The Wild Colonial Boy: A Novel [Signed]

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Atheneum Books, 1990. Second printing. Inscribed at title page, "To Kurt, Jane, & Sorey, many thanks for a too brief visit in Santiago. James Hynes." Ostensibly, Hynes' inscription is marked out in black but is visible; excepting for James Hynes signature itself, which is very nice. Tan speckled boards, red cloth spine wrap, gilt spine titles, fine. Pages good. Dj slight wear; unclipped 18.95, protected in new clear sleeve. Very attractive. While on a trip to Ireland, a young student ends up caught between political extremes when he unwittingly ends up a mule for illegal I.R.A. money. After fifteen years of violence, a tense calm pervades Northern Ireland, soon to be broken by Jimmy Coogan, an IRA veteran who seeks to restore the Movement to its violent tradition. A true believer, as devious as he is dangerous, Jimmy has stolen ten pounds of plastic explosive, intending to destroy the parliamentary ambitions of the IRA leadership. Into Jimmy's turbulent world come two young Americans: Brian, vain, ironic, but well-meaning; and Clare, a beautiful, earnest college student on her junior year abroad. In Ireland on a seemingly harmless errand for his Irish Republican family in Detroit, Brian is recruited to Jimmy's bloody mission by his cousin Maire, Coogan's passionate and sharp-tongued wife. Only half-aware of each other's motives, Brian and Clare, Jimmy and Maire are all drawn into the deadly and unforgiving labyrinth of modern terrorism, borne inexorably toward a horrific and fatal climax. A love story as well as a thriller, James Hynes's first novel is a page-turning tale of political and personal intrigue in the grand tradition, a classic story of commitment, violence, and betrayal. 356 pages.. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book.