Remembrance Day

by Henry Porter

Welcome to a fiendish new breed of terrorism, where all it takes is a phone call to set off a devastating bomb. From this all-too-real premise emerges the sharpest, most pulse-pounding thriller in recent years. For Irish-born Constantine Lindow, it is really just an unlucky accident that marks the beginning of his troubles, a highly unfortunate case of wrong place, wrong time. While waiting for his brother outside a London tube station, Con watches a bus pull up -- and explode in flames. When Con wakes in the hospital the next day and finds himself arrested as chief suspect, "Remembrance Day" takes off and never looks back, careening toward a brilliantly shocking culmination. To prove his innocence Con must find the real culprit, an ingenious maniac who blames the IRA for bombs he sets off with nothing more than a cell phone. Is this remorseless killer actually in league with the British government? With a lightning-paced plot catapulting readers from London to Ireland to Boston and back again, "Remembrance Day" provocatively assembles figures from Scotland Yard and its rival force, the British Security Service, and links them in an uneasy alliance of death and terror. Utterly terrifying in its believability, and as cunning as the best of John le Carre, here is the hotly anticipated, highly auspicious fiction debut of the acclaimed British journalist Henry Porter.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Espionage, Mystery, Ireland, Spy Thriller, British Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Henry Porter has written for most national broadsheet newspapers. He contributes commentary and reportage to the Guardian, Observer, Evening Standard and Sunday Telegraph. He is the British editor of Vanity Fair, and lives in London with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite book of his. IRA v. MI5. Good plot. The end surprised me.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw a conversation between spy novelists Charles Cumming and Mick Herron (two of my favorites), and they said that the 1980s were a fairly fallow period for spy fiction except for the work of Henry Porter - whom I'd never heard of. I sought out this, his first novel, and found it to be a complex work of fiction, encompassing history and politics, and both character- and plot-driven. Using what was sophisticated tech for the era, a former soldier who learned his craft fighting the IRA then turns his knowledge and skills to terrorize his own countrymen; think the English spy of Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon series, although in this case we never hear a word from the villain's perspective. I loved the cat-and-mouse chase as victim Con Lindow and police commissioner Ken Foyle race to discover what the terrorist's next move will be. Very well written, and I look forward to reading more of his novels.

[Hannah Polley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts out with a bomb explosion on a bus in London and the main character, Con Lindow, is injured but then quickly arrested as a suspect. Even though the Security Services are pretty sure he is innocent, then keep him in as they need to focus the investigation somewhere.

I assumed in the beginning that this book was written after 7/7 and I thought it was in poor taste but I was quickly confused why no one was mentioning islamic terrorism as a possiblility. However, I then checked and the book was published in 1999 so that explains it! The bomb in the book is linked to IRA terrorism.

I felt sorry for Lindow very quickly and I want to look up if it is true that if you are detained under the Terrorism Act that you cannot have access to a solicitor; that seems outrageous. Lindow ends up helping the police and the Security Services are locked in their own political battle.

When they find out who is responsible and that another attack is imminent, they have to keep working on where it may be. No one seems to notice that Rememberance Day is coming up until the actual day and that 11am would be a good time!

Lindow manages to save everyone but Mary dies in the process. I could not buy their relationship in the book and how they fell in love so quickly. Mary admitted she would have slept with his brother! I also did not get the last part of the book with Kay being involved. I wasn't sure if it was being set up with a sequel or if it meant that Con was always being tracked by either the IRA or MI5. I think a better ending would have been Lindow dying as he saved everyone.

A good read.

[Tracy Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book that I’ve read by this author. It was an interesting story and I found it enjoy

[Ian Coates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome beginning, fantastic end, and an entertaining, if slightly confusing, middle.

The explosive action-packed opening drags readers straight into the story as they experience the shock of a London bombing along with Con Lindow, who is caught in the blast. But as we follow him through its aftermath, we discover he used to have a connection with the IRA. When he refuses to discuss it, he instantly becomes the focus of the police investigation, although Commander Foyle, the officer in charge of the case, soon concludes that neither Lindow nor Lindow’s brother, who was killed by the bomb, was responsible. However, Foyle’s attempt to find the true perpetrator is hindered by the other government departments involved. They have something to hide about their own involvement with the bomber, and are determined to lay the blame on the two brothers.

When Foyle is forced off the case because of his continual insistence that Lindow is innocent, he forms an alliance with Lindow to uncover the truth. Lindow soon discovers that his brother worked for the IRA, and finds documents that suggest he had been tasked with finding a pair of bombers intent on derailing the Irish peace talks. The IRA forces Lindow to continue his brother’s mission to track down the two-man splinter group before their final atrocity can take place.

The well constructed plot does suffer from a large cast of characters, and there are times in the middle of the book when this is confusing. This is exacerbated by Porter having given two of the policemen very similar names (Forbes and Foyle).

One point that jarred for me was a coincidence related to breaking the encryption on a set of computer disks. The codes were based on the lettering used to represent the different genetic enzymes in DNA. This just happens to be Lindow’s specialist area (he is a research scientist), and he is therefore miraculously able to help with their decryption. That felt very contrived.

But those problems aside, this is a beautifully written thriller that’s hard to put down, even though the action is a little lacking in the first half once the opening scene has passed. Remembrance Day is a very enjoyable read and forms a good introduction to Lindow, who is the main character in Porter’s subsequent two books, A Spy’s Life and Empire State.

[Dollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started off with a bang. A blast – literally. Con Lindow is waiting for his brother, Eammon, when a terrorist bomb explodes on a bus. Before he knows it, Con & Eammon are under suspicion of setting the bomb. Eammon dies and then New Scotland Yard realizes he was the target because of his IRA affiliations. Con is a target as well. When Con finds some coordinates for Limerick and Belfast, he thinks he’s looking for someone in Ireland, but it turns out to be Limerick and Belfast, Maine. Somewhere in the Allagash territory a terrorist is setting up bombs to be exploded in London on Remembrance (Veteran’s) Day. Con must find a former British special serviceman, Ian Valentine Rhodes, who is setting the bombs. Only one person at New Scotland Yard believes him, Foyle, and he has problems of his own. They do get their man, but not without casualties. Con is almost killed and his girlfriend, Mary, a spy, is killed. Nice little twist at the end when he goes to Mary’s funeral and meets Kay Gould, a young lady seriously injured at the tube station bombing at the beginning of the story. Con asks her why she is there and she says, “Because I worked with Mary.” This was an exciting story.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con Lindow is girl watching while waiting by the tube station for his brother Eamonn to arrive. Con's pleasant evening will be shattered when a bomb on a bus explodes close to him. At the hospital, police speak to Con and it is soon apparent that they consider him a suspect based on his past in Ireland. He is detained at the police station for a couple of days under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. His eventual release comes solely because a commander at SO 13 believes in his innocence and releases him despite the objections of other agencies. Although essentially free, Con realizes he is still under suspicion and with his new friend on the police force tries to determine who the real bomber is.

This is one of those books that starts out great and sags in the middle. There were numerous police and government agencies involved and I had a difficult time keeping track of their roles. The essential components were all here for a great thriller, the pace was not. It picked up steam again at the end with a satisfying conclusion. I did enjoy the story when it wasn't making me sleepy.

[Sonja L.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

First novel (1999) by this former journalist. If you normally enjoy thrillers and spy novels you'll like this one; in my opinion it's even better than le Carre. This is a book on terrorism written by someone with a prophetic
view describing a technical mechanism for setting off bombs which was used in Madrid in 2004.
Leading character is Irish-born scientist Lindow. The action starts as a bus explodes in front of him. Wrong time, wrong place. Next day he finds himself considered as the prime suspect. He is forced by various parties to start a long journey to find the real culprit, taking him from London to Ireland to the USA and back. Is this man/woman a serial killer, an IRA terrorist or someone linked to the British government? On top of this he has to deal with the rivalry between Scotland Yard & BSS and with the new acquired knowledge of his brother's secrets.
This book might be a little bit too long; on the other hand it strikes me as the work of an extremely well informed author who has done a lot of research.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is another example of Henry Porter's excellent writing skills and a rating of 3.5 would be more appropriate. There are two primary plot lines here. One involves a rogue ex army officer's terrorist activities and the other involves an attempted cover-up by MI5. The characters are well defined and the intrigue will keep the reader engaged throughout. There are a few spots where the pacing drags a bit and the technology aspects of the story are a bit dated now, but overall this novel is quite entertaining.

[Stuart Haining · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.5/10 Really super tense story and a nice small end twist, only spoilt by the hero just happening to have the right niche expertise to crack a code ahead of MI5, as if! Worth Reading again and a keeper.

[Joop Debruin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely a stunner! Covered geography and all technical aspects very accurately (I'd forgotten how far we've come in 20 years) and did a nice job with the personalities. First book I've read from Mr Porter, going to devour all of his newer books.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third of Porter's books that I have read and I have enjoyed them all. Good suspense and I have liked all the main characters. Cleverly written and really hold you. Quite long, so good to get your teeth into. I will be looking for more.

[Simon Heape · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story but rather dated, it was published in 1999 and I read in 2020, with fail up modems, analogue mobile phone networks and the ‘forward thinking’ idea of setting off bombs my mobile phone. Still had me turning pages quickly despite some rather dodgy cliches.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't keep all of the various organizations straight, and finally just gave up. I also thought the main character a little implausible.

[Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just, simply - Superb!
A breathless tale. The 'low drama' was particularly enthralling: absolutely [sadly] believable; doubtless, Mr Porter knows first-hand.

[Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good mystery novel about a terrorist bombing in London.

[Davidg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read a couple of Porter’s book, I grabbed this when I saw it in a charity shop. I hadn’t realised that it was his first book. Despite that, it is a taught, fast-paced thriller, with almost continuous action from the bomb explosion in the first pages.

Just over 20 years old, it is amazing how much has changed. The plot centres around efforts to derail the Good Friday Agreement, a serious concern then. Technology has also moved on; the idea of triggering bombs with a mobile phone was a new concept then. These, and other aspects of the plot, date the book to a particular time and place but they don’t affect the success of the book.

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have only recently discovered the author, Henry Porter, so now I search for his works. This book starts with a horrific explosion on a London bus. An Irishman is injured and in a bizarre coincidence his brother, a passenger one the bus, is killed. All of the important players immediately think they are IRA affiliated and that the bomb was their creation.

The surviving brother, who is a medical researcher, convinces one person of his innocence. Along with contacts at the FBI, they are able to figure out who is behind the bombings, but not when the next one, the big one will occur. It is a race to figure it out before this happens.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not much into mystery and suspense genre, and picked it up because I was heading to London, the book's main setting. That said, I'm glad I did as it made for an exciting and easy travel read. It was also interesting to read a book written a few years with so much focus on technology as a weapon, and to think about how much it has changed within a decade.

[Marci Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good but had a lot of details and storylines and was often hard to follow. Perhaps it's b/c I listened to the audio instead of eye-reading it. I also feel like the book was far longer than it needed to be and tended to drag along. Overall I liked the book and would read another book by this author.

#RemembranceDay
#NetGalley

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Constantine Lindow is waiting for his brother Eamonn outside a central London tube station when a bus turns into the street and explodes. The next day Con is arrested as the prime suspect for the bombing. The only way to prove his innocence is to find the real bomber, and to do this he finds himself confronted by his own brother's secret life and the cold-blooded killers from his past.

[Studvet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5. Again, not his best. It was more complex than Firefly but too cumbersome in detail to get an exciting rhythmn. Ended rather predictably and questions about the Dennis - Anastasia relationship not really answered. Not as exciting as his previous series, but could have been.

[Caleb Matthew C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike most writers-- it seems Porter started off with his best...
This book is difficult to put down and even though it is long, it is over way too soon. Such a satisfying read! Head and shoulders above his later Samson trilogy!

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on the English-vs-Irish spy novel and while the author telegraphs too many things, he knows how to keep a story moving. Barely clears the 4-star threshold but if I invest time to read something almost 500 pages long, it has to be at least “good” and this was.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story. A rollicking plot with all the standard characters: brilliant terrorist, crooked spy masters. honest cop etc. Porter was new to me but if I see any more of his books around, I will check them out.

[Jilles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice enough thriller for a debut, well written, albeit a bit repetitive and quite in-depth with it's information.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read a book of this genre (thriller). I don't think I will again. Bought it specifically for the Poppy on the cover.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too long winded for me, but not a bad read.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fast-moving and exciting plot line, a very good lockdown read.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A page turner for me. I liked the book. What a vicious terrorist organization the IRA was and possibly still is.