One Man and His Bomb. H.R.F. Keating

by H.R.F. Keating

Book Overview

Detective Superintendent Harriet Martens takes great pride in her twin sons, who decided to follow in her footsteps by joining the police force in London. She is devastated one night when she learns... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0749081686
• ISBN13: 9780749081683
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Allison & Busby
• Length: 309 Pages

Customer Reviews

"Human kind cannot bear very much reality"

One Man and his Bomb begins with an inexplicable act of violence. Detective Superintendent Harriet Martins is idly chatting with her husband John, having a drink with him in the local pub when she receives some devastating news. Like a pearl of thunder, her mobile phone suddenly rings with its obliterating message, her son Graham has been killed; the victim of a booby trap, and Malcolm his twin brother, who was with him at the time, has been seriously injured. In an instant, Harriet's whole world turns upside down, and it's an existence filled to every last corner with a blank, black overwhelming grief, "nothing but utter loss." An organization of Indian terrorists take the blame, allegedly fighting against all forms of Western Imperialism, a new insidious terrorist group - perhaps modeled on al Qaeda - dedicated to ending what they see as wicked Western influences. Harriet breaks down and she seems to split in two, both feelings battling around inside her head: The real Harriet is weighed-down with grief and the "hologram Harriet," becomes an emotionless machine, only able to think rationally about what the professional and career driven Harriet should be doing. Told by her boss, Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Brown, that she must continue working because "work is the best the best medicine to help her get out of these troubles," Harriet carries on with her attempts to counter a possible threat of a terrorist attack in Birchester. Brown places Harriet in charge of an investigation involving the theft of a prohibitively dangerous herbicide from Heronsgate House, an agricultural research station situated right on the outskirts of Birchester. Named CA 534, the material is indeed formidable - just a small amount of the substance unleashed into the environment has the capacity to destroy all life for miles around. The herbicide can also be manipulated to produce an unstoppable runaway substance, several thousand times more effective than the original. But who could have taken this small sample that was once thought destroyed, and how do they propose to use it? Arriving on the scene, Harriet interviews two feckless security guards who can tell her little, except that the intruders had scarves across their faces and rubber gloves in their hands and sported guns, and threatened to tie the two of them up and even douse them with petrol. Heronsgate's shifty and arrogant director Dr. Lennox also offers little insight into the crime, whilst his personal assistant, the easily led and rather diffident Christopher Alexander seems to be withholding information. Suspicion also turns to Professor Wichmann, a German professor, who new Alexander and was encouraging him to take a Doctorate course in German Literature. Aware that if something like this gets into the hands of any terrorist organization, it might prove as much a threat as whatever explosives they normally acquire, Harriet must race against time to find the perpetrators. But what appea

"We will not be intimidated by terrorists."

In "One Man and His Bomb," by H. R. F. Keating, Detective Superintendent Harriet Martens of the Greater Birchester Police lives up to her nickname, the Hard Detective. When Harriet and her husband, John Piddock, suffer a devastating personal tragedy as a result of an act of terror, Harriet is tempted to retreat from the world and wallow in grief. However, she decides to split herself into two: one Harriet is weighed down with misery, but the other, whom she dubs Hologram Harriet, goes through the motions of living with no outward signs of distress. When Harriet's boss, Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Brown, asks her to take on a new case, Harriet is grateful; for her, work is therapeutic. The case involves the theft of a virulent herbicide that was produced in the lab of Heronsgate House, an agricultural research facility. This substance, known as CA 534, has the potential to cause extensive destruction if it were to fall into the wrong hands. Harriet must find out who stole CA 534 and recover it without allowing any word of the threat to reach the public. She interviews Heronsgate's arrogant director, his nervous personal assistant, the facility's two inept security guards, and several other individuals who may have useful knowledge to offer. Harriet's inquiries also lead her to an elderly former professor of German studies and the formidable head of a militant organization known as WAGI (Women Against Genetic Interference). WAGI's goal is to stop unchecked scientific experimentation by whatever means necessary. In some ways, "One Man and His Bomb" is a study in contradictions. Keating clearly demonstrates that committing acts of violence to make political statements costs innocent lives and devastates the victims' families. On the other hand, through Harriet, the author makes the controversial statement that we should listen to the terrorists' grievances before we dismiss them out of hand. In addition, in spite of the novel's focus on death and destruction, much of the narrative is filled with sardonic and wry humor. Keating has always been extremely deft at creating colorful characters and lively dialogue, and this slim volume is fast-paced and involving. Harriet is a likeable character and she has found a perfect match in her supportive and compassionate husband. Overall, "One Man and His Bomb" is a timely, thoughtful, and poignant detective story that will please fans of mysteries with a strong British flavor.

excellent police procedural

At home while talking to her husband, Detective Superintendent Harriet Martens feels a tinge of foreboding when thunder sounds unexpectedly. The phone rings a moment later and Superintendent Charles Robertson tells her that a bomb exploded killing her son, Police Constable Graham Piddock and seriously injuring his twin brother Police Constable Malcolm. Indian terrorists claim responsibility, saying they are at war with western imperialism. Harriet's superior knows she needs something to concentrate on other than her grief and puts her on a case where another form of terrorism is involved. The Heronsgate, a government agricultural lab was ordered to destroy CA 534, but the director held on to a sample that could be used to destroy crops. Harriet interviews a variety of people from a retired German professor on the National Watch List, to the assistant the director fired to the WAGI (Women against Interference) but finds no one who stands out of the crowd as the thief. H.R.F Keating shows how the British police cope with the war on terror and how the protagonist copes with her grief that a terrorist bomb killed one son and maimed another. Readers see much more of the heroine's personal life and her interactions with her husband and surviving offspring. Those reflections soften her image and make her seem more like a real person instead of a stereotypical police officer who is hard on crime. The who-done-it is cleverly crafted and complex, leaving the reader clueless about the identity of the thief. Harriet Klausner