Four Shots in the Night

A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland

De: Henry Hemming

Narrado por: Jamie Parker, Henry Hemming

Four Shots in the Night is the story of a political murder: the killing of an IRA member turned British informant.

The search for justice for this one man's death—his body found in broad daylight, with tape over his eyes, an undisguised hit—would deliver more than the truth. It exposed his status as an informant and led to protests, campaigns, far-reaching changes to British law, a historic ruling from a senior judicial body, a ground-breaking police investigation, and bitter condemnation from a US Congressional commission. And there have been persistent rumors that one of the country’s most senior politicians, the Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness, might have been personally involved in this particular murder.

Relying on archival research, interviews, and the findings of a new complete police investigation, Four Shots in the Night tells a riveting story not just of this murder but of his role in the decades-long conflict that defined him—the Troubles. And the questions it tackles are even larger: how did the Troubles really come to an end? Was it a feat of diplomatic negotiation, as we've been told—or did spies play the decisive role? And how far can, or should, a spy go, for the good of his country? Four Shots in the Night is a page-turner that will make you think.

©2024 Henry Hemming (P)2024 PublicAffairs

Reseñas de la Crítica

"One of the most compelling books I've read in a very long time. An absolutely extraordinary tale of secret intelligence, infiltration and murder, FOUR SHOTS is a brilliantly pieced-together psychological drama that is all the more gripping—and unsettling—for being real rather than fiction. The story is expertly woven together, exploring the characters and motivations of the four main characters into a truly page-turning, compulsive and also profoundly moving narrative. Superb."—James Holland

"Gripping, urgent, superbly reported and brilliantly written. Henry Hemming unfolds a true story of violence, politics and spycraft that sits right at the edge of journalism and history."—Dan Jones

"Both a sinewy spy thriller and a wider history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Four Shots in the Night is edge-of-seat stuff: beautifully crafted, shrewdly observed, frighteningly immersive and utterly compelling."—Jessie Childs

The story

Lived during this time saw it on the news being from the US it never really hit home
Powerful listen

Great summary of the dirty war in the Irish - British conflict

This book perhaps given the recency of the writing does a nice job of pulling together other similar investigations into the undercover war in Ireland. Of course it has the usual pro British slant focused on IRA accountability while of course no such effort on the already much discredited British shadow forces who did indeed have a license to kill its fellow citizens. But worth reading.

THE “ TROUBLES”: Peace…at What Cost?

Fascinating narrative. Reads like fiction yet maintains a superb emotional intricacy. They knew one another, spied on each other and killed for each other other.