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A Loaded Gun
Set in the turbulent year 1984, during the Miners’ Strike and under the shadow of IRA terrorism, A Loaded Gun takes place against the background of a Britain torn by conflict, its first woman prime minister being determined to re-shape the nation in her own image, which is closer to the vision of the hero, sports centre director Steve, than that of his lover, English literature lecturer Helena. More than one gun is fired in this energetic, pacy love story and political thriller.
210 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 26, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 7, 2016
A well-crafted thriller that convincingly recreates the 1980s with a cast of ex-squaddies, members of the IRA and MI5, as well as left-wing academics. The centre-stage love story between Steve - formerly a British army corporal stationed in Northern Ireland, now the Thatcher-admiring director of the university sports centre in Canterbury - and English Literature lecturer Helena - one of the Greenham Common women and a Labour-voting supporter of the miners - allows the author to explore the sharply polarised politics of the time, also reminding us of the very real threat to the system the IRA posed thirty years ago. The currently topical battle between police and miners at Orgreave has been well researched and is nicely blended into the plot. Helena's interest in writers and the places connected with them adds a further dimension to an absorbing novel.
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July 15, 2016The complexities of Thatcher's Britain
A fast-moving story and the author handles the complex plot with skill. The novel explores some of the conflicts and tensions of Thatcher's Britain, a time when the Northern Ireland struggles dramatically affected life on the mainland, when the privatisation of many public services was first undertaken and when second wave feminism called many of the assumptions about gender roles and family life into question. A valuable novel for those interested in the early days of many of the changes that shape contemporary politics.
A fast-moving story and the author handles the complex plot with skill. The novel explores some of the conflicts and tensions of Thatcher's Britain, a time when the Northern Ireland struggles dramatically affected life on the mainland, when the privatisation of many public services was first undertaken and when second wave feminism called many of the assumptions about gender roles and family life into question. A valuable novel for those interested in the early days of many of the changes that shape contemporary politics.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews