Set against the current British and Irish political landscape, "Yours Confidentially" follows Assemblyman Shay Gallagher's attempts to win the Westminster seat of the man he's suspected of murdering.

The story unfolds through a series of letters written by the central characters who – such is their paranoia of MI5 and their political opponents – no longer trust electronic devices and will only communicate through shreddable paper.

Unfortunately, though, Gallagher has never bothered to switch on his shredder, and he soon winds up trapped in a paper trail of his own making.

"I got the inspiration for the book after reading 'The Eagle's Throne' by Carlos Fuentes a few year's back, " Garbhan told the 'Journal'.

That book is told in an epistolary form as well and deals with a corrupt Mexican presidency in a time when the Americans have cut off all forms of electronic communication so they have to revert to the old fashioned quill and pen.

"Knowing that we, as a nation, have a great letter writing history, it seemed the perfect way to delve into the story of this ambitious assemblyman," he added.

Garbhan said the book was almost natural follow on from his book 'Secret Diary of a Suspended MLA' - which was described by the Sunday Times as "the best Northern Ireland political novel of the century".

Commentary

"That book was written as diary entries, tied together with the commentary and observation of Tommy "Bowtie" McGinlay - a lawyer best placed to look at things from the outside. He's back in 'Your's Confidentially' in the same role. So while writing a book that's a little less conventional in style, it was easy enough to tie all the threads together."

Not to be dismissed as a book purely about politics, Garbahn said the book is essentially a crime story which unfolds through Gallagher's letters.

"It's about power, ambition, greed and money. There are many layers - the murder of an MP, love affairs, all told against a political back drop. The fact that there is reference to the modern political process in Northern Ireland just adds to it all."

The novel is also thickly laced with humour. "Northern Irish politics have been beaten to death in the comedy stakes, but this is more about the humour in one man's attempt to play it straight in a world where corruption seems rife."

Gallagher's lawyer and spiritual advisor, the infamous Tommy Bow-Tie, reckons the very best you can hope for is to be about 90 percent straight. But when you're dealing with murderous ex-paramilitaries, blackmailing developers, poisonous journalists and a posse of amoral admirers, even 90 percent could be a tall order. And that's before you start looking for the spies in your camp.

"While the humour is there, there is also a healthy dose of comment.