Overview

Michael Hollinghurst is a successful corporate lawyer living a comfortable, suburban life in leafy North West London. But on 7 July 2005, his life is transformed when he steps on a London underground train targeted by Islamist suicide bombers. While most passengers in his carriage are killed, Michael survives the explosion but is confined to a wheelchair as a result. Coming to terms with his predicament and controlling his own feelings of guilt as a survivor conspire to push him in a direction that is out of character and a tad reckless. In a quest to seek retribution, he resorts to embracing the internet and posing as a radical Islamist in order to snare potential perpetrators. Much to his surprise, his shambolic scheme yields results and is brought to the attention of both GCHQ and a terrorist cell. But before long, dark forces begin to gather and close in on him. There is seemingly no way out for Michael Hollinghurst. He has become, quite literally, a sitting target.

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9781066621699

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Reviews

""More than a touch of John Le Carré in this. All aspects of it are incredibly well researched for a start - it truly feels like the author comes from the world of espionage and knows what he's talking about. The plot juggles multiple characters and storylines and moves along at a good rate. What I liked most probably isn't something that would immediately jump out to a reader, but: it's so English. Every time I picked it up again, I was whisked away to the UK ca. 2005/2006 and it was very welcome. I haven't lived there for 10 years now, but it gave me a strong desire to go home. ""On a more conventional note, I was surprised and very pleased at how Pearl pulls the rug from under the reader's feet at the end of Part One. Without getting into spoilers or naming names, I thought I had the setup sussed and was all ready to see how it would play out and then BAM. The whole plot gets turned on its head and the focus turns to a character who had seemed on the verge of being written out of the story. And what a great character he is: he's the most lived in, from his conflicted identity to his impulsive behaviour to his soul searching to the way he talks. ""There were a few too many new characters introduced from around page 250 onward (Vladimir, Rebecca, Damien, Samantha, James, Stewart), and I would've liked a tighter focus on Michael and his fears/resolution to carry his slightly insane plan through to the end. Benazir is also complex without getting the spotlight enough. Total fist-pump of an ending, though."" Grant Price, author of 'By the Feet of Men' ""This is an emotional rollacoaster of a novel for all us Londoners who were on the Tube on 7th July 2005 and were lucky enough to walk away from the bombs and carnage. The narrative grips from the beginning and does not let go until the last page. The protagonist Michael and his emotional conflicts are brilliantly realised. The writing is spare and crisp. The ending when it comes is both shocking and satisfying and brought tears to this reader's eyes."" Amazon

Author Information

Back in the distant mists of time, Alex spent three years at art college in Maidstone; a college that David Hockney once taught at and later described in a piece for The Sunday Times as the 'most miserable' episode of his life. Here, Alex was responsible for producing - among other things - the college's first theatrical production in which the lead character accidentally caught fire. Following college, he found employment in the advertising industry as a copywriter. He has turned to writing fiction in the twilight years of his writing career. Alex's claim to fame is that he is quite possibly the only person on this planet to have been inadvertently locked in a record shop on Christmas Eve.

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