The Bomb Makers

The terror cells have been activated and elite bombers from ETA and the Real IRA are already making their move, intent on using a device that will cause carnage on an unimaginable scale…

This unusual, contemporary thriller from Marcus Case is orchestrated as a third-person multi-perspective narrative. The Bomb Makers is cleverly written from the viewpoints of both sides of the story – the police and the terrorists – drawing readers into the thrill of the chase from all directions.

“In 2012 I was inspired to explore this particular storyline after reading a newspaper report about the arrest of a fugitive ETA terrorist in Edinburgh,” explains Marcus, who lived there for many years. “Several months later I was researching a 1997 Basque assassination plot for the later stages of the first draft when I discovered that one of the suspects not only had the same given name as one of my terrorists, but was also arrested in Cambridge whilst I was working there. It was the first I knew of this. Did someone say that truth is stranger than fiction?”

The story follows Detective Chief Inspector Emma Rydan, who only cares about two things – her daughter and her job. Working in London with her seconded junior officer Detective Sergeant Kent, she is suddenly faced with a rising body count, few clues and a race against the clock after a joint counter-terrorism arrest with the Guardia Civil ends in chaos.

On the other side of the Irish Sea, tension escalates in a high security wing of Her Majesty’s Prison Maghaberry as one of the political prisoners attempts to derail the terrorists’ plot. He finds himself left with one final, frantic option and everything to lose.

As the manhunt hurtles towards its terrifying conclusion, Rydan realises her daughter is closest to the greatest threat. And they’re both out of time…