Pat Finucane's murder in 1989 was the most infamous incident in the long story of British counter-insurgency in Northern Ireland. But it was in no way unique. In Killing Finucane, Justin O'Brien tells the full story of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and agents of the state - especially the RUC Special Branch and sinister elements in the British Army. The result was the corruption of the state itself and the loss of its claim to moral precedence in the fight against republican terrorism.

Killing Finucane tells the story of Northern Ireland's dirty war from the start of the Troubles and through the 1980s and 90s. It tells of how Special Branch corrupted the RUC, stymied the Finucane murder hunt while recruiting his killer as an agent, and perverted the course of justice by lying to the Stevens inquiry. These abuses were official government policy: O'Brien demonstrates that MI5 controlled the entire security environment, including Special Branch, and covered its tracks by a deliberate policy of scapegoating alleged 'rogue operators'.

In exposing the reality behind the dirty war in Northern Ireland, Killing Finucaneserves as a warning about the corrupting tendencies of an unaccountable security apparatus. It tells of how agents involved in the killing were protected rather than prosecuted, and reveals why this was allowed to happen.

This is an explosive and important exposé.