The Bombmaker
Author: Stephen Leather
Publisher: Hodder
ISBN: 9780340689561
Year Published: 2000
The book starts off with a scene of two Belfast terrorists trying to blow up the underground tunnel by placing a bomb at the entrance. Unfortunately, the bomb was discovered by a group of four children playing football nearby. When one of them accidentally kicked the ball that landed at the mouth of the tunnel, he ran over to pick up the ball, followed by the others. One of the kids saw a blue holdall nearby. He grabbed it and opened it just when the terrorists detonated the bomb. The story then moves to 10 years later where expert IRA bomb maker turned police informant, Andrea Hayes who has retired and started a new life after the four school-children were killed by one of the bombs she made. She suddenly finds her past catches up with her.
Her blissful home life is shattered when her daughter, Katie, was abducted from her bedroom in the dead of night. Andrea later discovers a ransom note, instructing her to leave her husband Martin behind and fly to London by herself. The note also states that if the police are contacted, she and Martin will never see Katie again. In the hope of being reunited with Katie, Andrea follows the orders and instructions to meet with the kidnappers.
Back in Dublin, Martin is powerless to help and becomes frantic with worry when he learns from Andrea that no ransom demand has been made, and instead, the kidnappers' request is something much more dangerous and outrageous. She is asked to build a new bomb that dwarfs any used by the IRA by a faceless mastermind who is working behind the scenes to pull off one of the most daring scams in history.
What will Andrea do now that she is caught in this predicament? Will she comply with her captors’ wishes or will she defy them and face the consequences of not seeing her daughter and husband?
And her thoughts and priorities are on how to get her daughter released safely.
Once again, Stephen Leather offers the readers another one of his explosive thrillers that will keep them glued to the pages till the end.
This bestselling novel from the author has been made into a movie.
*Check out Stephen Leather's bio @ Biography.
