The film of his first novel, Divorcing Jack, will have brought this Northern thriller writer to the attention of a wider audience; this, however, is Colin Bateman's fifth novel, and he has moved out of the "wacky Irish" pigeonhole and into a category of his own. The "Irish" content in Maid of the Mist is well down the mix - set in Canada, it features a convention of international drug dealers, an out-of-control rock star, a Georgian hooker, a clutch of native Americans and, last but certainly not least, a cop who fled the RUC after a spot of trouble of the shoot-to-kill variety - although only an Irish writer, surely, would have named an IRA leader-turned-drug-baron Tar McAdam. An easygoing, amiable read.
Maid of the Mist, by Colin Bateman (HarperCollins, 10.99 in UK)
The film of his first novel, Divorcing Jack, will have brought this Northern thriller writer to the attention of a wider audience…
Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
Sign up for push alerts to get the best breaking news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
Listen to In The News podcast daily for a deep dive on the stories that matter