An interesting book detailing the investigation into a Northern Irish terrorist, with undercover officers getting close to the suspects and building a case to enable a positive prosecution.
It is a fascinating insight to how undercover operations work on building up evidence and the hard work required in doing so.
Highly recommended and an entertaining read.

Anybody who knows me well, knows that not only am I a book geek but I am also a history and true crime nerd. So you can probably imagine why I was so drawn to this book. ‘Operation George’ is slightly different to the books that I normally read as it is a non fiction title and I usually read fiction. They do say that a change is as good as a rest and so without further ado, I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down for an interesting afternoon of reading. Having just finished reading ‘Operation George’, all I can say is ‘wow’. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Operation George’ but more about that in a bit.
As soon as I started reading, I instinctively knew that I was going to become addicted to reading the book and that I would find it thoroughly interesting. I started reading and I just couldn’t stop. I was immediately drawn into the story and I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn’t a fictional story or a Hollywood movie but the events detailed in the book actually happened! I had only intended to read a couple of chapters to make a start on the book but I became that wrapped up in the events and the different characters that I was still sat there reading over an hour and several chapters later. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the ‘operation’. I couldn’t turn the pages of the book quickly enough as I worked my way through. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘Operation George’. I found it to be a gripping, tense and dramatic read, which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Operation George’ is superbly written. The author certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and then take them on one hell of an unpredictable and scary rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns to it than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a hell of a fast pace throughout. The fact that this book details events as they actually happened somehow makes the story even scarier. I m a huge supporter of the police in general and especially of those brave police officers who take on undercover missions to infiltrate certain groups and/ or ensnare certain offenders. It’s a job that I certainly couldn’t do as I am not brave enough. ‘Operation George’ gave me a whole new appreciation of the police, the work they do and the dangerous situations in which they find themselves.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Operation George’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I hope to read a lot more from this author in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I don’t read much true crime, which is slightly surprising given I love crime fiction. But something about the blurb for Operation George spoke to me and said “read me”.

It’s a book of two halves; the first half is the all about the sting, whilst the second is the trial. The blurb already told me that Fulton, the target was going to be jailed so I was interested more in how they got there and what he was actually found guilty of especially, as he was a suspect in the murder of a prominent lawyer. Was that what he was found guilty of?

Mixed in with the details of the Operation George sting is anecdotes and facts about the changes to undercover work. I never realised that the officers who go undercover make a career out of this work but it does make perfect sense. The lengths the undercover officers had to go to was fascinating. I couldn’t get enough of the undercover work!!

As the second half went on, I felt like it was dragging a little at points. It wasn’t my preference of how a trial should pan out but it was a different style of trial. For me, it lacked the theatrics of a crown court proceedings with the questioning and cross examination of witnesses by barristers which I love. It was, however, interesting to read a trial by judge along with their thought process to deliberate whether there was duress or substance influences to the admissions.

Operation George was an interesting insight as to how a dangerous terrorist mixed up in the unrest in the Emerald Isle was brought to justice. I grew up with the threat of the IRA constantly in the news so seeing various parts of the British police and the RUC working together to bring down such a criminal have me some of the work behind the headlines.

Not my usual genre, but the description had me intrigued so decided to give it a try. I am so glad I did!! This true crime story follows an undercover operation to catch Northern Irish terrorists working within the LVF. The book was insightful and informative on the huge amount of work and risk within undercover operations. The operation itself and the tactics used were amazing- I loved how we were given a background to the operation and its purpose in the first chapters and then each chapter gives details of different people within the operation. This allowed us to see the tactics used by all involved and also helped to stress the collaborative nature of the work being crucial in order to succeed. I found this to be a real page turner and just wanted to keep finding out more as the operation progressed. The action is fast paced and the detail provided about both the operation and the evidence used were fascinating. A truly brilliantly written book which was thought provoking, honest and educational. This made me truly appreciate what goes on behind the scenes of an undercover operation, something that I hadn’t really thought about before.

I have long been fascinated with the history of events in Northern Ireland and have read many many books about the military involvement, undercover officers embedded within the different factions and family lives growing up during the troubles but this was a truly unique insight into how works continues long long after the events to try and find justice and resolution for many people affected by terrifying acts of violence.
The huge and complex operation is almost unbelievable, the bravery and courage, the risks, the challenges - it creates an epic tale that would rival any fictional thriller or detective novel.
I couldn't pull myself away from the escapades of the police teams and the information they drew out and ripped through the first part of this book in double quick time.
I'll confess I did find the 'trial' section much more of a 'trial' to get through. It is quite tedious and repetitive in parts and some of the 'legalese' bogs down the reader and makes it a much slower and more laborious read. I think nobody would be disappointed if they ended up not completing the reading of this part as the first section really is enough of an experience in itself.