Dear Great Book Guru, Last weekend my family gathered for a fabulous Mother’s Day celebration on our front lawn.  Book recommendations were flying wildly and one novel sounded particularly interesting…but I can’t remember the title.  It was set in present-day Belfast and the main characters were two sisters. Any thoughts?  Baffled by Belfast

Dear Baffled by Belfast, NORTHERN SPY by Flynn Berry is the book for sure, and it is a great choice indeed! Our narrator is Tessa, a recently divorced, new mother who has just returned to work at the Belfast offices of the BBC.  She looks with horror and disbelief on the news screen as she sees her sister Marian take part in a holdup orchestrated by the IRA. While both are Catholic, neither woman has been involved in the political and religious conflict that has consumed Northern Ireland for decades. While peace has nominally been declared, violence breaks out sporadically and the citizenry lives in constant fear.  Soon Tessa is drawn into a world of internecine intrigue to protect her infant son and sister.  Approached by both the British police and IRA rebels, she soon realizes she can trust no one as informers are revealed to be counter spies and counter-counter spies.  The more likable and sincere her contacts are, the more likely they are to be lying.  In the end, she realizes she can trust no one and the reader is left to wonder if we can trust Tessa herself.  Highly recommended!