Stephen Leather - The Bombmaker

review by Brian Lowen on show 16th Feb
This is the second book that I have read written by Stephen Leather and this is just as good as the first one.
Ten years ago, Andrea Hayes was the best master bombmaker in the business. Young, beautiful and deadly, she was the favourite of her Irish Republican masters, but what they didn’t know was that she was a double agent.
Then things all went wrong – five children were killed when all that was intended was some minor disruption. That was too much for her to bear and she turned away from her trade.
Now a new Andrea lives a safe suburban life, with her loving husband and young daughter, safe in the knowledge that her past is all behind her. But then her daughter is kidnapped and she is blackmailed into building a huge bomb to be exploded in the business centre of London. Her husband, fearful of going to the police because of the danger to his daughter and not knowing of Andrea’s past is left completely perplexed as to what is going on.
Andrea manages to leave a vital clue for her husband, Martin, and that is the name of her former minder and his phone number.
And so the hunt for the terrorists gets underway. Can they find the location of the bomb before it is set off and can they do this before their daughter Katie’s life is forfeited?
This is a remarkably good thriller that keeps you enthralled from beginning to end with realistic situations and good build up of characters.
Thoroughly recommended.