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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THE SIEGE is the story of a hostage situation in south London. When Lee James Connor, a loner, inspired by an anti-immigrant, firebrand right-wing extremest leader, takes a community church centre and its nine attendees hostage, we see the events of an entire night play out through the viewpoints of Connor, Grace, one of his hostages, and Alex, the lead hostage negotiator assigned to the incident.
As might be expected from a former police negotiator, John Sutherland writes from experience and that experience makes the novel very realistic. Sutherland writes in a very mannered, ‘correct’ way which initially feels documentary-like, almost reportage, but that ultimately is the novel’s strength. We are taken through the events minute by minute, hour by hour, in the heads of the negotiator, the hostage, and the hostage-taker, all of whom, even the latter, treated as real people, people with their own flaws and issues.
In less experienced, more bombastic, hands, Lee Connor would be a monster, Alex Lewis, a maverick who would save the day through some risky, heroic strategy, Grace the terrified hostage needing rescue. Here the drama is created through realistic characters and, unfortunately, all too realistic situations. I was drawn in completely; it is a very emotional read, the tension heightening with every chapter. The protagonists are good, ordinary people, trying to do the right thing in a frightening situation; the antagonist, a troubled young man whose actions, while not in any way condoned by the author, can be understood, given the society in which we live today. Sutherland subtly, and sometimes not so subtly, points the finger at those in politics and the media who thrive on division with no heed to the consequences of their words.
I would be really interested in going back the John Sutherland’s non fiction work about his life in the police service, and I look forward to his next novel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Sutherland is a married father of three, who lives with his wife and children in South London. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1992, serving for more than 25 years until his retirement in 2018. Having won the Baton of Honour as the outstanding recruit in his training school intake, he rose through the ranks to become a highly respected senior officer. During his career, he worked in a variety of roles across the Capital, both in uniform and as a detective. He is an experienced Hostage & Crisis Negotiator and Premier League Football Match Commander. His last operational posting was as the Borough Commander for Southwark.
John is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller, ‘Blue: A Memoir’ and ‘Crossing the Line’, which was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the week. His first thriller, ‘The Siege’ is being published in 2022.
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