A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland
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Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2024
368 pages
Genre: History, Current Affairs and Religion
Publication Information
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.
"A swift-paced exposé of the Northern Irish Troubles and the fraught interactions among British intelligence and the Irish Republican...A riveting tale of bad guys all around, engaging from start to finish." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[R]iviting...[A] mind-bending deep dive into a shadowy world of government secrets." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Meticulously researched and brought to life with the finesse of a first-class storyteller, Four Shots in the Night is an absolutely gripping tale of murder, The Troubles, and the good and bad that lurks inside us all. I was in its thrall from the first page to the last." ―Charlotte Philby, author of A Double Life
"A superb portrait of the Troubles ... Gripping and revelatory." ―Saul David
"If another book has been written that has zoomed in so closely on the relationship between handler and agent, I have yet to find it. A not-so-chance meeting on an isolated Road to Perdition ends in ultimate destruction for one of the parties. What began in silence morphs into staccato, as Four Shots in the Night enters the brain of a once lonesome dog walker. Henry Hemming with sublime clarity peels away an opaque film allowing the reader to stare through a humane window into the horrendous world of espionage." ―Anthony McIntyre, author of Good Friday
This information about Four Shots in the Night was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Henry Hemming is the author of seven books, including Agents of Influence, Agent M, and The Ingenious Mr. Pyke, which landed on the New York Times monthly espionage bestseller list. He has written for The Economist, FT Magazine and The Washington Post, and has given interviews on Radio 4's Today Programme and NBC's Today Show.
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