Julie’s Notes:

This short mystery/thriller about two sisters caught up in the Northern Ireland conflict was an interesting, fast-paced read. The publisher’s description says it is set 20 years after the 1998 Good Friday agreement but the acutal year hardly matters; it could easily be present day. What does matter is it takes place in a Northern Ireland where the IRA is still active, and I’ll admit that I had trouble sussing out how much of the IRA’s actions in this book were based in (post-1998) reality and how much were creative license. That’s the kind of thing I’m interested in knowing, and I did Google a bit, but eventually decided to just let myself get caught up in the story. A big bonus is the strong sense of place – both Belfast and especially the small, rural village where Tessa lives. And the sisterly (and even a bit of mother/daughter) dynamics play a big role too.

There’s a sequel/companion book to Northern Spy called Trust Her.

Especially recommended for readers interested in: mystery, thrillers, The Troubles, Northern Ireland, family dynamics.

From the publisher:

Reese’s Book Club Pick
Instant New York Times Bestseller
A New York Times Book Review Top 10 Thriller of 2021
A Washington Post Top 10 Thriller or Mystery of 2021

The acclaimed author of Under the Harrow and A Double Life returns with her most riveting novel to date: the story of two sisters who become entangled with the IRA.

A producer at the BBC and mother to a new baby, Tessa is at work in Belfast one day when the news of another raid comes on the air. The IRA may have gone underground in the two decades since the Good Friday Agreement, but they never really went away, and lately bomb threats, security checkpoints, and helicopters floating ominously over the city have become features of everyday life. As the news reporter requests the public’s help in locating those responsible for the robbery, security footage reveals Tessa’s sister, Marian, pulling a black ski mask over her face.

The police believe Marian has joined the IRA, but Tessa is convinced she must have been abducted or coerced; the sisters have always opposed the violence enacted in the name of uniting Ireland. And besides, Marian is vacationing on the north coast. Tessa just spoke to her yesterday.

When the truth about Marian comes to light, Tessa is faced with impossible choices that will test the limits of her ideals, the bonds of her family, her notions of right and wrong, and her identity as a sister and a mother. Walking an increasingly perilous road, she wants nothing more than to protect the one person she loves more fiercely than her sister: her infant son, Finn.

Riveting, atmospheric, and exquisitely written, Northern Spy is at once a heart-pounding story of the contemporary IRA and a moving portrait of sister- and motherhood, and of life in a deeply divided society.