Customer Reviews

The Stalker Affair

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In northern Ireland in late 1982 over a one month period six unarmed IRA suspects were shot dead. John Stalker then the deputy chief of the Greater Manchester police was brought in as an independent arbiter to investigate accusations of a "shoot to kill policy." He discovered a host of illegal activities perpetrated by the Special Branch officers of northern Ireland's police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary. He strongly suspected that the suspects were shot as revenge due to the fact that four of them were linked by intelligence to the murder of four policeman just three weeks before their own deaths. Ultimately, he stated that the RUC Special Branch operated like a 'Central American assassination squad--truly a police force out of control'.

Every professional police investigator becomes a writer, but rarely an author. Mr. Stalker does a fine job in his first, and probably only, book documenting the case that ended his career. The last thing a corrupt leader needs or wants is an honest, competent investigation of the leader's deeds. The leadership that sent John Stalker to Ireland hoped to pacify the public. Instead they got an honest investigation. Read this book.

John Stalker; one of Britain's highest-ranking policemen, was sent to Occupied Ireland to investigate allegations that the Royal Ulster Constabulary includes Death Squads. The day before his scheduled interrogation, under caution, of Occupied Ireland's ranking RUC officer, John Hermon (now "Sir John"), he himself was falsely charged with "associating with criminals" and removed from the investigation. Though completely exonerated, Stalker still pays the price for his statement; "I'm a loyal British subject but I draw the line at murder." His 16-volume official report remains suppressed, he was ruined and his landmark book is still smeared (see accompanying review). Stalker heroically attempted in 1986 what McPhilemy's "The Committee" accomplishes in 1998. Read both books - they complement and confirm each another; also "An Index of Deaths From the Conflict in Ireland" by Malcolm Sutton. The officially-vilified John Stalker is about to be publicly vindicated along with the many decent British army officers and men who, since then, have paid horrible prices for refusing to commit war crimes in Ireland. Read Stalker! He, an honest Englishman, tried to end Britain's centuries-long genocide in Ireland in 1986. He will help to end it now if enough people discover his riveting "The Stalker Affair."

A true story that sounds like a great tale. It has everything, cover-up, government conspiracy, hero gets too close to the truth, assassinations etc. Why the low score? It goes on and on without end. His investigation come abruptly to a halt midway through the book and there are four chapters in a row of the author saying "I was doing nothing." in many unintersting ways. The narrative is painfully slow and uninteresting. "A crackling good yarn" it isn't. Maybe a good yawn. Highly recommended to insomniacs.