The Siege

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Amongst those held hostage is Grace who somehow manages to talk to Connor although she is incredibly careful not to provoke him or get a reaction from him she somehow manages to connect with him and through their connection we learn what has driven Lee Connor to become the man he is today. In Lee Grace sees a lonely man who has lost his way and Grace knows how it feels to be alone having lost her husband many years ago. 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. Not too far away live Grace Wheatley and her teenage son Isaiah, she had been born in the United Kingdom but her parents had come over as part of the Windrush campaign. She is a teaching assistant at a local school, her son is her life. 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.

The Siege – John Sutherland - policecommander

The central theme is not allowing hate to triumph over good. It is easy to fall into a default mode of hate rather than taking time to understand people and situations. We see this as Grace tries to reach Lee using the words of Martin Luther King, expressing that if she was to meet Lee’s hatred for her with more hate then they would get nowhere. We also have the warning of online radicalisation and that it is just as likely to affect disaffected white youths as Muslim religious extremists. There is also the issue of super strong cannabis which can damage the psyche of users. This is considerably different to the cannabis establishment members may have dabbled with in their youth, much more potent and dangerous. The Siege is the first fiction book written by John Sutherland but having read his memoir Blue a couple of years ago I was both excited and intrigued to read it and I was not disappointed, taking only a couple of days to finish it. This is not a book full of dramatic action but one that follows three key people, Alex, Grace and Lee during a hostage situation in a church hall. Each one of them have ghosts that are ever present during the events that take place and that form some of the decisions they make.The core topic of extremism, coupled with drug use and internet brainwashing is pertinent in this day and age, I think. This was such a tense book and it soon became obvious to me that I was not going to put it down until it was finished. A brilliant story from start to finish. 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 | Orion - Bringing You News From The Siege by John Sutherland | Orion - Bringing You News From

Grace Wheatley is mum to Isaiah and is herself no stranger to violence. A daughter of the Windrush generation she is a committed church-goer and on this fateful occasion is in church to assist with welcoming a young Syrian refugee family, recently arrived in the country. 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 Siege is a straightforward story, well told. It is the story of a hostage situation and it focuses in on three characters: the policeman, Superintendent Alex Lewis who is the Chief Negotiator, Grace Wheatley, a woman who is being held hostage and Lee James Connor, the hostage taker. One of the interesting things I found was about how the algorithm of You Tube works, Lee had been radicalised on the internet, everything he read or watched he believed, it was explained that when you watch something on you tube the algorithm will find other things that match what you are watching, which makes sense I know when I have watched something, it will come up with other suggestions I might like, but it is also down to money as well. It also explains where you see so many against the vaccine for covid if you start watching a video on that, then more will come up but it means you are not getting a true picture of anything as you are only watching one side of the argument which then reinforces what you already believe. For Lee he had never been out protesting, he had never met Farmer, he had just been watching video’s on immigrants coming to the UK and taking our jobs, houses, and trying to take over the country and he became completely radicalised just from watching. Outside the church hall there was a sign saying Immigrants Welcome.

The Siege by John Sutherland (9781398707573/Paperback

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. It is an interesting novel, fast-paced with short chapters that make you want to read on and find out what happens. The characters are believable and I especially loved Grace, she is absolutely amazing. It’s written in real time, so holds your interest as you are following the events “as they happen” which makes you invested in it all. 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) The author's police experience is obviously evident which lends an extra level of credence to what is going on. 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.

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. John Sutherland spent 25 years in the Metropolitan Police, spending some of that time working as a hostage negotiator. He rose to Chief Superintendent before retiring in 2018, after which he wrote his best-selling memoir ‘Blue’. ‘The Siege’ is Sutherland’s debut novel and he’s poured all of his experience into the story, showcasing an engaging and gripping ability to keep the tension high while pushing the story forward. Plot wise, ‘The Siege’ is fairly simple; a white extremist crashes an immigration support group meeting in a church hall and threatens to kill them all unless the leader of the right-wing extremist group Home Front, Nicholas Farmer, is released from prison. 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.

The Siege By John Sutherland | Used | 9781398707573 | World The Siege By John Sutherland | Used | 9781398707573 | World

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