Easter, Smoke and Mirrors: Prequel to Shape, Shine and Shadow

by John Benacre

This is a story about charm, passion and guile. About revenge, deceit and brutal determination. In short it is about the manipulation of ordinary people and the concealment of extraordinary events. But above all it is about human nature and how to exploit it, both for good and for evil. Or simply for hedonistic greed. As the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin looms on Britain's uncertain horizon, a resurgent Irish Republican Army plans a spectacular attack to launch its latest and final campaign for a united Ireland. Its success depends on the skills and innate charisma of an IRA Cleanskin living and working under deep cover in London, and on the murderous and time-honored links of an IRA elder to senior Middle-Eastern terrorists. It is a marriage of convenience conceived in hell, and it spawns a scheme that would cause the devil himself to look away. Its defeat depends on the same skills and instincts in those pitted against them, and the intelligence machinery and sleight of hand of everyday counter-terrorism. Easter, Smoke and Mirrors is the first part of the Cleanskin Apologues. It puts stark images to every government's worst nightmare and asks unanswerable questions of trusting citizens. Digest and look around you. Do you know who your neighbors are?

715 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 2014

Reviews

[Pauline Barney · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read - scary, feasible and highly topical (set in June 2015 and concerning the ISIS/IRA threat). Lot's of historical facts weaved through the everyday lives of colorful and well defined characters. This book entertained my 85 year old father as well as my 21 year old granddaughter in college. All three generations are now looking forward to "McCann", the associated short stories coming out in the near future. GIVE US MORE!