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The Siege

The Siege

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Sutherland has] poured all of his experience into the story, showcasing an engaging and gripping ability to keep the tension high while pushing the story forward.” (Entertainment Focus) Lee James Connor is a disaffected young man, a loner who has been radicalised online. When his idol, far-right extremist leader Nicholas Famer is sent to prison, he decides to take action, taking 9 people at a local immigrant support group hostage and demanding Farmer’s release. He has planned the whole scenario, but what he hasn’t taken into account are the human interactions as the siege progresses, in particular with Alex, the negotiator, and Grace, one of the hostages, who attempts to connect with him. Each of the characters is introduced, and their individual stories are expanded on throughout the book. As a reader, it is great to see into the minds and lives of people in situations and also into their beliefs. This does have race and immigration at its core, but there is something that is much deeper to this story. It is a story of manipulation and of false or fake news, and how easy it is for people to believe in unsubstantiated facts. Lee Cooper started out as a character that you could not like. Having been radicalised online into believing that all immigrants were bad and had to be removed by whatever means necessary, he had targeted the church hall due to their group that helped refugees. From the start nothing went the way he anticipated, despite his meticulous planning yet he was determined to see his plan through to the end, either gaining freedom for the person he looked up to or with the death of himself and all the hostages. Throughout he was plagued with self-doubt and paranoia but what he hadn’t counted on was Grace. The third lead, Grace Wheatley, is the moral core of the story. She is well named, a normal person caught up in unimaginable events. She is the still point at the storm’s centre, embodying “love to the loveless shown that they might lovely be”. Her courage and kindness bring a lump to the throat of the reader. She lives long in the memory, teaching us what it is to be a disciple in the world today, and what it means to be a friend, proving the power of story and the redemptive force of kindness.

The Siege By John Sutherland | Used | 9781398707566 | World The Siege By John Sutherland | Used | 9781398707566 | World

The core topic of extremism, coupled with drug use and internet brainwashing is pertinent in this day and age, I think. 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? About This Edition ISBN: For James Lee Connors it could have easily been the Incel movement, but this young man has been captured by the online radical-right extremists whose violent, homicidal actions are focused on racist ideology.You know you're in the presence of an expert when you read The Siege. A gripping debut novel. - Jeffrey Archer The story of a young far right wing extremist who takes a church group that welcome refugees hostage, demanding the release from prison of the leader of a far right wing group(with hopefully intentionally funny initials!).

The Siege by John Sutherland (9781398707573/Paperback

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. It is told from the points of view of Lee James Connor - a supporter of far-right organisation Home Front which is led by Nicholas Farmer, Grace Wheatley - widow and mum to a teenage boy, Isaiah, and Superintendent Alex Lewis who is also a hostage negotiator. From that point on a full-blown hostage situation ensues, calling for the expert involvement of Alex Lewis, an experienced police hostage negotiator. As the threat to life intensifies, Alex finds himself not only under pressure to save the hostages, but also having to struggle with his own demons, after a recent incident he had been called to unfortunately ended in the death of the perpetrator.This is a tight and tense novel concentrating on the psychological effects of close confinement in a hostage situation on the hostages, the hostage taker and those in law enforcement who battle to contain the situation and resolve it. As a police procedural it is convincingly put together, as one would expect from an author writing from experience. 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. 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.

The Siege By John Sutherland |The Works The Siege By John Sutherland |The Works

Interestingly the whole novel is kept low key but remarkably intense from the dialogue to the action. Everything in the police operation feels thought through and very well planned (reassuringly!). But what no-one can take into account are the unpredictable elements. The impact of the heavy duty cannabis combined with the mental strain on Connors as he negotiates his demands with the police. Then there is the bravery and sheer humanity of Grace, who sees a young man in pain and connects with him in that level. Lee James Connor is a troubled young man. He is typical of the many young people who have been pulled into the terrible online culture of hate and poison. A culture that distorts the truth and pulls the angry, hurt and disaffected into a group, ready to be groomed. In Partnership with St Martin-in-the-Fields. This series of nine lectures is inspired by the words of Martin Luther during the Reformation. Distinguished speakers investigate those things in which we believe deeply – and for which we would be prepared to make a costly stand. The Top 25 Christmas Cookbooks for 2023: A Smorgasbord of Inspiration for a Happy Foodie This ChristmasConcentrating on three main characters keeps the storyline tight and allows for a detailed inspection of their motivations. We see how Lee is radicalised online, becomes consumed with hate, mainly directed at immigrants, but also the deep-seated catalyst for this. Alex has just returned from a negotiation that didn’t work out how he wanted, the hostage taker resorting to ‘suicide by cop’ at the end. Although not fault of Alex he carries the burden of this heavily. The most interesting character of all is that of Grace who became widowed at a young age and is battling with loneliness. In trying to understand and empathise with people, even Lee the hostage taker, we can see how she finds her inner strength and fortitude in adversity. Alex Lewis is the credible and haunted police negotiator called to the scene. Both of them are caught within the confining positions they have chosen: Connor as terrorist, Lewis as part of a team. This is like no other thriller you'll ever read. Sutherland immerses you into a nightmare where life or death hangs on his main character's every word. Before you know it you are not only empathising with a hostage and cop but the kidnapper too. Few can write drama and characters as skilfully as this. * Graham Bartlett * Lee James Connor has found his purpose in to follow the teachings of far-right extremist leader, Nicholas Farmer. So when his idol is jailed, he comes up with the perfect take a local immigrant support group hostage until Farmer is released. Connors, could he but see it, has been caught up in digital hate culture and his ideology has been formed through his online interactions. Like so many, his confused and angry frustrations are channelled into hate and aggression and his constant use of skunk only helps to fuel his paranoia.

The Siege By John Sutherland |The Works

John Sutherland, the best selling author of Blue and Crossing The Line, makes his fictional debut with The Siege. I was initially sceptical as to how a book could be written solely about a siege but for the most part, it delivers. Learning that the author is a serving police officer and hostage negotiator explains why this story is so engaging and believable.

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As the synopsis shows, there are 9 hostages, and only 10 hours to save them. The story revolves around three main characters, Lee, Grace and Alex. 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. I have read the author's two non-fiction titles, one a memoir, the other a look into the challenges and issues facing modern policing. Both showed how much John Sutherland cared for his former role, for his colleagues and for the community that he served, but also that his focus was as much on understanding the reasons for crime and how and why people end up breaking the law, every bit as much ensuring that criminals are caught and that justice is seen to be done. In his memoir, Blue, we also see how much the day to day toll of policing had on his own mental health, the impacts of seeing so much violence leaving an indelible mark. All of this is reflected perfectly in The Siege and in the characters that he has brought to life. this, and his own experience as a hostage negotiator, is what gives the book so much authenticity, what makes it so compelling. One minor criticism is that the title of the novel isn’t the most inspiring. Nine Lives may have been a more interesting title than The Siege! Also I felt we didn’t really get to know Alan, Jean and Helen. Conveys with compassion and understanding the unvarnished reality of police work today * THE TIMES *



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