ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Once again, many people have helped in bringing this book to publication, and I’d like to thank just a few of them:

Nat Sobel, Judith Weber and all at Sobel Weber Associates for being the best agency a writer could hope for.

Caspian Dennis and all at Abner Stein Ltd for all their work on the home front.

Geoff Mulligan, Briony Everroad, Alison Hennessey, Kate Bland and all at CCV for their hard work and support.

Bronwen Hruska, Justin Hargett and Ailen Lujo at Soho Press for going many, many extra miles for me. And to the memory of Laura Hruska, who will be sadly missed.

Betsy Dornbusch, who continues to be a far better friend than I deserve, as well as Carlin, Alex and Gracie for welcoming me into their home.

Shona Snowden, whose insight always helps.

Juliet Grames for her excellent advice, and showing me a different side of New York, complete with karaoke.

David Torrans and all at No Alibis, Botanic Avenue, Belfast, for being the best bookshop on the face of the planet.

James Ellroy for dispelling the notion that you shouldn’t meet your heroes, as well as all the other great authors I’ve met over the last couple of years. They are far too numerous to mention.

Craig Ferguson for giving me such a boost in the US, and for being very sweary.

Hilary Knight for her wonderful PR services.

Gerard Brennan, Declan Burke, and all the bloggers and online reviewers who have shown tremendous support since the very start. Again, they are far too numerous to mention by name, but you know who you are.

Ruth Dudley Edwards for being generally excellent.

Jo, for making everything better.

Finally, two books have helped enormously in writing this one. They are Policing the Peace in Northern Ireland: Politics, Crime and Security after the Belfast Agreement by Jon Moran (Manchester University Press) and More Questions than Answers: Reflections on a Life in the RUC by Kevin Sheehy (Gill & Macmillan).