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lonelygirlbookclub's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, War, Blood, Gore, Colonisation, and Classism
siria's review against another edition
dark
informative
tense
3.75
Reading Killing Thatcher brought home to me just how much has changed on this island in the quarter century since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, and also just how determined the Brits were to fuck it all up again by voting for Brexit. Cheery!
Anyway, Rory Carroll here produces a fairly tightly focused, journalistic account of the notorious Brighton Bombing in 1984 and the lead-up to it. If Margaret Thatcher—then Tory PM of the U.K., and like her contemporary Ronald Reagan the architect of an awful lot of modern economic and social suffering—had spent a minute or two longer in the bathroom of her hotel suite, she would have been more directly caught in the blast and might well have been killed. Carroll mostly eschews the "what ifs" of the scenario, and only occasionally speculates about the things that are still unknown. (How much did Gerry Adams know in advance, and how much did he greenlight.) He focuses instead on the players involved, the event itself, and the investigative aftermath. Carroll is at his best in describing the brutal horror of the explosion and the destruction it wrought.
Anyway, Rory Carroll here produces a fairly tightly focused, journalistic account of the notorious Brighton Bombing in 1984 and the lead-up to it. If Margaret Thatcher—then Tory PM of the U.K., and like her contemporary Ronald Reagan the architect of an awful lot of modern economic and social suffering—had spent a minute or two longer in the bathroom of her hotel suite, she would have been more directly caught in the blast and might well have been killed. Carroll mostly eschews the "what ifs" of the scenario, and only occasionally speculates about the things that are still unknown. (How much did Gerry Adams know in advance, and how much did he greenlight.) He focuses instead on the players involved, the event itself, and the investigative aftermath. Carroll is at his best in describing the brutal horror of the explosion and the destruction it wrought.
cakeandbooks1970's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.0
rhyzkneez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I can tell this book was well researched, and that quite a lot of thought went into describing the settings & main (and even majorly side!) characters. My main motivation to read this book was to learn more about Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Thatcher (I’ve been watching too much Peaky Blinders and The Crown lately…) While I did not love the book (and admittedly I did have to skim some sections), it fulfill my interest in learning more about those topics, and left me interested enough to finish the book out.
msholden's review against another edition
3.0
Clearly well researched and lots of effort, and paints a meticulous picture of the Brighton bombing, but uneven — based on title, I expected more depth around the political impact, and that section felt rushed and underdeveloped / under researched, especially compared to the rest of the book. Length might have been the challenge here, too. Not regretting reading it but wish it had lived up to what it could’ve been.
lyonsmw's review against another edition
5.0
“There Will Be Fire” by Rory Carroll is one of the best books of 2023. A riveting read from the first page. The detail throughout the book is impressive. It compels you to take a look at The Troubles in a new lens. Terrific book!