Book info

• Title Bloodland
• Author Alan Glynn
• Year 2011
• Genre Thriller

A private security contractor loses it in the Congo, with deadly consequences, while in Ireland the ex-prime minister struggles to write his memoir. A tabloid star is killed in a helicopter crash and three years later a young journalist is warned off the story. As a news story breaks in Paris, a US senator prepares his campaign to run for office. What links these things and who controls what we know?

Thoughts

This is a sequel to Winterland, or in reality, it’s not so much a sequel as another story with a couple of the same characters and a few mentions of what went before. That isn’t a bad thing though, it’s perfect for anyone that didn’t read Winterland, and as someone who has, it’s nice to get those little nods towards the events in the previous book.

Bloodland very much stands up in its own right, though, a conspiracy that winds itself tighter and tighter, with a young journalist doing his best to unravel all the strings. We’re taken on the journey with the journalist, but also get glimpses into the lives and worlds of the other protagonists, those in power, those doing good and those who care little for the effect they have on the world around them.

It’s a good book, snippily written with short sentences to keep a brisk pace, and keep the tension up. The only negative is it felt like all the men in power were obsessed with when they’d get their next whiskey fix, and all had knots in their stomach that may or may not be medical issues. Perhaps all people in power are like that, but it made it slightly hard to keep in check who was who, particularly at the start. That’s a small negative in what was a cracking read, however.

Rating: 4 / 5