I usually do not like action war books, but The Tick Tock Man, by Terence Strong (Mandarin, £5.99 in UK), was different. The story is not told from any viewpoint and the reader is left to make up his or her own mind on the rights or wrongs. It is about an IRA bombing campaign in London. There are secret peace talks going on that do not include the IRA. The bomb-maker is an expert at deadly, cunning, booby-trapped bombs. Finally, London brings in an expert from Northern Ireland whom the Press call the Tick Tock Man. The tension of dismantling a bomb and the descriptions of a bomb exploding make this a thrilling, exciting and informative book.