The Covenant by Jeff Gulvin, (Orion, £9.99)

FASTEN your seatbelts for a rip-roarin' rollercoaster ride of international terrorism, espionage, murder involving American white-supremacists storing arms and explosives for the great uprising. Washington is being terrorised by bombs placed by a fanatically-methodical terrorist.

The terrorist tentacles reach out to London, Afghanistan, Paris, the Pentagon and the dusty railyards of Louisiana where gangs of hobos are running explosives for the white militias who fear America is about to be overrun by covert Chinese troops.

FBI agent Johnny Harrison goes deep undercover to tackle the merciless hobos who have been murdering innocent down-and-out freight train riders just for the hell of it.

But how does it all link up with the Washington bomber and why is the fanatic killing and maiming people with such seemingly motive-less callousness?

When Jack Swann from Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist squad is called into bring his anti-IRA expertise into play the chilling pieces of the murderous jigsaw begin to fit in to place.

Gulvin has drawn on his many contacts and friends within Special Branch and the FBI to produce this gripping tale of terrorism intrigue.

It is so meticulously researched that at times I felt I was reading fact not fiction.

While researching The Covenant, Gulvin met a so-called US Patriot who threatened to kill him after suspecting him of being an undercover FBI agent.

Gulvin says: "In the same sentence he told me his church was praying for me and that he was going to cut my throat."

He adds: "If you want your books to be authentic, you need to live them a bit."

He certainly did and you will be pleased he lived to tell the tale. This book is compelling.

Read it before Hollywood gets its hands on it and hypes up the understated, but undeniable, excitement with guns, gore and greed.