Unholy Ground — John Brady

When Arthur Combs is found murdered in his cottage just outside Dublin, police think he must have surprised a burglar. The 73-year-old expatriate retiree lived a solitary existence with few friends, but no enemies. Or so it seems when Detective Sergeant Minogue is assigned to the case. Minogue wonders why the cottage was so desperately ransacked and notes that there is an almost paramilitary precision in the way Combs was strangled. As the investigation gains momentum it becomes clear that this “terribly ordinary man” is of extraordinary interest to British intelligence. When MI5 tries to put a lid on the Combs affair they underestimate the tenacity of the unorthodox but brilliant detective. Even if it means going up against the prime minister herself, Minogue is determined to discover what Britain's spymasters are doing in Dublin.