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

NOW UPDATED WITH A NEW CHAPTERHOW THE DEATH OF A SPY IN THE IRA LED TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST MURDER INVESTIGATIONS IN BRITISH HISTORYHistorical Writers’ Association Non-Fiction Crown Winner 2024Top 10 Irish Non-Fiction bestseller, April 2024 ‘A truly page-turning, compulsive and also profoundly moving narrative.’ – JAMES HOLLAND ‘Gripping, urgent, superbly reported and brilliantly written’ – DAN JONES On 26th May 1986, the body of an undercover British agent was found by the side of a muddy lane, with a rope tied around its wrists and tape over each eye. Years later, it was reported that this murder might have been carried out by another undercover British agent, known as ‘Stakeknife’. In 2016, a detective began to investigate this case, and would soon find himself running the largest murder investigation in British history.

In a compulsive blend of investigative journalism and true crime thriller, Henry Hemming exposes the parallel worlds of the IRA and British intelligence through the lives of those inextricably bound up in both. He reveals the bravery of those who were crucial in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the bloodiest and longest-running conflict in recent British history, and the determination of one detective in his dogged search for justice and the truth. ‘Superb’ – Irish Times ‘Compelling’ – The Times ‘Gripping’ – Observer ‘Exciting, at times astonishing’ – New York Times’A gripping and pacey book that reads like a thriller.

I found it shocking in a world where I didn’t think I could be shocked any more. Henry Hemming wears his extensive research very lightly and manages to shape a great narrative from a complex and dark episode from our recent history. An important and skilfully crafted book.’ – JOHN O’FARRELL’The best book about the Troubles since Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing .

. . outstanding reporting and an unflinching focus on the facts at hand’ – Wall Street Journal