In the Spring of 1993 Sarah Smith found herself in the centre of a living nightmare. Told she was on an IRA hit list, she was forced to go one the run to save her life and lives of her loved ones.
Always in fear of a snipers bullet, Sarah was constantly moved around the country from one "safe house" to another, working in low paid jobs, never knowing who she could trust. To evade detection she adopted numerous aliases, changed her looks, and deposited her earnings in a special police account to be accessed when the nightmare was over.
One man was there to protect her : a British Secret agent code named Robert Freeguard. To survive assassination Sarah had to follow his rules with complete compliance : sever ties with family and friends, speak to no one, and wait for his orders.
In a spine chilling journey, Sarah Smith spent ten years on the edge of existence, sometimes starving and living rough, often penniless, and alone. But what she did not know was that she had been duped and it was all a lie.....
One of the best books I've read for a while, its simply heart breaking to read. Ten years this psycho stole from her, how he does it is amazing.
I cannot recommend it enough.
5 / 5
12 kindred spirits ~ This bugs them too!:
Wow, this is based on a real story? Incredible!
That sounds really interesting. I'll have to track it down when I get through my backlog (I have about 12 in a pile waiting to be read).
On the other hand, I just finished The Other Boleyn Girl.
It was an awesome read, mostly historically acurate with a little fiction to fill in the gaps and leeway to choose the most dramatic option where there is conflicting historical evidence. I thought I wouldn't think much of it - its outside my usual taste - but I really loved it.
@ Network Geek
~Yes its true, its like a biography but written like a thriller. Its written from the perspective of Sarah, with collaboration from Kate Snell who interjects some psychology throughout. Just when its seems SO inplausible, she steps in to try to explain how it happened.
@ K
~Oh its just so good, I happened upon it in the library in the True Crime section.
Ooh did you see the movie? I saw the movie and thought it was fab and toyed with the idea of reading it, but decided against it.
I didn't see the movie. I tend to find that one spoils the other. I saw Atonement and loved the movie but then I coudln't get into the book.
So you think the movie is worth it? I wonder how much they cut out?
@ K
~ Hmm well its quite a long movie, at no point does it feel trimmed, so not sure.
I did think it was good, Scar-Joh has been criticised for being wallpaper however, but Natalie Portman DOES shine.
And I thought Eric Bana was going to be VERY weird as a King of England, but was much like his (delectable) character in Troy, so it works nicely.
Haven't seen Atonement because all the shorts and stills made me want to give Keira K. a lard sandwich so I couldn't see her collarbones.
PMSL - I really can't stand keira but she was very good in the role.
I wonder if Scarlett didn't stand out in the role because the character wasn't supposed to?
PMSL?
So really maybe she was actually *perfect* in the role?
*pinky to mouth like Dr Evil*
I've just read this book... and I just cant believe how Sarah was taken in. She was meant to be intelligent. Sorry if that sounds harsh but at no time did she even consider that she was being duped. I mean all the money that she got from her parents, would the 'secret service' really need that? Wouldnt they have been able to pay for her digs rather than leave her sleeping rough? Would the police really need her to work in a chip shop to raise money? The IRA were on ceasefire since 1995 but this appears to have escaped her notice. I think there would be a lot more Robert Freegards out there if they thought they could get away with it so easily... truly unbelieveable... I keep thinking there are parts of the story that havent been told.
I am very intrigued by this book. It seems on the surface to be to good to be true. Like Anonymous I have doubts. Firstly if Sarah Smiths Family were so worried and doubt'd Freegood would you not contact MI5 and ask about a suppousidly rouge agent, thats was requesting money, most folk know that witnesses don't pay there own way, I understand the whole brainwashed thing, but her father Paul Smith was an intelligent man and he never contacted Scotland yard or the secret service and if he had they would have been all over it, so it makes me wonder
Hi, i've just finished this book, got it from a friend at Christmas. It was an excellent read, couldn't put it down, but like Mr. Anonymous, i think there is something not quite right. One feels that there is a lot that has not been said in the book about what actually happened. None of the photos convinced me that Sarah was living the life she was describing; i can't believe none of the parents thought to involve third parties at any time - John's dad lost 1/2 million and they decided to just let it go as a lesson learnt - what! I would have been all over freeguard like a rash. Guy decideds to confront Freeguard at a football match, taking no one else with him, not following Freeguard home... etc, etc. I could go on, but i won't.
After my comment about the implausability of it all, i did a bit of searching about and found this link on the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/4114640.stm
It's worth reading this and checking the 'See Also' links too as this changes my mind a little bit. What do you think?
Thanks for the link Barry, however I think you're right about Sarah's family sort of not doing enough after losing so much money.
I suppose it all comes down to the love of family and the lengths/sacrifices you will go to for them. Regardless of the consequences to your own comfort.
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