Before I start telling you about JFK: The Smoking Gun, it’s important to talk about the author. Colin McLaren is a former police detective sergeant and task force leader, who spent four years researching the JFK cold case. He gained access to, and thoroughly analysed, the full 27 volumes of the Warren Commission Report, the transcripts of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, and the records of the Assassination Records Review Board, combined with the pioneering ballistics work of American firearms expert Howard Donohue. In short, all the official documents ever made available regarding the death of JFK.

Before reading this book, I knew very little of the death of JFK. I knew the killer was said to be Lee Harvey Oswald, but most people believed something about a grassy knoll..? I had no idea. I also like to believe myself to be an intelligent human being, with little compulsion to be swept up in conspiracy theories. As such, I decided to take whatever conclusions this book presented with a grain of salt, and not get too carried away. But McLaren paints a pretty convincing picture of that day in Dallas.

While at times the book can get bogged down in witness testimonies (if I read the words “three shots, two of them really close together” one more time, I might lose my mind), this book is incredibly eye-opening. The evidence presented leaves little room for doubt. While I still have questions about certain aspects presented, the overall theory has cemented itself in my mind. I truly believe McLaren has uncovered to truth as to who killed President John F Kennedy, and has presented his findings in a convincing, hard-hitting book that is a must-read for any true crime fans.