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The Secrets of Strangers
Charity Norman (Allen & Unwin, $33)
Although set in contemporary London, this novel earns a place in these pages because its Ugandan-born, British-raised author is now a resident of these islands. It deals with a milieu familiar from British TV crime dramas: gritty, contemporary, urban, cops with problems etc.
The story is told from the various points of view of the central characters in 40 mostly short, punchy chapters. It manages to be both pacey and suspenseful, as well as moving and thought-provoking. It does this by using economical prose and by keeping to the unities of time, place and action, centred on a killing in a cafe and the hostage-taking that follows. It is this and the threat of imminent death that brings the characters to confront the important issues in their own lives.
The cast includes Neil,
