Hardback by William Heinemann, £16.99 (ebook £9.99)
In September 1984, a bomb planted by the IRA exploded at the Grand Hotel in Brighton with the main aim of killing then prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
This audacious assassination attempt forms the background to High Dive, Jonathan Lee’s third novel. Opening with a startling initiation into the IRA and ending with the bombing, Lee has crafted an absorbing character piece which feels startlingly real.
My initial concerns that the story would be suffocated by the real-life drama were quickly put aside. Even though the dread of the looming disaster is always there, the main characters’ stories are given plenty of room to breathe and their mundane struggles with everyday life are extremely relatable and familiar.
After tasting success with his last book, Joy, Lee has been called one of Britain’s brightest new literary stars. High Dive is funny, troublesome and poignant, and will cement his reputation even further.
