Beneath the surface by Jo Spain

Beneath the Surface by Jo Spain was one of the books I won earlier this year on GoodReads.
It starts with a grisly murder at Leinster House, the Irish seat of Parliament.
Ryan Finnegan, a political adviser to the Minister Aidan Blake, has been slaughtered while fleeing from his hunters.
Inspector Tom Reynolds and his team have to navigate the corridors of power and reveal dirty secrets before they find the killer. Almost everyone present at Leinster House on that evening could be potential murderers. There are so many people with their own agenda, all the way up to the highest political offices.

 The background of the thriller with all the party politics and unsavoury shenanigans is something Jo Spain delivers credibly and convincingly. Not surprising, as she has worked as a journalist and a party advisor on the economy in the Irish parliament.

I haven't read the first novel in the series - Search for a Bestseller - but it had great endorsements from the Irish authors and newspapers. Beneath the Surface works perfectly well as a standalone book.

I am not that interested in the Irish politics (sorry!), and after reading the first couple of chapters, I put the book away. I typically have a few books on the go, and knew I would return to it eventually. Glad that I did. It turned out to be a riveting read.
The corruption and sleaze in the higher echelons of power are not surprising really. We all know the value of empty election promises. It's not just the Irish politics.

I imagine this book would make a great base for a TV series, as it has all the right elements in it - murder, sex and dirty politics.