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Ructions O'Hare #1
Northern Heist
"Full of double and triple-crosses . . . Northern Heist’s deeds and details seem as real as a smashed kneecap, while its stopwatch tension, heightened by present-tense voice, is reminiscent of such classic caper films as 'Rififi' and 'The Asphalt Jungle."—The Wall Street JournalA fast-paced, suspenseful thriller based on one of the biggest (and still unsolved) bank-robberies in history, written by a former IRA bank robber.Nobody robs banks in Belfast without the IRA getting a cut -- not even former Provo James 'Ructions' O'Hare. But when word gets around O'Hare may be up to something, the pressure from the IRA begins. Ructions' trusts his crack squad of former paramilitary compadres, and has full confidence in his audacious To literally empty the biggest bank in Belfast by kidnapping the families of two employees - known as a "tiger" kidnapping -- in order to force them to help Ructions and his crew get into the bank's vault.But keeping the plan -- and the money -- from the IRA is another plan entirely, one requiring all Ruction's cunning and skill. In this stunning debut novel, as audacious and well-executed as Ructions' plan to rob the National Bank itself, Richard O'Rawe -- a former IRA bank robber himself - unleashes a story that will shock, surprise and thrill as he takes you on a white-knuckle ride through Belfast's criminal underbelly. Enter the deadly world of tiger kidnappings, kangaroo courts, money laundering, drug deals and double-crosses.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 19, 2018
About the author
Richard O'Rawe
10 books35 followersRichard O'Rawe was born in Belfast. His first book, Blanketmen, published in 2005, was a political book about the 1981 IRA/INLA hunger strike and was an Irish best-seller. His second book, Afterlives, was published in 2010. His third book, In the Name of the Son, a biography of his life-long friend, Gerry Conlon (of the Guildford Four), was published in 2017. The first two novels of his 'Ructions O'Hare' series, Northern Heist and Goering's Gold, were published in 2018 and 2022 respectively. He is currently working on his third novel of this series. His sixth book, Stakeknife's Dirty War, another bestseller, was published in 2023.
This current book Witch Hunt is the first collaboration with his daughter, Bernadette.
source: Amazon
This current book Witch Hunt is the first collaboration with his daughter, Bernadette.
source: Amazon
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
November 11, 2018
On 20thDecember 2004, a gang of robbers ripped off the Donegal Square West Headquarters of Northern Bank in Belfast, netting approximately £26.5 million in Sterling and other currencies. This was the largest bank robbery in Irish history. While a small amount of the money has been recovered, and one person convicted of money laundering offences, the vast majority of the cash has never been found. Neither have the perpetrators been identified, though the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) believe it to have been committed by the IRA. Richard O’Rawe’s new novel, Northern Heist, is inspired by this robbery. Reading it, I was reminded of another novel, which coincidentally was published in 2004, the year of the Northern Bank heist.
Judas Pig was published by the now defunct publishers The Do-Not Press and was penned by a man writing under the pseudonym Horace Silver (taken from the acclaimed jazz artist). It has nothing to do with the 2004 robbery or even Northern Ireland. Instead, Judas Pig is an East End Gangland roman à clef. The novel tells the story of Billy Abrahams, gangster and right-hand man to violent psychopath, Danny. Judas Pig has since become something of a cult sensation; a number of leading journalists made no secret of the fact that they knew who the author really was, that his tale was authentic; the author went into hiding fearing repercussions; online members of the reading public, turned amateur detective, tried to guess his identity. After being accused in the pages of the Sunday Times of being a gangland boss, David Hunt, an East End businessman, sued the newspaper for libel. During the trial it emerged that Horace Silver was in fact a man named Jimmy Holmes, and the character Danny, was modelled on Hunt. David Hunt lost his legal action against the Sunday Times and was forced to pay substantial damages.
The reason for recapping this history for this review, is that the buzz surrounding the publication of Northern Heist is very reminiscent to that which surrounded Judas Pig. While Richard O’Rawe is no gangster and there is no suggestion that any of the characters in Northern Heist are based on him or real people, his pedigree does grant the book more than a hint of authenticity. O’Rawe grew up in Belfast at the height of The Troubles, was politicised and joined the IRA. Imprisoned in Long Kesh, he became the press officer for the IRA inmates there. In later years, he’s published three authoritative non-fiction titles on The Troubles, including an acclaimed biography of Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four.
Northern Heist tells the story of James “Ructions” O’Hare, a major criminal and experienced armed robber. Ructions uncle, Panzer, heads up the family firm and Ructions is his right-hand man. This is something Panzer’s son, Finbar, resents. At the beginning of the novel, Ructions is in the final stages of planning a huge robbery, an act which they believe will net them more money than all their previous jobs combined. It’s to be a tiger heist: their gang will kidnap the families of two of The National Bank’s managers, then force the managers to empty the bank’s vault for them, under the threat of doing their families harm. Alongside the logistical challenges of such a robbery, they need to avoid detection from the police, but also the predatory advances of the IRA, who tax criminals and are sure to want a hefty slice of any proceeds.
Like Judas Pig, Northern Heist is an oddly amoral novel. Most crime novels, even those written from the point of view of criminals, attempt to give their protagonists at least a veneer of morality, even if it is somewhat skewed. Northern Heist does no such thing, but rather tells the story of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the heist with almost clinical detachment. With military-esque precision, Ructions puts his plan into action and pulls off the heist. So, the family of the two bank managers are kidnapped and traumatised, Ructions and his men hardly shedding a tear. Without divulging too many spoilers, there is one scene at the end of the book which tries to soften this somewhat, but only goes someway to doing so.
Does this matter? To some extent it does. While Ructions in particular, but other characters also, are well drawn and well imagined, it is difficult to warm to any of them. Quite simply, it’s difficult to cheer for, and be in the corner of, someone willing to traumatise innocent families. I read a lot of crime novels and am no fan of cozy mysteries, rather my particular favourite sub-genre is noir. So, I’m used to reading novels populated by flawed and not particularly nice individuals. The trick for an author is to invest them with just enough qualities that the reader can take to them. A good example of this is James Ellroy’s novel White Jazz, the protagonist of which is a corrupt police officer and slum landlord, a man who performs hits for the mob and is in a sexual relationship with his own sister. Yet somehow, Ellroy manages to make this loathsome individual, if not loveable, at least likeable, and one can’t help but cheer him on. O’Rawe doesn’t do any of that here, and even Ructions, his novel’s main protagonist, is not someone I took to in any way.
That said, Northern Heist is not a normal novel in the same way that Judas Pig wasn’t. Certainly, it’s met with a similar reaction. The Northern Irish newspapers have been full of speculation as to what O’Rawe knows about the real robbery, that of the Northern Bank. His past in the IRA has led many to wonder whether he has inside information, perhaps having been told by people still involved in that life. But if he does, was the robbery perpetrated by a criminal gang as described in the novel, with the IRA having no involvement? Or might O’Rawe’s novel be a cunning ploy to throw those still looking for the money off the scent of the real robbers, i.e. the IRA?
In interviews O’Rawe has dismissed such speculation, asserting that he has no inside information. He states that he has absolutely no idea who committed the infamous Northern Bank robbery, that his novel is pure fiction; yes, it is inspired by a true story, but one that he’s only read about in the newspapers and watched on television.
I have no reason to doubt the author’s integrity, but it’s undoubtedly true that in his past life he met the kind of people - IRA members and criminals - who would commit such an act. And it is this insight which gives the novel its frisson. Arguably, the characters that populate Northern Heist are truer to the real-life criminal underworld than those which populate other crime novels, for who would traumatise innocent families but these people? In the same way the characters that populated Judas Pig were curiously despicable and loathsome, so too are those that stalk the pages of Northern Heist.
Northern Heist is O’Rawe’s first novel and I wonder whether he will write another. If so, will any of the characters of Northern Heist return? I hope so, in the same way I hoped the author of Judas Pig would write a sequel (he did, though Amazon forced its withdrawal after threats of legal action). Just like Judas Pig before it, Northern Heist is a fascinating insight into a world most of us will happily never encounter. And just like Judas Pig, despite its unsympathetic and loathsome characters, it’s a strangely compelling and enjoyable read. Perhaps then both Judas Pig and Northern Heist should be judged not like other crime novels, but in a special category all of their own.
Judas Pig was published by the now defunct publishers The Do-Not Press and was penned by a man writing under the pseudonym Horace Silver (taken from the acclaimed jazz artist). It has nothing to do with the 2004 robbery or even Northern Ireland. Instead, Judas Pig is an East End Gangland roman à clef. The novel tells the story of Billy Abrahams, gangster and right-hand man to violent psychopath, Danny. Judas Pig has since become something of a cult sensation; a number of leading journalists made no secret of the fact that they knew who the author really was, that his tale was authentic; the author went into hiding fearing repercussions; online members of the reading public, turned amateur detective, tried to guess his identity. After being accused in the pages of the Sunday Times of being a gangland boss, David Hunt, an East End businessman, sued the newspaper for libel. During the trial it emerged that Horace Silver was in fact a man named Jimmy Holmes, and the character Danny, was modelled on Hunt. David Hunt lost his legal action against the Sunday Times and was forced to pay substantial damages.
The reason for recapping this history for this review, is that the buzz surrounding the publication of Northern Heist is very reminiscent to that which surrounded Judas Pig. While Richard O’Rawe is no gangster and there is no suggestion that any of the characters in Northern Heist are based on him or real people, his pedigree does grant the book more than a hint of authenticity. O’Rawe grew up in Belfast at the height of The Troubles, was politicised and joined the IRA. Imprisoned in Long Kesh, he became the press officer for the IRA inmates there. In later years, he’s published three authoritative non-fiction titles on The Troubles, including an acclaimed biography of Gerry Conlon, one of the Guildford Four.
Northern Heist tells the story of James “Ructions” O’Hare, a major criminal and experienced armed robber. Ructions uncle, Panzer, heads up the family firm and Ructions is his right-hand man. This is something Panzer’s son, Finbar, resents. At the beginning of the novel, Ructions is in the final stages of planning a huge robbery, an act which they believe will net them more money than all their previous jobs combined. It’s to be a tiger heist: their gang will kidnap the families of two of The National Bank’s managers, then force the managers to empty the bank’s vault for them, under the threat of doing their families harm. Alongside the logistical challenges of such a robbery, they need to avoid detection from the police, but also the predatory advances of the IRA, who tax criminals and are sure to want a hefty slice of any proceeds.
Like Judas Pig, Northern Heist is an oddly amoral novel. Most crime novels, even those written from the point of view of criminals, attempt to give their protagonists at least a veneer of morality, even if it is somewhat skewed. Northern Heist does no such thing, but rather tells the story of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the heist with almost clinical detachment. With military-esque precision, Ructions puts his plan into action and pulls off the heist. So, the family of the two bank managers are kidnapped and traumatised, Ructions and his men hardly shedding a tear. Without divulging too many spoilers, there is one scene at the end of the book which tries to soften this somewhat, but only goes someway to doing so.
Does this matter? To some extent it does. While Ructions in particular, but other characters also, are well drawn and well imagined, it is difficult to warm to any of them. Quite simply, it’s difficult to cheer for, and be in the corner of, someone willing to traumatise innocent families. I read a lot of crime novels and am no fan of cozy mysteries, rather my particular favourite sub-genre is noir. So, I’m used to reading novels populated by flawed and not particularly nice individuals. The trick for an author is to invest them with just enough qualities that the reader can take to them. A good example of this is James Ellroy’s novel White Jazz, the protagonist of which is a corrupt police officer and slum landlord, a man who performs hits for the mob and is in a sexual relationship with his own sister. Yet somehow, Ellroy manages to make this loathsome individual, if not loveable, at least likeable, and one can’t help but cheer him on. O’Rawe doesn’t do any of that here, and even Ructions, his novel’s main protagonist, is not someone I took to in any way.
That said, Northern Heist is not a normal novel in the same way that Judas Pig wasn’t. Certainly, it’s met with a similar reaction. The Northern Irish newspapers have been full of speculation as to what O’Rawe knows about the real robbery, that of the Northern Bank. His past in the IRA has led many to wonder whether he has inside information, perhaps having been told by people still involved in that life. But if he does, was the robbery perpetrated by a criminal gang as described in the novel, with the IRA having no involvement? Or might O’Rawe’s novel be a cunning ploy to throw those still looking for the money off the scent of the real robbers, i.e. the IRA?
In interviews O’Rawe has dismissed such speculation, asserting that he has no inside information. He states that he has absolutely no idea who committed the infamous Northern Bank robbery, that his novel is pure fiction; yes, it is inspired by a true story, but one that he’s only read about in the newspapers and watched on television.
I have no reason to doubt the author’s integrity, but it’s undoubtedly true that in his past life he met the kind of people - IRA members and criminals - who would commit such an act. And it is this insight which gives the novel its frisson. Arguably, the characters that populate Northern Heist are truer to the real-life criminal underworld than those which populate other crime novels, for who would traumatise innocent families but these people? In the same way the characters that populated Judas Pig were curiously despicable and loathsome, so too are those that stalk the pages of Northern Heist.
Northern Heist is O’Rawe’s first novel and I wonder whether he will write another. If so, will any of the characters of Northern Heist return? I hope so, in the same way I hoped the author of Judas Pig would write a sequel (he did, though Amazon forced its withdrawal after threats of legal action). Just like Judas Pig before it, Northern Heist is a fascinating insight into a world most of us will happily never encounter. And just like Judas Pig, despite its unsympathetic and loathsome characters, it’s a strangely compelling and enjoyable read. Perhaps then both Judas Pig and Northern Heist should be judged not like other crime novels, but in a special category all of their own.
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June 27, 2021هذه الرواية مأخوذة عن أحداث حقيقية ..عن عملية سرقة البنك الوطني الايرلندي في العاصمة " بلفاست " عام ٢٠٠٤
وإن كان للعصابة زعيماً ، إلا إن العامل المُدبر هو ساحر العرض...السيد " راكشنز " ...سيجمع فريقاً من المجرمين المحترفين ، بل وموظفين من البنك لتسهيل تنفيذ العملية....
كيف..؟ لن أخبرك سأدعك تعرف انت كيف ؟..
واستعان بامرأة كجاسوسة تربطها علاقة وطيدة بالبنك...لا لم تكن موظفة بالبنك...لكن يبدو لي بأنه يمكن الوثوق بامرأة خاصة إذا ما أحبتك صدقاً...
هل يمكن للمشاعر أن تتحكم بمنفذ العملية ..ذاك المجرم الخطير المحترف ؟...هل يمكن أن يقع في حب الجاسوسة حقاً..؟...
الكاتب برع في نسج حبكة مُحكمة وإن كانت تشويقية إلى حدٍ ما.. إلا إنها لم تكن مثيرة ولا غامضة..يمكنك التنبوء بمجريات الأحداث...كما أن دقات قلبك لن تتسارع ولن تلهث أنفاسك...بل ثمة هدوء يقبض على الأجواء ويلقي عليك بظلاله...تترقب صامتاً..ساكناً دون حراك...
أخيراً...إنها عملية خطيرة ولا تحتمل الأخطاء فهل من الممكن ان تنجح دون رصاصات ولا شبهات...؟!!!.....
وإن كان للعصابة زعيماً ، إلا إن العامل المُدبر هو ساحر العرض...السيد " راكشنز " ...سيجمع فريقاً من المجرمين المحترفين ، بل وموظفين من البنك لتسهيل تنفيذ العملية....
كيف..؟ لن أخبرك سأدعك تعرف انت كيف ؟..
واستعان بامرأة كجاسوسة تربطها علاقة وطيدة بالبنك...لا لم تكن موظفة بالبنك...لكن يبدو لي بأنه يمكن الوثوق بامرأة خاصة إذا ما أحبتك صدقاً...
هل يمكن للمشاعر أن تتحكم بمنفذ العملية ..ذاك المجرم الخطير المحترف ؟...هل يمكن أن يقع في حب الجاسوسة حقاً..؟...
الكاتب برع في نسج حبكة مُحكمة وإن كانت تشويقية إلى حدٍ ما.. إلا إنها لم تكن مثيرة ولا غامضة..يمكنك التنبوء بمجريات الأحداث...كما أن دقات قلبك لن تتسارع ولن تلهث أنفاسك...بل ثمة هدوء يقبض على الأجواء ويلقي عليك بظلاله...تترقب صامتاً..ساكناً دون حراك...
أخيراً...إنها عملية خطيرة ولا تحتمل الأخطاء فهل من الممكن ان تنجح دون رصاصات ولا شبهات...؟!!!.....
May 24, 2021
This book caught my attention for two reasons. First, being presented as a fictional account of a real-life unsolved bank robbery which took place in Belfast in 2004, I thought it would provide an interesting picture of Northern Ireland just recently past the Good Friday Accords. Secondly, I'm a sucker for a good heist story.
The book, unfortunately, failed on both counts.
Almost nothing about the book localizes it to a particular time or place. With an afternoon's editing the book could easily be reset in any city in Europe or the U.S. We get no particular insight into the role the IRA plays in the criminal underworld of the city, or of how all the former- revolutionaries-turned-bank-robbers have managed the transition. None of the characters feel particularly well drawn, and the resolution of the plot occurs so abruptly that I honestly thought my ebook was missing a chapter.
Secondly, "heist" in fiction implies certain things: an impossible target, a group of pros, a cunning plan executed against all odds. This book gives the reader none of that. The bank robbery was accomplished via a "tiger kidnapping," which is a fancy way of saying "taking women and children hostage and threatening them with rape and murder unless their family members agree to rob the bank for which they work." Aside from not being particularly clever, it also doesn't do much to endear the protagonist to us. The only real craft in the plan comes in when the mastermind of the theft uses some legal chicanery to avoid jail time, and this part of the book is explained so poorly that it's not at all clear what his plan was or how it worked.
Not recommended.
The book, unfortunately, failed on both counts.
Almost nothing about the book localizes it to a particular time or place. With an afternoon's editing the book could easily be reset in any city in Europe or the U.S. We get no particular insight into the role the IRA plays in the criminal underworld of the city, or of how all the former- revolutionaries-turned-bank-robbers have managed the transition. None of the characters feel particularly well drawn, and the resolution of the plot occurs so abruptly that I honestly thought my ebook was missing a chapter.
Secondly, "heist" in fiction implies certain things: an impossible target, a group of pros, a cunning plan executed against all odds. This book gives the reader none of that. The bank robbery was accomplished via a "tiger kidnapping," which is a fancy way of saying "taking women and children hostage and threatening them with rape and murder unless their family members agree to rob the bank for which they work." Aside from not being particularly clever, it also doesn't do much to endear the protagonist to us. The only real craft in the plan comes in when the mastermind of the theft uses some legal chicanery to avoid jail time, and this part of the book is explained so poorly that it's not at all clear what his plan was or how it worked.
Not recommended.
March 20, 2021
My rating reflects my personal reaction to the book. Other types of readers will enjoy it more.
I love a good thriller, especially one with an interesting setting in which I can learn something about a locality or historical period, so this book appealed to me. Although I have an aversion to a lot of cruelty, I expected the nastiness might be tolerable. It is just a book about a bank robbery, right? I was wrong.
A “simple” bank robbery sounds like a fairly straightforward and typically nonviolent act. Not in Northern Heist, where the whole project is rife with mistrust, deceit, and unpleasantness. And this is within the group of would-be robbers themselves.
Author Richard O’Rawe is a bona fide IRA operative, so I trust that the atmosphere he describes is fairly accurate, allowing for a bit of literary license. I expected the characters to be dedicated and likely fanatical. I found them to be worse, rather amoral, indeed, often loathsome. The atmosphere reminded me more of the mafia than of any other group. I could not sympathize with the characters, and that makes a book difficult to enjoy.
Nonetheless, this is a gripping read that you will enjoy if you can tolerate nastiness. Others will probably be happier without this picture of Ireland.
A well-done thriller with a fascinating setting, but not for the squeamish
I love a good thriller, especially one with an interesting setting in which I can learn something about a locality or historical period, so this book appealed to me. Although I have an aversion to a lot of cruelty, I expected the nastiness might be tolerable. It is just a book about a bank robbery, right? I was wrong.
A “simple” bank robbery sounds like a fairly straightforward and typically nonviolent act. Not in Northern Heist, where the whole project is rife with mistrust, deceit, and unpleasantness. And this is within the group of would-be robbers themselves.
Author Richard O’Rawe is a bona fide IRA operative, so I trust that the atmosphere he describes is fairly accurate, allowing for a bit of literary license. I expected the characters to be dedicated and likely fanatical. I found them to be worse, rather amoral, indeed, often loathsome. The atmosphere reminded me more of the mafia than of any other group. I could not sympathize with the characters, and that makes a book difficult to enjoy.
Nonetheless, this is a gripping read that you will enjoy if you can tolerate nastiness. Others will probably be happier without this picture of Ireland.
A well-done thriller with a fascinating setting, but not for the squeamish
July 6, 2023
This was so melodramatic it was almost painful to push through. The writing was ridiculous. Internal dialogues every other sentence and a host of “stoic but good-at-heart” criminals make do not make for compelling reading. I was so far from the edge of my seat, I think I may have crawled up the back.
April 11, 2021
NORTHERN HEIST almost got past me. I’m glad it didn’t. Author Richard O’Rawe is a former operative for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (“IRA”) and did some hard prison time for a bank robbery. While his prior books have been nonfiction, his debut novel demonstrates a dark storytelling ability in the form of a piece of Emerald noir. It is an instant classic.
We learn early on that James “Ructions” O’Hare is planning a bank robbery. That is all we know initially as he begins to prepare for the heist, all the while keeping Panzer O’Hare, his uncle and erstwhile boss, informed. Actually he isn’t quite telling Uncle Panzer everything, a river of deceit and distrust that flows both ways. Ructions doesn’t want his cousin, Finbarr (Panzer’s son), to know about the job or be involved with it in any way. There are a number of reasons for this, one of them being that Finbarr is unreliable. That is the least of his sins, though, as we eventually learn during the course of a cringe-inducing vignette.
The admonition that three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead is ever-present in NORTHERN HEIST, as secrets and double-crosses abound. Ructions himself is fairly honest with his fellow thieves, given that he rarely outright lies to them, though he is cheating on his girlfriend with a married woman who also will play an important part in the robbery. We learn the details of the heist gradually against the backdrop of Belfast in 2004 and the uneasy peace that holds tenuously among multiple parties. Various factions of the IRA are neither gone nor forgotten. Ructions has no particular desire to pay tax or tribute to a troublesome IRA bullyboy who is as determined to wet his beak with the spoils of the heist as Ructions is to make sure that the pig doesn’t get so much as a taste.
The story takes an unexpected turn when Ructions endangers himself in order to save one of his co-conspirators. As it nears its conclusions, the book goes from being a dark, gritty work of suspense to a legal thriller where justice ultimately occurs outside of the courtroom. You might see one of the endings coming, but not all of them, yet you will not be able to stop reading just for the joy of seeing how they all happen.
O’Rawe takes what might have been in lesser hands a complicated topic --- the street politics of Belfast in the early 2000s --- and renders it comprehensible without sacrificing accuracy or emotion. The violence is explosive and the language is occasionally coarse, but neither prevents a bit of nobility and redemption to ultimately shine through, sometimes within the darkest of souls. NORTHERN HEIST may be O’Rawe’s first excursion into fiction, but hopefully it will not be his last, and I certainly wouldn’t mind revisiting the characters who make it to the end of this memorable tale.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
We learn early on that James “Ructions” O’Hare is planning a bank robbery. That is all we know initially as he begins to prepare for the heist, all the while keeping Panzer O’Hare, his uncle and erstwhile boss, informed. Actually he isn’t quite telling Uncle Panzer everything, a river of deceit and distrust that flows both ways. Ructions doesn’t want his cousin, Finbarr (Panzer’s son), to know about the job or be involved with it in any way. There are a number of reasons for this, one of them being that Finbarr is unreliable. That is the least of his sins, though, as we eventually learn during the course of a cringe-inducing vignette.
The admonition that three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead is ever-present in NORTHERN HEIST, as secrets and double-crosses abound. Ructions himself is fairly honest with his fellow thieves, given that he rarely outright lies to them, though he is cheating on his girlfriend with a married woman who also will play an important part in the robbery. We learn the details of the heist gradually against the backdrop of Belfast in 2004 and the uneasy peace that holds tenuously among multiple parties. Various factions of the IRA are neither gone nor forgotten. Ructions has no particular desire to pay tax or tribute to a troublesome IRA bullyboy who is as determined to wet his beak with the spoils of the heist as Ructions is to make sure that the pig doesn’t get so much as a taste.
The story takes an unexpected turn when Ructions endangers himself in order to save one of his co-conspirators. As it nears its conclusions, the book goes from being a dark, gritty work of suspense to a legal thriller where justice ultimately occurs outside of the courtroom. You might see one of the endings coming, but not all of them, yet you will not be able to stop reading just for the joy of seeing how they all happen.
O’Rawe takes what might have been in lesser hands a complicated topic --- the street politics of Belfast in the early 2000s --- and renders it comprehensible without sacrificing accuracy or emotion. The violence is explosive and the language is occasionally coarse, but neither prevents a bit of nobility and redemption to ultimately shine through, sometimes within the darkest of souls. NORTHERN HEIST may be O’Rawe’s first excursion into fiction, but hopefully it will not be his last, and I certainly wouldn’t mind revisiting the characters who make it to the end of this memorable tale.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
December 5, 2018
First off, this is my favorite fiction read of 2018, and may be my favorite book alltogether of 2018.
second, this is easily the best heist/robbery novel I've ever read. And the details of the robbery results are spot on.( I speak as an ex bank manager who was on the receiving end of a takeover robbery-thankfully not a tiger robbery.
this is a title that will stay in my library for years to come. For flashback reasons, I went through the actual robbery at mach 8, it will be interesting to read again at a slower pace.
Great dialogue
really, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It immediately goes on order for the mystery section, face out, with the best shelf talker I can write
second, this is easily the best heist/robbery novel I've ever read. And the details of the robbery results are spot on.( I speak as an ex bank manager who was on the receiving end of a takeover robbery-thankfully not a tiger robbery.
this is a title that will stay in my library for years to come. For flashback reasons, I went through the actual robbery at mach 8, it will be interesting to read again at a slower pace.
Great dialogue
really, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It immediately goes on order for the mystery section, face out, with the best shelf talker I can write
July 13, 2019
This is a fictional account of a real life bank robbery carried out in Belfast in 2004. It was believed but never proven that the IRA were behind the robbery. The author details the tiger kidnapping of two bank officials and describes the robbery based on a number of factual evidence. These parts were well written. The main male characters have little to redeem them although they do have some honour amongst thieves. An enjoyable read with a fair amount of suspension of judgement.
November 24, 2018
Good easy read but at times struggled to ascertain who main character was. I also struggled to remember main characters unusual nicknames.
November 10, 2025
اكبر سرقة بنك في التاريخ كيف تمت وماذا حصل للمتهمين قصة ممتعة
August 5, 2026
A fictional imagining of an actual massive robbery in Northern Ireland. It’s an excellent rollicking read. I’ll look for more by the author.
September 16, 2021
Because of my Irish heritage and my support of Irish resistance to anything that sticks it to Brits, I really wanted to like "Northern Heist". But I found it very confusing particularly towards the end. An ex-IRA member and his nephew secretly plan to rob a Northern Ireland bank. It turns out to be a badly kept secret, the son of the ex-IRA member has certain weaknesses, and when the IRA gets wind of it they threaten the two: give us our cut or else. What follows is a pretty good tale of hostage taking, frame-ups, and bank robbery. The problem is even though we speak the same language, an Irish story sometimes doesn't translate too well to Americans. Tough guy banter makes you think of Colin Farrell instead of a young DeNiro. The locale loses some of its lustre when it's a bank in rundown Belfast instead of a glitzy casino in Vegas. A beautiful bank clerk in Belfast makes you think of Maureen O'Hara while a beautiful girl in LA conjures up Scarlett Johannson. Then there's a courtroom scene that really didn't make sense to me, like a courtroom proceeding written by someone who had never visited a courtroom. It actually might have helped if the writer fleshed out the story a bit more, cut down on the number of characters, which only confused me, and filled out the main characters a little more. In all "Northern Heist" is not a bad book, I just felt I was robbed of a better one.
April 26, 2021
This book was recommended to me based on my browsing/reading history. Normally I pay little attention to such recommendation because they are usually wrong. This book is a tightly written, fast paced book about Irish bank robbers and the IRA from the perspective of one of the robbers. In this respect it reminded me of The Great Train Robbery. The was written by a former IRA man and inspired by true crime events. I was thoroughly satisfied. It does not matter what you think about the IRA, or the Irish Troubles, this book is a good one.
November 8, 2023
تحكى الرواية عن جريمة سرقة البنك الوطنى فى أيرلندا على أيدى اثنين من أشهر لصوص البنوك ، عملية سرقة تتم بدون اقتحام للبنك وفى وضح النهار،، ينتظر اللصوص خارجاً ريثما تأتيهم غنيمتهم. أغلب الرواية حوار،، مع إغفال الوصف بشكل واضح ،، شخصيات الرواية ضعيفة باهته،، الأسلوب لا بأس به ،، لم استمتع بها ،، كنت متوقعة أنها تكون احلى من كده
September 29, 2021
The teasers for the book suggest a novel adaptation of a famous 2004 bank robbery. Instead, this is a novel inspired by the robbery. The story is kind of novel to American readers. The bank robbers kidnap the families of bank employees and force the bankers to rob their own bank. Apparently, that is not too novel in Ireland where they have a name for that phenomenon: tiger kidnapping. There is a byzantine plot involving different underworld factions, law officers, a quasi-legitimate IRA, and infighting in their own bank robbery gang.
The protagonists are no Ocean's 11; and the main character, Ructions O'Hare is no Danny Ocean. He is a smooth criminal; but the author really tries to prevent any sympathy for his characters. All of them are slimy. O'Rawe does try to impose a human element onto Ructions. But every time Ructions is discussed, there a subtle reminder that he is a criminal. Sometimes that reminder is strong, sometimes it is slight. The author knows what he is doing.
To readers unfamiliar with the underworld in Ireland / Northern Ireland, the environment is hard to identify. O'Rawe was a spokesman for the IRA, so I would have hoped that he would have given a clearer picture of the underworld than vague innuendo. O'Rawe's relationship with the IRA probably gave him inside knowledge of the type of people portrayed in the book. They are a mixture of Danny Oceans and Connor MacGregors.
The early and middle chapters definitely build up the excitement. The pace is a bit slow and methodical. O'Rawe (and Ructions) is very detailed in the lead up to and during the robbery. The aftermath of the robbery takes a different turn in style. At this point the novel tries to become an action movie. Many of the different characters begin racing to stab one-another in the back. The action takes on a new appearance of fantasy and absurdity.
The falling action may have been designed to reinforce Ructions' brilliance and planning; but, like the action, it moves so quickly and nonsensically, that readers will be left wondering if they missed something in the blurr. What happened? What is going on? It is not that there are any loose ends. But how each person met their end remains difficult to comprehend. Consider, for example, the fate of the main antagonist, Tony Murdoch. Is it normal for the Provisional IRA to "court marshal" their leaders in kangaroo courts? Tell us O'Rawe! What happened at Ructions' trial? Was it planned? Is that it?
Overall, it is an OK book. I like the glimpse into the Irish underworld. I like the novelty of the crime. I like the novelization inspired by the crime. But the execution, especially the climax (not the bank robbery) and falling action were ambiguous and disappointing. Also disappointing is the way o'Rawe portrays the bumbling of authorities in response to the robbery. In 2004, the government removed the bills from circulation, effectively swapping currency in response to the robbery (the fact they could do this so quickly tell you something about bank robberies in Ireland). What was a record haul of $26million was reduced almost instantly to a few million. That was a brilliant twist to a brilliant crime. Instead....the criminals win.....well, some of them.
The protagonists are no Ocean's 11; and the main character, Ructions O'Hare is no Danny Ocean. He is a smooth criminal; but the author really tries to prevent any sympathy for his characters. All of them are slimy. O'Rawe does try to impose a human element onto Ructions. But every time Ructions is discussed, there a subtle reminder that he is a criminal. Sometimes that reminder is strong, sometimes it is slight. The author knows what he is doing.
To readers unfamiliar with the underworld in Ireland / Northern Ireland, the environment is hard to identify. O'Rawe was a spokesman for the IRA, so I would have hoped that he would have given a clearer picture of the underworld than vague innuendo. O'Rawe's relationship with the IRA probably gave him inside knowledge of the type of people portrayed in the book. They are a mixture of Danny Oceans and Connor MacGregors.
The early and middle chapters definitely build up the excitement. The pace is a bit slow and methodical. O'Rawe (and Ructions) is very detailed in the lead up to and during the robbery. The aftermath of the robbery takes a different turn in style. At this point the novel tries to become an action movie. Many of the different characters begin racing to stab one-another in the back. The action takes on a new appearance of fantasy and absurdity.
The falling action may have been designed to reinforce Ructions' brilliance and planning; but, like the action, it moves so quickly and nonsensically, that readers will be left wondering if they missed something in the blurr. What happened? What is going on? It is not that there are any loose ends. But how each person met their end remains difficult to comprehend. Consider, for example, the fate of the main antagonist, Tony Murdoch. Is it normal for the Provisional IRA to "court marshal" their leaders in kangaroo courts? Tell us O'Rawe! What happened at Ructions' trial? Was it planned? Is that it?
Overall, it is an OK book. I like the glimpse into the Irish underworld. I like the novelty of the crime. I like the novelization inspired by the crime. But the execution, especially the climax (not the bank robbery) and falling action were ambiguous and disappointing. Also disappointing is the way o'Rawe portrays the bumbling of authorities in response to the robbery. In 2004, the government removed the bills from circulation, effectively swapping currency in response to the robbery (the fact they could do this so quickly tell you something about bank robberies in Ireland). What was a record haul of $26million was reduced almost instantly to a few million. That was a brilliant twist to a brilliant crime. Instead....the criminals win.....well, some of them.
April 11, 2021
NORTHERN HEIST almost got past me. I’m glad it didn’t. Author Richard O’Rawe is a former operative for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (“IRA”) and did some hard prison time for a bank robbery. While his prior books have been nonfiction, his debut novel demonstrates a dark storytelling ability in the form of a piece of Emerald noir. It is an instant classic.
We learn early on that James “Ructions” O’Hare is planning a bank robbery. That is all we know initially as he begins to prepare for the heist, all the while keeping Panzer O’Hare, his uncle and erstwhile boss, informed. Actually he isn’t quite telling Uncle Panzer everything, a river of deceit and distrust that flows both ways. Ructions doesn’t want his cousin, Finbarr (Panzer’s son), to know about the job or be involved with it in any way. There are a number of reasons for this, one of them being that Finbarr is unreliable. That is the least of his sins, though, as we eventually learn during the course of a cringe-inducing vignette.
The admonition that three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead is ever-present in NORTHERN HEIST, as secrets and double-crosses abound. Ructions himself is fairly honest with his fellow thieves, given that he rarely outright lies to them, though he is cheating on his girlfriend with a married woman who also will play an important part in the robbery. We learn the details of the heist gradually against the backdrop of Belfast in 2004 and the uneasy peace that holds tenuously among multiple parties. Various factions of the IRA are neither gone nor forgotten. Ructions has no particular desire to pay tax or tribute to a troublesome IRA bullyboy who is as determined to wet his beak with the spoils of the heist as Ructions is to make sure that the pig doesn’t get so much as a taste.
The story takes an unexpected turn when Ructions endangers himself in order to save one of his co-conspirators. As it nears its conclusions, the book goes from being a dark, gritty work of suspense to a legal thriller where justice ultimately occurs outside of the courtroom. You might see one of the endings coming, but not all of them, yet you will not be able to stop reading just for the joy of seeing how they all happen.
O’Rawe takes what might have been in lesser hands a complicated topic --- the street politics of Belfast in the early 2000s --- and renders it comprehensible without sacrificing accuracy or emotion. The violence is explosive and the language is occasionally coarse, but neither prevents a bit of nobility and redemption to ultimately shine through, sometimes within the darkest of souls. NORTHERN HEIST may be O’Rawe’s first excursion into fiction, but hopefully it will not be his last, and I certainly wouldn’t mind revisiting the characters who make it to the end of this memorable tale.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
We learn early on that James “Ructions” O’Hare is planning a bank robbery. That is all we know initially as he begins to prepare for the heist, all the while keeping Panzer O’Hare, his uncle and erstwhile boss, informed. Actually he isn’t quite telling Uncle Panzer everything, a river of deceit and distrust that flows both ways. Ructions doesn’t want his cousin, Finbarr (Panzer’s son), to know about the job or be involved with it in any way. There are a number of reasons for this, one of them being that Finbarr is unreliable. That is the least of his sins, though, as we eventually learn during the course of a cringe-inducing vignette.
The admonition that three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead is ever-present in NORTHERN HEIST, as secrets and double-crosses abound. Ructions himself is fairly honest with his fellow thieves, given that he rarely outright lies to them, though he is cheating on his girlfriend with a married woman who also will play an important part in the robbery. We learn the details of the heist gradually against the backdrop of Belfast in 2004 and the uneasy peace that holds tenuously among multiple parties. Various factions of the IRA are neither gone nor forgotten. Ructions has no particular desire to pay tax or tribute to a troublesome IRA bullyboy who is as determined to wet his beak with the spoils of the heist as Ructions is to make sure that the pig doesn’t get so much as a taste.
The story takes an unexpected turn when Ructions endangers himself in order to save one of his co-conspirators. As it nears its conclusions, the book goes from being a dark, gritty work of suspense to a legal thriller where justice ultimately occurs outside of the courtroom. You might see one of the endings coming, but not all of them, yet you will not be able to stop reading just for the joy of seeing how they all happen.
O’Rawe takes what might have been in lesser hands a complicated topic --- the street politics of Belfast in the early 2000s --- and renders it comprehensible without sacrificing accuracy or emotion. The violence is explosive and the language is occasionally coarse, but neither prevents a bit of nobility and redemption to ultimately shine through, sometimes within the darkest of souls. NORTHERN HEIST may be O’Rawe’s first excursion into fiction, but hopefully it will not be his last, and I certainly wouldn’t mind revisiting the characters who make it to the end of this memorable tale.
Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
October 27, 2018
Ricky O’Rawe’s first crime thriller is a bit of an animal.
Lean, muscular and razor-clawed, Northern Heist tells the story of a fictional high stakes bank robbery in Belfast in 2004, but clearly alludes to the biggest such raid in the UK or Ireland at that time. Given this, Northern Heist was always going to sail close to the wind, but O’Rawe has proved himself to be fit for the challenge.
The story entertains; it rattles along at a great pace from page one, characters are clearly drawn, the intricacies, investments and excitement of planning a large robbery are conveyed, and the ever-present threat of betrayal and getting caught loom large. But O’Rawe’s tale is more than skin deep. He also tells the truth about the ruthlessness and terror which make tiger kidnappings work so effectively in reality. If the fear is not genuine, the outcome is uncertain and the reader gets a real taste of the lasting trauma the victims must experience. O’Rawe’s back and forth action of the heist itself is superb, the dialogue throughout is pitch perfect and the proof of O’Rawe’s mastery of this potentially polarising subject matter is that he gets the reader rooting both Ructions O’Hare (the criminal mastermind) and Declan Butler (the central victim of the heist) without feeling conflicted. I’d like to say more but to avoid spoilers I’ll zip it. Ructions would be proud of me. O’Rawe makes life difficult for himself in terms of twists and turns of the plot and in doing so, keeps the reader guessing and nail biting all the way through. A tight piece of thriller writing, and hard to believe this is his first novel.
The real life Northern Bank robbery remains largely an unsolved crime and Ricky O’Rawe has been asked as much about it as he has his fictional story. It reminds me of the time Stephen King was asked to speak to the Federal Government about the motivations behind high school shootings, simply because he wrote a successful novel (later pulled by the author himself), on the same subject. When the dust settles and mysteries remain in this imperfect world, sometimes fiction is the only place where we can find the answers we need. In that sense, if you want the truth about the real winners and losers in tiger kidnappings and big bank robberies you should pick up a copy of Northern Heist.
Lean, muscular and razor-clawed, Northern Heist tells the story of a fictional high stakes bank robbery in Belfast in 2004, but clearly alludes to the biggest such raid in the UK or Ireland at that time. Given this, Northern Heist was always going to sail close to the wind, but O’Rawe has proved himself to be fit for the challenge.
The story entertains; it rattles along at a great pace from page one, characters are clearly drawn, the intricacies, investments and excitement of planning a large robbery are conveyed, and the ever-present threat of betrayal and getting caught loom large. But O’Rawe’s tale is more than skin deep. He also tells the truth about the ruthlessness and terror which make tiger kidnappings work so effectively in reality. If the fear is not genuine, the outcome is uncertain and the reader gets a real taste of the lasting trauma the victims must experience. O’Rawe’s back and forth action of the heist itself is superb, the dialogue throughout is pitch perfect and the proof of O’Rawe’s mastery of this potentially polarising subject matter is that he gets the reader rooting both Ructions O’Hare (the criminal mastermind) and Declan Butler (the central victim of the heist) without feeling conflicted. I’d like to say more but to avoid spoilers I’ll zip it. Ructions would be proud of me. O’Rawe makes life difficult for himself in terms of twists and turns of the plot and in doing so, keeps the reader guessing and nail biting all the way through. A tight piece of thriller writing, and hard to believe this is his first novel.
The real life Northern Bank robbery remains largely an unsolved crime and Ricky O’Rawe has been asked as much about it as he has his fictional story. It reminds me of the time Stephen King was asked to speak to the Federal Government about the motivations behind high school shootings, simply because he wrote a successful novel (later pulled by the author himself), on the same subject. When the dust settles and mysteries remain in this imperfect world, sometimes fiction is the only place where we can find the answers we need. In that sense, if you want the truth about the real winners and losers in tiger kidnappings and big bank robberies you should pick up a copy of Northern Heist.
November 14, 2023
It's a new century and peace after a sort has come to Belfast, but there's plenty of action roiling under the surface in this fast-paced and entertaining story of Irish bank robbers and their IRA adversaries, as the latter adjusts to its new role in "peaceful" Ireland. To be fair, however, a Venn diagram would reveal quite a bit of overlap between the bank robbers and the IRA, and perhaps the adjustment is less than it would appear on the surface.
The lead here is the enigmatic James "Ructions" O'Hare, a lone wolf with a lot of connections. He is a product of a long-standing family of bank robbers, especially close to Panzer O'Hare, the uncle who essentially raised him. Ructions is painfully aware though, he is the nephew, the product of the family's black sheep, and that Panzer has a son who comes first. Ructions is also former IRA, leaving after the ceasefires of the mid-1990s. That leave-taking made enemies within the IRA, but Ructions still has friends inside as well.
As the story begins, O'Hare is planning the big one. A mythic bank robbery beyond the scope of most imaginations (supposedly based on a real incident). How Ructions organizes and carries out his plan is the bulk of this story. He has to navigate the fluid loyalties of his fellow criminals while avoiding the IRA and their expectation of a cut (tax) on all spoils. Ructions never fully trusts anyone in this operation, so off-ramps and safety nets abound. The progress forward is quick, largely unadorned by extraneous description. The one exception may be O'Rawe's portrait of the actual robbery, which is rife with the everyday detritus and happenstance that allows something so bold to occur in plain sight. The narrative is dialogue-driven in conversations that would make Jack Webb feel at home. Quick and dirty. The conclusion provides a cogent culmination, though not necessarily a happy one to all.
According to online biographies, the author is a former member of the IRA who spent time in prison during "the Troubles." His previous work focused on non-fiction contemporary histories of the Irish conflict. His biography suggests why the characters, the relationships between those characters, and the settings all seem so realistic.
Looking over your
shoulder doesn't help when the
one in front moves in.
The lead here is the enigmatic James "Ructions" O'Hare, a lone wolf with a lot of connections. He is a product of a long-standing family of bank robbers, especially close to Panzer O'Hare, the uncle who essentially raised him. Ructions is painfully aware though, he is the nephew, the product of the family's black sheep, and that Panzer has a son who comes first. Ructions is also former IRA, leaving after the ceasefires of the mid-1990s. That leave-taking made enemies within the IRA, but Ructions still has friends inside as well.
As the story begins, O'Hare is planning the big one. A mythic bank robbery beyond the scope of most imaginations (supposedly based on a real incident). How Ructions organizes and carries out his plan is the bulk of this story. He has to navigate the fluid loyalties of his fellow criminals while avoiding the IRA and their expectation of a cut (tax) on all spoils. Ructions never fully trusts anyone in this operation, so off-ramps and safety nets abound. The progress forward is quick, largely unadorned by extraneous description. The one exception may be O'Rawe's portrait of the actual robbery, which is rife with the everyday detritus and happenstance that allows something so bold to occur in plain sight. The narrative is dialogue-driven in conversations that would make Jack Webb feel at home. Quick and dirty. The conclusion provides a cogent culmination, though not necessarily a happy one to all.
According to online biographies, the author is a former member of the IRA who spent time in prison during "the Troubles." His previous work focused on non-fiction contemporary histories of the Irish conflict. His biography suggests why the characters, the relationships between those characters, and the settings all seem so realistic.
Looking over your
shoulder doesn't help when the
one in front moves in.
April 15, 2021
Northern Heist takes place in 2004, when a former IRA heavyweight and expert bank robber named James “Ructions” O’Hare comes up with a plan to steal truckloads of cash from the National Bank on High Street in Belfast. He figures that the haul will get them ₤35 to 36 million in cash, and turns to his crime boss uncle, Johnny “Panzer” O’Hare for financing. Panzer agrees, because part of the plan is to stiff the Provos, the Provisional Wing of the Irish Republican Army, who impose a fifty-percent tax on any criminal activity that takes place anywhere in the north of Ireland.
Ructions who’s been sleeping with the wife of the bank manager for a couple of years, has learned all of its operational and security secrets from her. When Panzer asks if he’s fallen in love with her, Ructions lies and tells his uncle ‘No.’ On the other hand however, when asked if his profligate son Finnbar has knowledge of the heist, Panzer also lies, and tells his nephew ‘No.’
The robbery attempt goes forward, aided by several ex-paramilitary gangsters acting as tiger kidnappers and with the first of several double-crosses in place, while the police, and the IRA, both pull out all the stops, trying to catch Ructions and his uncle Panzer in the act. But in the end, a pair of trials, one in the courts, the other by the IRA, determine the outcome of this pulsating, relentlessly exciting yarn that’s based on an actual unsolved robbery that nearly derailed the Good Friday Peace Accord of 1998 . . . the agreement which halted the ‘Troubles’ and stopped the sectarian violence that had plagued the area for nearly four decades.
The novel’s spot-on accuracy is informed by Mr. O’Rawe’s own experiences, first as an IRA operative, and then as an inmate in the infamous Long Kesh Prison. He’s the real deal, and his novel is as compelling as it is fascinating!
Ructions who’s been sleeping with the wife of the bank manager for a couple of years, has learned all of its operational and security secrets from her. When Panzer asks if he’s fallen in love with her, Ructions lies and tells his uncle ‘No.’ On the other hand however, when asked if his profligate son Finnbar has knowledge of the heist, Panzer also lies, and tells his nephew ‘No.’
The robbery attempt goes forward, aided by several ex-paramilitary gangsters acting as tiger kidnappers and with the first of several double-crosses in place, while the police, and the IRA, both pull out all the stops, trying to catch Ructions and his uncle Panzer in the act. But in the end, a pair of trials, one in the courts, the other by the IRA, determine the outcome of this pulsating, relentlessly exciting yarn that’s based on an actual unsolved robbery that nearly derailed the Good Friday Peace Accord of 1998 . . . the agreement which halted the ‘Troubles’ and stopped the sectarian violence that had plagued the area for nearly four decades.
The novel’s spot-on accuracy is informed by Mr. O’Rawe’s own experiences, first as an IRA operative, and then as an inmate in the infamous Long Kesh Prison. He’s the real deal, and his novel is as compelling as it is fascinating!
September 28, 2021
I love a good crime story, and so this tale of a Belfast bank heist caught my eye. A few things I didn't know until after I finished it: (1) the novel started life as a screenplay, (2) the story is a retelling of the real-life £26.5 million 2004 Northern Bank robbery, (3) the author was a fairly prominent member of the IRA. The real-life authorities have long-believed the heist was committed by one of the various flavors of the IRA that continued on after the Good Friday Agreement. The novel imagines an alternative -- that the robbery was conducted by an established criminal with very good planning skills and a key accomplice.
James "Ructions" O'Hare is that criminal, and the story largely follows him and his plan, as he is the maestro to a number of unconnected teams working on a double "tiger-kidnapping" to get access to the bank vault, as well as various transport teams, a money-launderer, etc... However, he must contend with his boss, whom he's not sure he can fully trust, his boss's pedophile son, the police, and the local IRA thug (it's not clear which flavor of IRA he's supposed to be), who is due a large cut of any such action.
It all unfolds in reasonably solid page-turning fashion, as the plan is executed and Ructions juggles all the moving parts and players expertly. The ending is somewhat anticlimactic, but the documentary-like attention to detail throughout keeps it all pretty interesting. The characters are all more types than multi-dimensional humans, and that's where it definitely had the feel of a script more than a novel, but on the whole it's a solid caper story with interesting IRA undertones.
James "Ructions" O'Hare is that criminal, and the story largely follows him and his plan, as he is the maestro to a number of unconnected teams working on a double "tiger-kidnapping" to get access to the bank vault, as well as various transport teams, a money-launderer, etc... However, he must contend with his boss, whom he's not sure he can fully trust, his boss's pedophile son, the police, and the local IRA thug (it's not clear which flavor of IRA he's supposed to be), who is due a large cut of any such action.
It all unfolds in reasonably solid page-turning fashion, as the plan is executed and Ructions juggles all the moving parts and players expertly. The ending is somewhat anticlimactic, but the documentary-like attention to detail throughout keeps it all pretty interesting. The characters are all more types than multi-dimensional humans, and that's where it definitely had the feel of a script more than a novel, but on the whole it's a solid caper story with interesting IRA undertones.
April 7, 2021
On December 20, 2004 the vault of the Northern Bank in Belfast, Ireland was cleaned out in a spectacular bank robbery. The robbers got 26.5 million pounds. The police immediately suspected the IRA. The IRA denied responsibility. A little bit of the money has been recovered but the crime has never been solved.
Richard O'Rawe is a former IRA operative who did time for bank robbery and later did time in Long Kesh for political activity. This is his novel loosely based on the robbery. He is coy about how much of this story is true.
In this book, as in real life, this was a "tiger robbery" where the robbers kidnapped the family of a bank employee who had access to the vault and blackmail him to help them commit the robbery. The tiger robbery was particularly tricky in this case. The robbery in this book is pulled off by Irish bank robbers who are avoiding the police and the IRA. The IRA demands a 50% "tax" any bank robberies and enforces the tax with violence. .
This is a good complicated plot full of a whole variety of bad guys, double crosses and bank robbing chicanery.
It does serve as a reminder of the harm caused by the hard men created by the IRA battles.
Richard O'Rawe is a former IRA operative who did time for bank robbery and later did time in Long Kesh for political activity. This is his novel loosely based on the robbery. He is coy about how much of this story is true.
In this book, as in real life, this was a "tiger robbery" where the robbers kidnapped the family of a bank employee who had access to the vault and blackmail him to help them commit the robbery. The tiger robbery was particularly tricky in this case. The robbery in this book is pulled off by Irish bank robbers who are avoiding the police and the IRA. The IRA demands a 50% "tax" any bank robberies and enforces the tax with violence. .
This is a good complicated plot full of a whole variety of bad guys, double crosses and bank robbing chicanery.
It does serve as a reminder of the harm caused by the hard men created by the IRA battles.
December 18, 2024
I thought that It was a grate and interesting book to read it had a lot of good contexts in it. And it was just cool to read. I go it was cool about how they all robbed the bank and stole all this stuff based on a true story and how he turned his life into righting it. The book is about a bunch of robers that rob a bunch of banks.
My favorite quote from the book is Panzer opens his mouth as if gulping for air, like he is about to say something that runs contrary to his nature. because I think that is just a good quote on how he is so nervous about the hist and how he is scared of the boos of the bank robbers.
I think over all it was a good book that I read all the way up to one of the last chapters of the book and I think that this was a good thing to read and was definitely worth my time.
My favorite quote from the book is Panzer opens his mouth as if gulping for air, like he is about to say something that runs contrary to his nature. because I think that is just a good quote on how he is so nervous about the hist and how he is scared of the boos of the bank robbers.
I think over all it was a good book that I read all the way up to one of the last chapters of the book and I think that this was a good thing to read and was definitely worth my time.
June 10, 2022
A crime thriller based on the never-solved 2004 robbery of the Northern Bank in Belfast, Ireland where more than 20 million pounds disappeared overnight. Mr. O'Rawe constructs a plausible, although fictional, scenario as to how it could have been accomplished, and gives the reader some insight as to the interplay between IRA and criminal elements in Ireland. O'Rawe's status as a former IRA operative and convicted bank robber adds credibility to his work. Recommended.
January 9, 2023
I did not finish this book due to the offensive and misogynistic language, which I found to be extremely off putting and unnecessary. 25% was all I was willing to tolerate, given the story did not appear to be that solid. It is odd to me that given a I have a very close friend who lives and works in Belfast, that a publisher would think that the volume of language represents the people of the region, or is acceptable.
I absolutely do not recommend this book.
I absolutely do not recommend this book.
June 3, 2021
What a read! If one wants to author a work, especially on the unsolved mystery of the largest heist in Irish & British history, how magnificent an ex-IRA bank robber is claimed for the literary prize. Simply outstanding and thank you Brandi for pushing your father! A memorable work by a very gifted writer, his experience says it all. Naysayers take a leap and shut your pie hole.
July 30, 2021
Great plot, great story
This is about a well planned, perfectly executed bank robbery. Problem is in real life a score this intricate with so many folks involved would have been FUBAR because too many folks knew about it. Still it's an excellent novel with a good amount of retribution and the central characters are likeable and engaging
This is about a well planned, perfectly executed bank robbery. Problem is in real life a score this intricate with so many folks involved would have been FUBAR because too many folks knew about it. Still it's an excellent novel with a good amount of retribution and the central characters are likeable and engaging
August 31, 2021
Pretty good debut. Belfast bank robbery with the main robber bedeviled by untrustworthy co-conspirators…plus the IRA. I’m actually curious: since the author was in the IRA (served a prison sentence) did he have to run this by the IRA high command, especially since the Provos don’t come off all that well?
June 16, 2022
Terrific tale of an Irish bank heist.
I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did simply based on the fact that I'd never heard of Richard O'Rawe. Instead, I gobbled it up in a few days. The last part of the book read like a Hitchcock, cutting back and forth between simultaneous related events. And a satisfying ending. I look forward to more books by Mr O'Rawe.
I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did simply based on the fact that I'd never heard of Richard O'Rawe. Instead, I gobbled it up in a few days. The last part of the book read like a Hitchcock, cutting back and forth between simultaneous related events. And a satisfying ending. I look forward to more books by Mr O'Rawe.
June 29, 2022
Wonderful Irish caper
The IRA, gangsters, police and assorted other characters come together in this perfect caper story. The only thing missing is a dictionary to help translate the occasional slang terms that add to the wonderful sense of place evinced by this novel.
There’s a sequel that I’m looking forward to read.
The IRA, gangsters, police and assorted other characters come together in this perfect caper story. The only thing missing is a dictionary to help translate the occasional slang terms that add to the wonderful sense of place evinced by this novel.
There’s a sequel that I’m looking forward to read.
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