The Siege by John Sutherland

Nine hostages. Ten hours. One chance to save them all.

Lee James Connor has found his purpose in life: to follow the teachings of far-right extremist leader, Nicholas Farmer. So when his idol is jailed, he comes up with the perfect plan: take a local immigrant support group hostage until Farmer is released.

Grace Wheatley is no stranger to loneliness having weathered the passing of her husband, whilst being left to raise her son alone. The local support group is her only source of comfort. Until the day Lee James Connor walks in and threatens the existence of everything she's ever known.

Superintendent Alex Lewis may be one of the most experienced hostage negotiators on the force, but there's no such thing as a perfect record. Still haunted by his last case, can he connect with Connor - and save his nine hostages - before it's too late?

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I've watched my share of Criminal Minds in my day, and this would fit in perfectly. Scenes with the characters learning about online grooming or right wings extremists could have been lifted from that series. (To be clear, I'm complimenting the book!)

I haven't read much in this genre, but this was a fantastic one. The action starts early and doesn't stop - with the exception of an epilogue, which I loved, all the action takes place over about twelve hours, and most of it happens within a few hundred yards. I didn't want to put it down once I started reading it.

I thought it was interesting to see things from the point of view of the hostage taker, and although it naturally didn't excuse his actions, we did understand them a little more. Spoiler: I am a bit baffled as to why none of the police or SWAT stopped his final actions. They were all there in the room, he had no weapons, but they just watched and let him go ahead

Also, I know adrenaline is a factor, but the middle of a hostage negotiation seemed like a weird time for Alex to realise he was attracted to another memeber of the team!?

Overall a fantastic, really tense read, full of accurate details from John's years of policing. I'll be looking out for more by him.

The Siege publishes on the 23rd of June, 2022. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.