These are the books our books editor, MENEESHA GOVENDER, received recently. They may be reviewed later
First Response
by Stephen Leather (Hodder UK)
Nine men in suicide vests hold hostages in nine locations around London.
Their demand: the release of jihadist prisoners from Belmarsh Prison.
But the bombers have no links to known terror groups and are not on any anti-terror watch list. So, what or who has brought them together to act this way?
As the drama unfolds, the SAS, armed police and emergency services head to Special Crime and Operations branch – and only he knows what is really going on.
Nothing is what it appears to be. But will the powers that be believe or listen to Mo?
...
Neverwhere
by Neil Gaiman (Headline)
There is a world under the streets of London that no one knows of.
Richard Mayhew is dragged into this world when he comes to the aid of a mysterious girl named Door. The bleeding girl is on the run from assassins and she comes from London Below.
This bizarre, but strangely familiar story takes Richard into a world below inhabited by monsters and angels, a Beast and and Earl who holds court in a Tube train.
...
The Story of a New Name
by Elena Ferrante (Europa)
This novel is the sequel to Elana Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend– a story about the friendship between Lila and Elena.
At this point Lila is married, but it is a marriage that appears to have imprisoned her.
Elena on the hand continues her studies and is exploring the world outside of the neighbourhood she grew up in. But the pressure to excel is at times too much for her.
This is a story of two women who share a complex and evolving bond that is a source of strength to the challenges they face.