Set in the post-conflict Northern Ireland, Siren is a fantastic thriller novel which elegantly plays with the struggle for truth and authenticity in a society not yet at peace with itself. Roisin Burns returns to Ireland to face 'old secrets and cover-ups', aiming at revealing the real face of a politician with more than a dark secret.
Her mission is not only difficult psychologically, but life threatening too, endind up being caught again in a configuration of facts and events which it seems she never fully escaped. Involved without knowing in a honey trap, she is condemned to a life of compromises, psychological abuse and a future designed to obliterate the past.
The book can be considered both a psychological and a political thriller, as on one side it deals with the intricacies of guilt, indifference and psychological transformations, in a context of political crime and corruption. It is one of those novels which keeps you mentally alert, although the succession of events is rather smooth.
The reader expects from a page to another to read and find out more and the back and forth down on the memory lane is a very good way to do it. Every element of the novel seems to be carefully pondered and introduced exactly at the right time. For instance, the full story of Roisin, only suggested in the first quarter of the story, when the reader feels the need to better understand the context and the substance of the story. The ambiance is generally dark and the sentences are short, abrupt, creating the permanent tension mood. Only the background music of David Bowie can help to create a different mood, a hopeful one, longing for impossible countries and far away space journeys.
An excellent thriller debut covering a topic scarcely covered those days but still relevant for the political history of Europe.
Rating: 5 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
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