There Will Be Fire - Rory Carroll

 There Will Be Fire:Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes that Changed History - Rory Carroll

Publication Date: April 4, 2023

She read; he will read

This is the true account of the 1984 attempt on the life of Margaret Thatcher by the IRA.  A bomb was planted at the Grand Hotel in Brighton where she was attending a Conservative conference.  Thatcher was spared, but five people died and many were injured, some maimed for life.  In telling the story, Carroll goes into the history behind the Irish fight for freedom and significant events in this history including the assassination of Mountbatten as well as the hunger strike that resulted in the deaths of some of the IRA prisoners. He recounts the intricate investigation into the Brighton bomb and search for the perpetrators, as well as the background of the bomber and other members of the IRA.  Finally, he theorizes how Thatcher’s survival shaped modern politics.  

This is a very detailed, yet thrilling account of events in history.  I found the story fascinating. I also liked the historical perspective going back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 (“remember remember the fifth of November”).

I loved Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing; A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland and recommended it to many friends. I think this book ranks up there with Keefe’s and will certainly recommend it.  Researching and writing this book was an ambitious project and Carroll provides a thorough retelling while maintaining reader interest throughout.  Don’t let the fact that this is nonfiction scare you…it reads like a novel. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #GPPutnumssonsbooks #Penguin

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