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12:23 Paris, 31st August 1997
It's August 1997. As the century grinds to a close, Diana Spencer and her Egyptian lover are visiting Paris. An international fixer puts a team in place to watch the Princess. Former Special Branch man John Harper is recruited as part of the team. Ritz Hotel Deputy Director of Security Henri Paul and paparazzo supreme James Andanson are their surveillance targets. But they are not the only ones watching Spencer, and soon much more sinister forces are on the move...
235 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
36 people want to read
About the author
Eoin McNamee
32 books65 followersMcNamee was awarded a Macaulay Fellowship for Irish Literature in 1990, after his 1989 novella The Last of Deeds (Raven Arts Press, Dublin), was shortlisted for the 1989 Irish Times/Aer Lingus Award for Irish Literature. The author currently lives in Ireland with his wife and two children, Owen and Kathleen.
He also writes as John Creed.
He also writes as John Creed.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 15, 2018
Interesting take on the demise of Diana Spencer. A conspiracy to end the former princess of Wales least she causes further embarrassment. Strong characters and a believable story. Her security weak, the possibility of engagement or even pregnancy accompany the couple's arrival in Paris where they are to view the potential residency.
July 13, 2012
A somewhat complex beginning with characters flitting in and out of the story in all sorts of capacities makes this difficult to keep up with and sometimes even to follow.
If it wasn't that the scenarion and particularly the ending is so well-known I probably would not have continued but I was intrigued to see how the author spelt it out. It is something akin to a conspiracy theory although it is acknowledged that this is a novel.
Reading it passed the time away but it is not a book I would put on my Desert Island Discs' reading list!
If it wasn't that the scenarion and particularly the ending is so well-known I probably would not have continued but I was intrigued to see how the author spelt it out. It is something akin to a conspiracy theory although it is acknowledged that this is a novel.
Reading it passed the time away but it is not a book I would put on my Desert Island Discs' reading list!
May 26, 2019
"We've got spooks and ghouls and freaks and fools at Rentaghost"
And there are even more of them in 12:23. 12:23 tells the story of events in Paris leading up to the car crash that killed Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. Paris is full of spooks, some working freelance, some working for the British, some for the French, and some working for powers unseen. McNamee evokes an atmosphere in which something is going to happen. An atmosphere in which Dodi and Diana are following a course of action that simply can't be sustained; one that will inevitably lead to calamity before terribly much longer.
And although Dodi and Diana seem to be at the centre of the piece, they are hardly seen, They are playing a part that seems scripted, whilst the free choice is left to the various spooks, to Henri Paul (the head of Ritz security), and to the paparazzi. The narrative takes various viewpoints, and Diana's is seldom shown. What we do see shows a woman swho is resentful at the lack of control; at being herded through service corridors as she is bundled from venue to venue. We see a character who has not thought deeply about the unsustainable position she has created; about the conflict between the political stances she has taken and those with whom she is associating. She doesn't seem to have given even a cursory thought to the establishment that her eldest son is destined to lead.
Much of the narrative follows Harper, an ex-RUC Special Branch man who has been hired by Bennett, ex MI5, who has been hired by Max LaFontaine, to watch Henri Paul. Harper represents the seamy underbelly of security where much of the work is dull, where remits are unclear, and where the highest bidder wins. Harper is the 1990s version of a cold war spy - the battle for which he was trained is entering the end game without him, he is unloved, but still has his basic skills at hand. He has been rotting on a Belfast building site and jumps as the chance to get back involved, even with a mundane watching brief and on behalf of an unknown principal.
After a game of cat and mouse across the city in which it becomes clear that something is going pretty wrong, the inevitable crash happens. We can see it coming as the various narratives are headed with the date and time, and it draws inexorably closer to the 12:23 of the front cover. As the spooks stand in the tunnel assessing the situation, we have the ghouls - the paparazzi and other tourists stopping to get a good look at the action. They snap away at the injured couple, who are part of some macabre freak show. The chaos of the scene is well constructed, but I'm not sure the spooks would have felt like lingering on the scene.
And as the dust settles on the evening, we start to see just who was doing what in Paris that summer. We find out who the winner was, and discover who have been played for fools.
This is an unusual departure for Eoin McNamee. He has established a reputation for historical thrillers in which much of the action, and definitely the ending, remain shrouded in mystery. And writing as John Creed, he writes fictitious situations that are resolved with clarity. But this is the first histiorical novel in which the actions are largely unambiguous. This is problematic. McNamee appears to be holding up the conspiracy theory of Diana's death as a fact. Whilst much of the plot may be technically credible on the page, it is difficult to believe that it is what actually happened in reality. This confusion has an unfortunate effect of undermining the credibility of other McNamee works.
The writing, though, is superb. McNamee uses some brilliant turns of phrase to crank up the atmosphere. The detailing is there; the backstories; the descriptions; the intrigue and the pacing - all done to perfection. But one wonders whether the air would really have been quite so pregnant leading up to the crash, or whether that is a creation with the benefit of hindsight. Perhaps it depends upon whether you actually believe any of the conspiracy theories.
It's an odd work, especially only 10 years after the events it describes. It's somewhere between and four and a five star rating, but seeing as it's Christmas...
And there are even more of them in 12:23. 12:23 tells the story of events in Paris leading up to the car crash that killed Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. Paris is full of spooks, some working freelance, some working for the British, some for the French, and some working for powers unseen. McNamee evokes an atmosphere in which something is going to happen. An atmosphere in which Dodi and Diana are following a course of action that simply can't be sustained; one that will inevitably lead to calamity before terribly much longer.
And although Dodi and Diana seem to be at the centre of the piece, they are hardly seen, They are playing a part that seems scripted, whilst the free choice is left to the various spooks, to Henri Paul (the head of Ritz security), and to the paparazzi. The narrative takes various viewpoints, and Diana's is seldom shown. What we do see shows a woman swho is resentful at the lack of control; at being herded through service corridors as she is bundled from venue to venue. We see a character who has not thought deeply about the unsustainable position she has created; about the conflict between the political stances she has taken and those with whom she is associating. She doesn't seem to have given even a cursory thought to the establishment that her eldest son is destined to lead.
Much of the narrative follows Harper, an ex-RUC Special Branch man who has been hired by Bennett, ex MI5, who has been hired by Max LaFontaine, to watch Henri Paul. Harper represents the seamy underbelly of security where much of the work is dull, where remits are unclear, and where the highest bidder wins. Harper is the 1990s version of a cold war spy - the battle for which he was trained is entering the end game without him, he is unloved, but still has his basic skills at hand. He has been rotting on a Belfast building site and jumps as the chance to get back involved, even with a mundane watching brief and on behalf of an unknown principal.
After a game of cat and mouse across the city in which it becomes clear that something is going pretty wrong, the inevitable crash happens. We can see it coming as the various narratives are headed with the date and time, and it draws inexorably closer to the 12:23 of the front cover. As the spooks stand in the tunnel assessing the situation, we have the ghouls - the paparazzi and other tourists stopping to get a good look at the action. They snap away at the injured couple, who are part of some macabre freak show. The chaos of the scene is well constructed, but I'm not sure the spooks would have felt like lingering on the scene.
And as the dust settles on the evening, we start to see just who was doing what in Paris that summer. We find out who the winner was, and discover who have been played for fools.
This is an unusual departure for Eoin McNamee. He has established a reputation for historical thrillers in which much of the action, and definitely the ending, remain shrouded in mystery. And writing as John Creed, he writes fictitious situations that are resolved with clarity. But this is the first histiorical novel in which the actions are largely unambiguous. This is problematic. McNamee appears to be holding up the conspiracy theory of Diana's death as a fact. Whilst much of the plot may be technically credible on the page, it is difficult to believe that it is what actually happened in reality. This confusion has an unfortunate effect of undermining the credibility of other McNamee works.
The writing, though, is superb. McNamee uses some brilliant turns of phrase to crank up the atmosphere. The detailing is there; the backstories; the descriptions; the intrigue and the pacing - all done to perfection. But one wonders whether the air would really have been quite so pregnant leading up to the crash, or whether that is a creation with the benefit of hindsight. Perhaps it depends upon whether you actually believe any of the conspiracy theories.
It's an odd work, especially only 10 years after the events it describes. It's somewhere between and four and a five star rating, but seeing as it's Christmas...
February 13, 2016
Book looking a conspiracy theories on the death of the Lady Diana S and how they would have worked out if real. Does not quite come up with a reason though. Rather dark and depressing rather than looking a road safety rules such as wearing a seat belt.
April 18, 2015
Controversial and totally engaging book about Princess Diana conspiracy theories. Hard to put down.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews