The ultras - Eoin McNamee

It is the 1970s and the covert war in Ireland is at its height. Intelligence and military agencies compete for assets along the Border, and their proxy assassins prowl the night. At the centre of events is the mythic figure of Captain Robert Nairac, the Special Forces operative who was to disappear while on active service in 1977, never to be found.Twenty-five years on and Blair Agnew, ex-Sergeant with a damaged past, looks back and tries to separate fact from fiction in a bid to lay his own ghosts to rest. But it is his teenage daughter who fully comprehends the deadly allure of the hidden.Eoin McNamee's startling new novel, based around the compelling and shadowy real-life figure of Robert Nairac, once again drives at the complex heart of post-war Ireland. A thrilling evocation of the world of men who find themselves operating in the dark and clandestine margins of society, and an exploration of ideas of perception, corruption, and murder, The Ultras bears all the hallmarks of McNamee's unique and compelling style.