Synopsis
In Mayhem: Unanswered Questions about the Tsarnaev Brothers, the US Government and the Boston Marathon Bombing, investigative journalist Michele R. McPhee presents a deeply researched and provocative examination of the 2013 Boston Marathon attacks. Rather than accepting the official narrative of two self-radicalized brothers acting alone, McPhee explores the possibility that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder brother, may have had a pre-existing relationship with federal law enforcement or intelligence agencies. She meticulously traces Tamerlan’s history, including his 2012 trip to Dagestan and Chechnya, questioning how a man on multiple watchlists was able to travel internationally and return to the United States without significant scrutiny.
The narrative delves into the complex web of informants and "flipped" assets often used in counterterrorism efforts, suggesting that Tamerlan might have been recruited as an informant for an agency like the FBI or CIA. McPhee argues that this potential relationship could explain several investigative anomalies, such as the failure to act on warnings from Russian intelligence and the mysterious circumstances surrounding a triple homicide in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 2011, for which Tamerlan was a suspect. By re-examining these threads, the book suggests that bureaucratic protective measures or botched intelligence operations may have inadvertently allowed the marathon plot to move forward.
Throughout the work, McPhee highlights the "mayhem" mentioned in the title—not just the physical destruction of the bombing, but the chaotic and often contradictory flow of information between local, state, and federal agencies. She points to the high-stakes pressure of the "War on Terror" as a catalyst for high-risk intelligence gathering that can sometimes backfire with devastating consequences. While the book stops short of definitive proof of a cover-up, it leaves the reader with a series of unsettling questions about the transparency of the American national security apparatus and the true motivations behind the actions of the Tsarnaev brothers.