake in that motorway going through Knocknaree."

"Which means fucking about with property developers and County Councils," said O'Kelly...........

Corruption is taken for granted, even grudgingly admired:..............And a huge amount of the corruption centres on that primal, cliched Irish passion, land.

Property developers and politicians are traditionally bosom buddies, and just about every major land deal involves brown envelopes and inexplicable re-zoning and complicated transactions through offshore accounts.

Not only in Ireland I am afraid!