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Say Nothing

Patrick Radden Keefe, 2018

In 1972 the IRA abducted Jean McConville, a Belfast widow with ten children. Her disappearance anchors a story of the Troubles told through Dolours Price, Brendan Hughes and Gerry Adams.

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29 parts, about 33 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Uses one mother's abduction in Belfast to trace the Troubles through the lives of those who fought and those left behind
  • Shows how secrecy, loyalty and silence shaped a conflict, and how a peace settlement can leave old crimes unanswered
  • Reads like investigative journalism, built on archived testimony and court fights, and keeps rival accounts clearly apart

Who it is for

  • Readers of narrative nonfiction and true crime
  • Readers seeking to understand the Northern Ireland conflict
  • Journalists and historians who promise sources secrecy

What the summary covers

  1. Prologue: The Treasure Room1 min
  2. An Abduction1 min
  3. Albert's Daughters1 min
  4. Evacuation1 min
  5. An Underground Army1 min
  6. St Jude's Walk1 min
  7. The Dirty Dozen and The Little Brigadier1 min
  8. The Cracked Cup2 min
  9. Orphans1 min
  10. The Freds1 min
  11. Close England!2 min
  12. The Belfast Ten and The Toy Salesman1 min
  13. The Ultimate Weapon1 min
  14. Captives1 min
  15. A Clockwork Doll1 min
  16. Field Day1 min
  17. The Bloody Envelope1 min
  18. Blue Ribbons1 min
  19. A Secret Archive1 min
  20. On the Ledge1 min
  21. Touts1 min
  22. Bog Queen1 min
  23. An Entanglement of Lies1 min
  24. The Last Gun1 min
  25. The Mystery Radio1 min
  26. The Boston Tapes2 min
  27. Death by Misadventure1 min
  28. This Is the Past1 min
  29. The Unknown2 min

Recommended by

  • David GrannNumber 1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon
    Meticulously reported, exquisitely written, and grippingly told, Say Nothing is a work of revelation.
  • Gillian FlynnNumber 1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl
    Keefe’s incisive reporting reveals the hidden costs of the Troubles

About the author

  • Patrick Radden KeefeAmerican writer and investigative journalist
    • Grew up in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and attended Milton Academy.
    • His great grandparents were Irish immigrants from Donegal.
    • Took a B.A. in history at Columbia in 1999 and won a Marshall Scholarship that year.
    • Earned a J.D. degree from Yale Law School.
    • Took a year off from law school on a New York Public Library fellowship to write his first book, Chatter.
    • Worked as a policy adviser in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2010 to 2011.
    • Hired full time by The New Yorker in 2012.
    • Say Nothing was named one of the Twenty Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times Book Review.

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