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One of the things I like most about reviewing books is having the opportunity to pick something almost at random and then getting so sucked into the story that I rearrange my plans for the day around the need to find out how a book ends. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, it's a great feeling. I've always enjoyed books set around a hostage situation and SIEGE is a great addition to those ranks. The book gets off to a shocking start with the killing of a young woman who is simply unfortunate enough to be the one who answers the door. She's surplus to requirements and is killed without compunction. The game – whatever it might be – is very much on right from the start. Elsewhere in London, ordinary people – and some not so ordinary people – are going about their daily lives in ignorance of the fact that they will shortly be caught up in the mayhem of a major terrorist attack. Bombs explode as commuters are leaving a busy train. A second bomb is detonated very soon afterwards and the police receive threats of more and have to decide what is real and what is a bluff. At the same time, terrorists seize control of a large London hotel, taking staff and some residents hostage while trapping others in their rooms. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Arley Dale finds herself in the position of Bronze Commander, the person in charge at the scene, so she's the woman with the unenviable job of controlling the operation on the ground whilst being driven hard by the political considerations of those she is answerable to, all the way up to the Prime Minister. Kernick does an excellent job of engaging with the characters, even relatively minor ones, whose lives – and deaths – are at the heart of the book. There is no lengthy scene setting for any of them, but he still manages to weave enough detail into the narrative as it gathers pace for each and every one to matter, even those whose names we never learn. By far one of the most intriguing players in a very deadly game of cat and mouse is Scope, a man we learn almost nothing about until the end of the book. He's very much in the wrong place at the wrong time, but his interaction with the woman and child he finds himself protecting adds an extra dimension to the story, as does that of Martin Dalston, a man who only went to the hotel to die, but then discovered a reason to live. Even if you don't normally read thrillers, take a look at this one. I don't think you'll be disappointed. § Linda Wilson is a writer, and retired solicitor, with an interest in archaeology and cave art, who now divides her time between England and France.
Reviewed by Linda Wilson, January 2012
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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