The owner of Tuckbox cafe is kind to his staff and popular with his customers so when a stranger gets agitated with him then returns and shoots at him before barricading some customers in the cafe no one can understand what’s happening. Told primarily from the perspectives of three of the hostages, the gunman and the police negotiator it focuses on the people and emotions rather than the action. It’s a very astute study of how we react in situations and humanity at its best and worst. The characters are all really well depicted and each offers something to the story. The tone of the book develops very naturally as the story progresses and it’s very easy as a reader to feel empathy for the entire situation. This isn’t what I would expect from a book about a hostage situation but that is in no way a criticism, this is a very emotive and in its own way hard hitting read.