The Killing Anniversary

by Ian St. James

When I began to write the story of my father's life I thought it would be easy. I had access to his old business records, copies of letters, press clippings, all the material I needed. Not only that but I knew a great many of his friends. But then I discovered a side of his life which had been hidden from me. The more I delved the more I found out, until a kind of pattern emerged which linked his life to the lives of other people. I thought it was coincidence at first, but that theory died as more facts were unearthed. I spent months in London, New York, Dublin, Paris, Belfast, even Nairobi - always searching to uncover the tracks. The revelations astonished me. My father had been involved in a feud which stretched back to his boyhood - a feud which touched the lives of a great many people. It smouldered over the years - spluttered, died down and flared up again - but it never went out. It was always there, if not always apparent. It was forever the link between the Connors and the Averdales, the O'Brien's and the Riordan's - a link that endured relentlessly - until THE KILLING ANNIVERSARY.

Genres: Ireland, Fiction, Adventure, Thriller

659 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Fred Peeters · Rating 4 out of 5]

2 keer gelezen: in sept 2025 en in mei 2021

Strijd en familievetes tussen de Riordans, katholieken, gelinkt aan IRA en Connors, protestanten.Het boek begint met vetes tussen Liam Riordan en Pat Connors, parlementslid. Mark Averdalen een rijke persmagnaat, is de derde persoon die een rol speelt; Het boek is goed geconstrueerd, met aanslagen allerhande, zoals het in brand steken van Brackenburn, het huis van Averdale, door Matt Riordan , de zoon van Liam,waarbij Averdales vrouw omkomt. Er zijn ook de rellen wanneer O Brien 42 katholieke arbeiders ontslaat in een fabriek van Averdale, er is een wraakactie door Sean Connors, waarbij Liam gedood wordt. Matt zweert daarop wraak te nemen. Na allerhande intriges eindigt het boek met een verhouding tussen Sean en Kate, de zus van Matt, die niet weet dat Sean verantwoordelijk is voor de dood van haar ouders. Uiteindelijk vermoordt Matt Sean. Voor een buitenstaander de zoveelste moord, zoals de slotzin van het boek: ' Wanneer houden die stomme Ieren eens op elkaar af te maken' Maar het is meer dan de strijd tussen katholieken en protestanten, het is het resultaat van familievetes die twee generaties overspannen tegen de achtergrond van de Ierse kweste. Een absolute aanrader.

[Kevin Merchant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book some 25 years ago, and I still recall it, trying to comprehend the troubles at that time. It took me three days to read this, and I read all of his others. But none of them were as profound as this. You really have to give this book a chance.

[Misfit]

Nothing but telling and recounting of events, with no prior character development beforehand. Off to the charity box for you.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Family saga with one dimensional characters that went on way too long. $00 pages too long to be exact.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two-dimensional characters in a story that covered too much.

Pat Connors - fought in the 1916 Uprising and sided with Michael Collins in the civil war
Sean Connors - Pat's son, became an entrepreneur as a teenager, always wanting to accumulate assets
Matt Riordan - son of an IRA fighter who cares more for the cause than for his family. Matt grows up to emulate his father.
Mark Averdale - Ulster aristocrat, viciously anti-Catholic, inherits property in Kenya

The book starts in 1920 or 1921 with Sean's birth, and goes through the 1960s with an epilogue dated 1984.

The book description has some inaccuracies
The description says "against the historic backdrop of Ireland's bitter struggle for independence". Actually Ireland was divided between an independent republic in the south and a British dependency in the north by 1923. So the backdrop is the continued collaboration with Britain in Northern Ireland leading to "the troubles" in the 1960s, not the struggle for independence (except for Pat Connors' backstory).
Although the characters are Irish, most of them don't stay in Ireland - Sean moves to London; Mark is alternately in Ulster, London, and Africa; after her parents death Kate is in the U.S., Glossop (England), London and Paris. Matt does stay in Northern Ireland.

The description says Kate O'Brien was loved by two of the men. Mark Averdale was obsessed by a picture of a young woman. He thought that Kate's mother looked like the picture and so he tried to own her and her daughter. It wasn't love. Also, the description makes it sound like a love triangle but Kate didn't meet Sean until after Mark died.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't describe this novel as anything short of excellent! The storyline is composed of events that rapidly yank the reader back and forth between elated and saddened extremes of the emotional spectrum, which in combination with the sufficiently detailed yet quick pace the author maintains adds to the engrossing nature of the novel.

I don't know if it's common amongst avid readers, but personally I never just "read" a book. I'm always critiquing and imagining how I would change things if I had written the text. In this case, I found myself appreciating this literary undertaking as a work of art. Considering its superb quality on many fronts, I have to admit that I would probably be unable to so much as replicate such a masterpiece.

[Toni Wyatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A portion of this book was 5 stars for me. That entailed the historical navigation of Ireland and the bitter, bloody history and how the author wove several families together in their fates.

This would have gotten a much higher rating from me had it not been for the blatant abuse of a six year old girl, and the fact that the perpetrator is never uncovered and is given a redeeming story arc as if he were changed into a different man. Not enough to own up to his despicable behavior or to release his captive, groomed obsession. It sickened me to my core. But, more importantly, it ruined what could have otherwise been an absolutely magnificent read.

[Lesley Critchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best and most enjoyable books I have ever read. I found it hard to get into at first but don’t put it down and you will be rewarded. I sat up till 3am reading, really enjoyed. Went on to read all Ian St James books but this one the best for me.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story that has some truth in it. From 1922 to the 1960s four people, Sean Connors, Matt Riordan, Lord Averdale and the O’Briens are brought together through great stories. Excellently done.

[Ella Carmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story and writing, but the ending was a bit anticlimactic for my tastes

[Feliks · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to effectively characterize this reading experience? This lightweight page-turner is many things at once; and there's several ways via which to rank it. I might well warn you first that it is overly-long; too long to call it a 'thriller'. It is ostensibly a family saga; yet not as boring or as saccharine as many of those books are. The author is actually quite skilled in the writing of thrillers, his 'Balfour Conspiracy' (also set in Ireland) is a rip-snorter. One of my favorite thrillers. You can certainly see his flair and craftsmanship displayed in this multi-generational saga which starts with the Troubles (1916-1921). There is a lot of fine action-writing in evidence not only in the first third of the book but sprinkled throughout this very romanticized history of the IRA. Hard, gritty action certainly helps to offset the tinge of the soap-opera; though at times the contest is surely in doubt. The middle of the book is taken up with a rather good perspective of the events of WWII. His characters experience Dunkirk, for example. That's not something many authors can do well; and you can see the research and effort that went into this story. But as St. James laboriously traces the lives of his principle characters --decade after decade --mixing together a dozen different strands at once (Ireland, Africa, America, Great Britain) it does wear one down. I took a weary break on or around page 500 (the point at which most novels conclude). Honestly I had no idea whether the characters were still fascinating enough by that point, to spur me to keep on with them. Duly resuming --not willing to admit defeat--I found all the characters still meeting fabulous, slim, and exciting women; still marrying and remarrying, still performing acrobatics in the bedroom, still delivering crushing right-crosses to the jaws of their foes, still making audacious high-finance deals...you know the kind of thing. St. James just barely carries this gargantuan novel to the finish line not without some creaking and groaning. Overall I think what he did was fine. The formaty itself--well, one probably just needs to have a taste for it. This is a 'beach read' I suppose but as far as beach-reads go...you could do a lot worse.