Great introduction on the disappearance of Jean McConville, however it spirals into a parallel of the price sisters and confusingly introduces you to many figures and their entire life autobiography in sometimes a short paragraph which leaves you wondering if this is necessary information. Very informative, not a difficult read but difficult to follow as the stories are sporadic. The author did do a great job of tying it back to Jean. If you know Irish history then this would probably be easier to read.

Say nothing, Patrick Radden Keefe, author; Matthew Blaney, narrator
This book is captivating because it reveals a piece of history concerning the conflict between Britain, the Protestants and the Catholics. It covers the time period largely from 1950 to the present. Delours Price grew up in the 50’s. Her philosophy was shaped by the interactions with family members who had been involved in the struggle for greater freedom. In 1969, the Belfast Uprising began as a demonstration demanding greater civil rights for Catholics, and was fashioned after the Martin Luther King’s marches. Delours Price was a participant. With her sister Marian, she became active in the movement, eventually participating in heinous behavior that the leaders of the cause justified. They believed they were Freedom Fighters engaging in a war and wanted to be treated as soldiers. Their loyalty and devotion to the cause was complete and unquestioned.
In 1972, in Belfast, Ireland, a mother of ten children disappears after a group barges into the home and spirits her away. Although the children hoped she would return, her eldest son,16-year-old Archie, accompanies her for part of her ordeal. He knows she would not come home again. Jean’s husband, a Catholic had recently died of Cancer. She was a Protestant living among Catholics. She was judged to be a traitor to the cause.
Although the children try desperately to stay together, social services eventually intervenes and separates them, placing those too young to live alone, in orphanages. Their lives are never the same. Jean’s body is not found for decades. When the members of the Revolutionary groups committed murder, they hid the evidence well. Their code of silence was sacrosanct. For most, their loyalty was eternal.
The project which created the Belfast Papers, from which a good deal of the information in this book is derived, was not supposed to be revealed until all those who gave confessions about their behavior during the time of the uprisings had died. However, because of an investigation, they were subpoenaed and opened decades later, revealing those that had committed crimes and broken their silence. Now, although they had thought they were safe from punishment, many though old and no longer a threat, were caught in the web and tried. They had betrayed the cause by revealing their involvement and society would now betray them. Would their punishment be deserved so many decades later? Should the sealed, secret records have been made public?
Prominent people were suddenly in the cross hairs of an investigation that could easily accuse them and convict them of murder. The most prominent accused who denied everything he was accused of, was Gerry Adams. He had risen to power holding positions in the government after his years of rebellion. Both Brendan Hughes and Delours Price fingered him as a member of the IRA, as someone who ordered the murders of many victims, but his denials were accepted.
There are so many iterations of the groups of Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries or Terrorists, whichever word you choose. Sometimes the timeline and the number of groups became confusing. I would suggest a brief excursion to a library or resource that could outline the period of time and the groups involved in the fight for greater civil rights and independence from Britain.
It will be up to the reader to determine whether the participants in the cause were terrorists, revolutionaries, freedom fighters, a combination of all or something in between. There will not be many neutral positions. The extensive amount of research took place over a period of four years. The author attests to the accuracy of what he has presented. It is based on interviews, records, newspaper articles, letters and more. When Boston College gave up its secret archive of confessions, it was a “treasure trove” of added facts and information. The confessions were not supposed to be revealed until all participants were deceased, but the subpoenas cancelled that contract with the participants and Brendan Hughes confession was damning. Fear raced through the community that was still alive.
During the time of the conflict, the methods used to interrogate and punish those found to be double agents, working against the IRA and other iterations of the “freedom fighting” groups (Sinn Fein, Republicans, Provos), were barbaric. The British Army’s tactics were little better as they fought back against those who wanted independence. The punishments meted out by the groups were copied from those used by Hitler during the Holocaust and were barbaric. Britain and the United States, justified the use of that same kind of torture, as well, after 9/11.
The history of hate existing between Protestants and Catholics, the desire of Northern Ireland to gain its independence and greater civil rights for the Catholics propelled the participants to blindly follow their leaders. Ultimately, it was with the help of the United States that a peaceful resolution was accomplished, largely ending the violence.
Although the book jumps around regarding the timeline as it reveals different events and crimes, and many characters are introduced, some familiar, some unknown to the reader, at no time is there any information that seems extraneous or unnecessary, and in the end, like a well sewn garment, it is complete and of high quality.