Kill Redacted by Anthony Good

A terrorist bombing on the London Underground kills scores of people, one casualty being the wife of Michael, headteacher of an inner-city comprehensive boy’s school. Michael is devastated, he loved his wife, idolised her. But Michael does not sink into a pit of despair, though he is certainly depressed and has more than his fair share of bad days.  Neither does he channel his energies into charity work or campaigning, as some might do. Instead, Michael’s mind turns to revenge. It is not the terrorists or their masterminds who are the focus of his ire however, but rather the British Prime Minister whose policies Michael feels provoked the terrorist outrage.

Kill Redacted is told entirely from Michael’s point of view, via a diary he keeps, “self-reflections” he writes for his counsellor, Angela, and the occasional letter he writes to others. This proves a remarkably good way to tell Michael’s tale, as he is an exact man, highly intelligent with a precise grasp of logic. An old school disciplinarian, his writings are didactic and take the reader along threads of logical analysis and reasoning. If this sounds boring, it is anything but, Michael proving to be a complex and fascinating character, if not a little chilling. This feeling that he’s more than a little dangerous, someone you might be wise not to cross, ratchets up as the pages turn.

Much of what Michael writes concerns his thoughts on his wife’s loss. He feels grief at her passing, at the fact that he will never hear her play the piano again, but he also feels great anger and rage towards the Prime Minister. He ruminates on the nature of justice and how the scales can be balanced, but drip fed in amongst all this are the concrete steps he is taking. Throughout the novel it is unclear just how decided he is on vengeance, but as he starts lifting weights at the gym, training in Muay Thai, considering how he might purchase weapons, the notion increasingly comes to dominate his thoughts. Throughout the narrative we also learn of Michael’s past - how he met his wife; just how traditional he was as a headteacher; the pupil, Paul, who he came to take under his wing; Sultan, another pupil, who he punished in the most brutal manner. This all fleshes out Michael as a character and reinforces the impression that he is a man who might be capable of something quite frightening.

Kill Redacted is a brilliant novel and one that is certain to prove controversial, not least because the unnamed Prime Minister that Michael is determined to kill is clearly meant to be Tony Blair. No date is given for the events in the book, but the explosion on the tube that kills Michael’s wife could well be the 7^ThJuly bombings. Equally, Michael’s logic that the PM’s policies have provoked terror is exactly the criticism levelled at Blair. Indeed, Baroness Manningham-Buller, the former Director General of MI5, stated at the Iraq Inquiry that the invasion of that country had “substantially” increased the threat to the UK. 

Throughout Kill Redacted, the Prime Minister’s name is redacted, blacked out like in a confidential official report. One chapter of the novel is almost completely redacted, line by line, presumably the narrative making clear who the PM is supposed to be. At the start of the novel there is a note from the publisher claiming that this redaction was carried out for legal reasons, though whether that is true or just a marketing ploy I cannot say. Whether or not the PM is Blair and whether the redactions were for legal reasons or just a writing device, they add a certain frisson to the narrative, a sense that one is reading something prohibited, and thus add to the enjoyment. 

Kill Redacted is a brilliant novel and highly original. In fact, it is so good I think it’s going to take some beating. It’s only February and there’s another ten months to go but could this be my book of 2019? It’s more than a little possible. 

 5 out of 5 stars