Michael McLaverty, a teacher by profession, was born in Monaghan in 1904 and spent most of his working life teaching in Belfast. "Truth in the Night" was first published in 1952 and is set on Rathlin, an island just off Ireland's north coast.

Martin Gallagher was born and raised on Rathlin, though - having spent sixteen years based in Belfast and working on coal ships - has only recently returned to the island. He has now bought back his father's old house along with a bit of land for farming from what money he managed to save. Martin proves to be a decent, honourable and kind man, and Rathlin is somewhere he sees the best of things - both in the scenery and in the people. He's unmarried and has no family, though there is a new arrival, of sorts, pending. James Rainey, a fifteen year old brought up in an orphanage, is coming to stay with him - though there doesn't seem to be any hint of an actual adoption.

One of Martin's near neighbours is Vera Reilly who, unlike Martin, was born and raised on the mainland. Vera moved to the island thirteen years previously when she got married to Tom. Unfortunately, she's now been widowed for two years and shares her house only with her daughter, Mary. Vera's views on the island are the mirror image of Martin's : she views Rathlin as a prison and dreams of escaping to Belfast. She feels very much the outsider, though it's largely her own choice to keep everyone around her at arms length - particularly her in-laws, who live nearby. (For Vera, that actually appears civil : she's hasn't spoken to her own parents or brothers in years). However, in spite of all that, there's somehow a hint of romance blossoming between herself and Martin...

I was a little disappointed with "Truth in the Night" - while I love McLaverty's style of writing, the story just wasn't in the same league as "Call My Brother Back". Vera also presented a problem : at the book's beginning, she was a hard-hearted, self-centred, spiteful snob - and I found no reason to believe she was any different when the book ended. (Tom - Vera's deceased ex-husband, didn't actually appear in the book, though I suspect he was a very clever man. Given the choice between dying and continuing to live with Vera, I'd say he made the right choice). Worth reading - though McLaverty has done better.

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