Pray for Us Sinners. Patrick Taylor

Transcription

1 Pray for Us Sinners Patrick Taylor

2 Pray for Us Sinners Patrick Taylor Pray for Us Sinners Patrick Taylor An explosive novel set in 1974 Belfast! In 1974 Belfast, the official Irish Republican Army has lost its influence, and a more violent offshoot of it -- the Provisional IRA, or Provos -- has begun a campaign of terror, bombing indiscriminately and remorselessly with the sole purpose of making Ulster ungovernable. British army explosives expert Lieutenant Marcus Richardson is confident in his ability to prevent the Provos' damage until a home-made car bomb nearly takes his life. Recuperating in hospital, Richardson wonders how to get himself out of explosives work with his dignity intact. Major John Smith appears with the answer: one last mission, then an appointment to an elite branch of the armed services. The only catch is that the mission is far more dangerous than defusing ticking bombs. Richardson must assume the identity of a working-class Catholic, infiltrate the Belfast Provos and identify their top men. If the Provos have the slightest suspicion his story is false, he can be sure they'll dispose of him without a second thought. Richardson agrees and goes in -- but as he gets to know the killers he's meant to expose, he finds that the conflict over Ulster may not be as blac Pray for Us Sinners Details Date : Published September 15th 1999 by Insomniac Press ISBN : Author : Patrick Taylor Format : Paperback 305 pages Genre : Historical, Historical Fiction, Cultural, Ireland, Fiction, Thriller Download Pray for Us Sinners...pdf Read Online Pray for Us Sinners...pdf Download and Read Free Online Pray for Us Sinners Patrick Taylor

3 From Reader Review Pray for Us Sinners for online ebook Cphe says Set in Ireland in the early 1970's, it's a thought provoking thriller. The story of two men each fighting for Ireland in their own way. Marcus Richardson is a British bomb disposal expert who is nearly killed when dismantling a car bomb on the streets of Northern Ireland (shades of The Hurt Locker) When he recovers he is recruited, to infiltrate the Provisional IRA and find a mole who is in the high echelons of the Provos. He resurfaces as Mike Roberts an ex pat Irishman returned from Canada, his expertise with bombs, particularly Semtex is the key. David McCutcheon is a die hard Provo who has supplied bombs for the PIRA for years. Davy is old, tired and jaded he also has a crisis of conscience when a bomb he makes kills a young girl. He wants out but is willing to undertake one last mission, assemble a bomb of such magnitude that will ensure the Provisional IRA wins the war and removes the British from Irish soil forever. It's a fast paced thriller, with excellent characterisation and a wonderful feel for time and place. Both David and Marcus/Mike were well thought out characters with their frailities and strengths exposed. Each has second thoughts as to the veracity of their mission, purpose, but are torn by their duty to their cause. Plenty of action and attention to detail, it's not a pretty romanticised war. There is a romantic subplot that is bittersweet...there are no winners here. Well worth a look at. TinaMarie says Historic Fiction, the saying in Ireland there are no happy endings holds true for this very engaging book. Carmen says A story about two men against the background of the Irish Troubles in Ulster in the 1970's. Each man feels driven to do what they do, sacrificing love and family for honor. It doesn't end well for both of them. It does help put a face on the political situation that used to exist in Northern Ireland. Sarah says Marcus Richardson is from Ulster, but in the British Army. He's trained as a bomb disposal expert and is sent home to work undercover in the PIRA in Going undercover is hard, but he begins to understand a bit about why the working class Catholics hate the British. There is a lot of unexpected sympathy on both sides

4 of the religion coin in Ulster, and a feeling that the fight is almost over. Even the die-hard PIRAs aren't sure why they are bombing innocent people when it hasn't brought about the results they want. Not the most cheerful suspense crime novel, but the audio was worth it for all the different types of accents-- Belfast, hick Irish, Dublin, snooty boarding school British, and so on. Mary says much more serious than the O'Reilly doctor series since it is about the troubles in Ireland. The author creates sympathy for all the characters even though many of them are terrorists some of the time. The passion, the trauma, the ambivalence and the grief of civil war are all very real. Shelley Fearn says Taylor tells the story of Northern Ireland during the violent period of the 1970's. Marcus Richardson, an explosives expert in the British Army, is sent undercover to infiltrate the Provisional IRA when a bomb he is diffusing goes off and the army is able to proclaim him dead. On the other side is Davy MacCutcheon, an IRA bomb expert who has been fighting the British since his teen years. These two men's lives transect and intertwine within the backdrop of the "Irish troubles". A top notch thriller. Recommended for fans of historical novels as well. Patrick Taylor is the author of the Irish Country Doctor series. Sue Roselle says Fast paced novel about the "Troubles in Ireland" in Protagonist was LT in British Army who went undercover attempting to infiltrate the Provisional IRA are building bombs. He was told that he was to identify the leadership and the membership who are building bombs. Quickly paced mystery with well developed characters. John says It's not often I give five stars to a book, but Pray for Us Sinners deserves it. The characters were a step above who you usually meet in spy novels, there were a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and Taylor cuts to the chase. A British spy heads into Belfast to infiltrate the Provisional Irish Republican Army and ends up tangled up in a plot to assassinate the prime minister. Kudos to Taylor for an engaging, original thriller, especially the series of twists at the end that take the book in an unexpected, though realistic direction.

5 Dan Smith says An outstanding tale of two men during the troubles that hit Northern Ireland in about One man working to infiltrate the IRA to find out who is building the bombs and who is ordering the bombs.. another man, a bomb builder who struggles with the reality of killing innocents.. Patrick Taylor has done an excellent job of telling the stories of two men from different sides and their struggles.. even as they come together for a time. A must read by all. Judy says love Patrick Taylor--& his usual remarkable character development, along with the grand narration by Keaton. Maybe it's the bad patch I'm in & feeling overly sensitive to issues back on the streets here, but it was too much for me. I was a blow-by-blow follower of Belfast events during the time of this story--but it doesn't make it any easier to 'relive' it all over again; maybe worse. Orbs n Rings says Thrilling, fascinating fictional portrayal of significant times in Northern Ireland. My main interest in Patrick Taylor's stories has a lot to do with how fascinating and factual his stories are. For me they are like a history lesson and when it comes to the audiobooks the voice overs of John Keating never let me down. In Pray for Us Sinners I learned about the battle between the British Army and the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the town of Belfast in Although fiction this audiobook portrays a very realistic picture of the disturbances in Northern Ireland at that time. In this story you have the main character Marcus Richardson who has worked as a bomb-disposal officer for the British Army. Later he is recruited to go undercover for the SAS to help flush out the Provisional IRA men who are committed to constructing bombs for what they call the cause. Although not directly targeted these bombs kill and maim innocent civilians. Marcus eventually comes across Davy MacCutcheon one of the bomb-makers, who although at first remains strong-headed in his support of his cause, later struggles with wanting to leave the IRA, even more so once the love of his life Fiona Kavanagh walks out on him. This story places the reader in between the emotions of both Marcus and Davy, which at times left me emotionally feeling as if I was being pulled in two different directions. Although I was mostly rooting for Marcus, at times I found myself feeling sorry for Davy, his struggles with his life as a Provo and his relationship with Fiona. I felt Taylor did an outstanding job writing this story and Keating was perfect in his story telling on the audiobook. Not being familiar with these times in Ireland, I felt I learned a great deal from this story. Although I have reviewed a few other audiobooks by Taylor in his Irish Country book series, I felt this book

6 stands alone well and is just as amazing as his other stories. Almira says This is an entirely different from Patrick's Irish Country doctor series. Set in Belfast, 1973 during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Marcus Richardson, a British Army bomb disposal officer goes undercover to help break up the Provisional IRA group building and placing bombs in and around the area. Davy MacCutcheon, Provisional IRA armourer, constructing bombs (taught by his father) since his teens. Patrick has woven a very interesting story, using actual historical events and people, I learned much about the factions "fighting" this "war". Much of what I had known had come during the time of these events by way of the news media - English and Irish. Unlike the Irish Country doctor series - this is filled with MUCH language that might be offensive to some folks - the "F" word is used very liberally, however, if it were not part of the dialogue it would make the story unbelievable. I am getting ready to read the second book Now and in the Hour of Our Death. Susan says This book has had me on edge and agitated from its first words, but that Is what terrorism is about. Written in Taylor's usual captivating style, I can only take it in small doses. I know I will want to revisit Ballybucklebo after it. I have to say I could hardly wait to finish this, which I did mostly because I had bought it. I really hated this. It was well written, but spies, wholesale dishonesty, violence, frustrations, terrorism, all are part of a formula that is not entertainment to me. Wendell Hennan says Obviously I did not recall reading this, having checked it our of the library and re read it. It ranked higher with me on a second read, a lot of characters and difficult to track whose side they were on, much like the times in Ireland in the 70's. Taylor does a superb job of endearing his characters to the reader, even the most simple soul winds its way into your heart. Caitlin says This book was so good and so heartbreaking at the same time. Set during the Irish Troubles of the 1970s, I found myself cheering for the main character from each side, even though they were working at cross purposes. The author managed to bring out the humanity of each of those characters in such a way that I

7 wanted them both to have a happy ending so badly. But in that kind of strife, everyone loses somehow in the end.