First published 2019
In 1972, Jean McConville, a mother of ten, was dragged from her Belfast home by masked intruders. Her abduction was one of the most notorious acts of the Troubles, a brutal conflict that tore Northern Ireland apart. As the case goes unsolved for decades, it becomes a window into the paranoia, vengeance, and trauma that defined the era. Weaving together the stories of I.R.A. members, British spies, and McConville's own children, this gripping narrative illuminates the heavy cost of a war that could never be won.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, crime, non-fiction, 21st-century, true-crime
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Northern Ireland, Belfast, Ireland, London, John J. Burns Library, Boston College, Europe
Period: December 1972, 2003, 2013
560 pages · Paperback · Vintage
Content warnings: death, violence