Home Books Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Spies, M…

Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland

Four Shots in the Night: A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland

by Henry Hemming

PublicAffairs ·2024 ·368 pages
Best of 2024
Top of the Pile
Top of the Pile
I Index
85/99
Top of the Pile

98/99

Critics' Rating Index

Near the Top

72/99

Readers' Rating Index

n/a

Scholars' Citation Index

77/99

Volume of Reviews

68/99

Volume of Reader Ratings

Sign in to add to your shelf, rate, or review this book.


About This Book

Four Shots in the Night is the story of the killing of Frank Hegarty, an IRA member turned British informant. The search for justice for Hegarty's death—his body found in broad daylight, with tape over his eyes, an undisguised hit—would deliver more than the truth. It exposed Hegarty's 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 Hegarty's death but of his role in the decades-long conflict that defined him--the Troubles. 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?


Reviews

"Hemming's book is an evenhanded account of the clandestine murders that still haunt so many."

John Knight· The New York Times Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"A mind-bending deep dive into a shadowy world of government secrets."

Publishers Weekly Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"A riveting tale of bad guys all around, engaging from start to finish."

Kirkus Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"The 41 short, crisp, screenplay-like chapters in this superb and chilling book constitute a sordid thriller."

Ray Burke· The Irish Times Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Hemming artfully unspools this complex tale with the skill of a suspense novelist ..."

Anne Bartlett· BookPage Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"The best book about the Troubles since Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing ..."

Michael O\'Donnell· The Wall Street Journal Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

"Gripping and consistently surprising ..."

Alexander Larman· The Guardian Read review ↗ Top of the Pile

Preview


Reader Reviews

0 reviews

Sign in to write a review.

No reader reviews yet. Be the first!