Yes, it records the determination of one man to keep his promise made to his dying young female colleague murdered in the line of duty, but it's so much more than that. On 17 April 1984, as demonstrators gathered outside the Libyan embassy in London, two gunmen lay in wait inside. At 10 . 18 am automatic gunfire rained down on the protestors and WPC Yvonne Fletcher fell, mortally wounded.

I found myself cheering for Valli as she survived another day and made use of what she found. Early on she learned the lesson of using what she needed and then passing it on to others. I like that she did this with both tangible (a blanket) as well as intangible items (a hug). Having students think of things they could pass on to others would be a natural extension to this story. No Ordinary Day" is about a 10 year old girl named Valli who discovers she has no family, and that the family she has been living with was paid to take her in after her mother died. The family is very poor and treats her badly. The people in her village work in the coal mines - adults and children alike - and she spends her days walking barefoot through the village collecting coal. She believes she has magic feet because she feels no pain in them, when in reality she has leprosy. Valli fleas her village and ends up in Kolkata, living on the streets. Valli uses her guile and courage to survive each day. She meets an old man and his goat one day and is given wisdom which she follows each day: find someone who needs what you have more than you, and give them what you have. This simple kindness is a lesson for the reader and Valli throughout the book. One day, Valli meets a doctor who offers to heal her feet if she will stay in the hospital with her, and after a time, Valli accepts the offer and is healed. Now having read this expertly researched chronology of the event, people and government cover up, using the miners strike to deflect attention would make an excellent plot for a fictional book. However this is frightening true. As far as I am concerned the person making that comment, a MP, after the 2013 debate in parliament organised by Daniel Kawczynski needs to make a public apology for that comment. If that is his view on police officers then the question needs to be asked whether he is fit to stand as an MPWhen I first outlined the story to Broo Doherty, my literary agent, I saw her jaw visibly drop as I outlined the secrets I had discovered and the reality of what had been going on behind the scenes in the UK of the 1980s and 90s, and how the aftermath of the Libyan Embassy siege had, effectively changed our Secret Services and shaped the future of UK policing for the next four decades. We realised this was a significant story that would need to be handled by a publisher with the skill to do so. Tentative enquiries with publishers soon produced a result, but it was not the one expected. An executive producer from TV production company was interested. He asked for a copy of the manuscript, it was sent, and within a short time the TV/Film rights were sold, even before the book rights. Not long after that, I was introduced to Duncan Proudfoot from Ad Lib publishers and we knew then we had found the right home for the book. Despite this, John refused to give up, and after almost four decades he has finally fulfilled that promise. This book is an extremely moving and eye-opening account of his long, and often dangerous, quest to not only discover the truth behind his friend’s death and bring her killers to justice, but also in the process expose the despicable behaviour and decisions of a self-serving government, who cared – and continue to care – more about their own agenda than the wellbeing of those who serve them. Matt was eventually persuaded to give this a go, and one evening, he sat at his computer and started to weave his notes into a work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously cathartic effect on his own condition. He used his detailed knowledge and recollections to create what has been described by many readers as a fast paced, exciting and authentic tale of modern day policing and terrorism. What an amazing man, former police officer himself suffer unknowingly for years from PTSD but making these highly dangerous trips to gather evidence in what was considered a war zone.

Many will recall the shooting of Yvonne Fletcher as one of the greatest tragedies in UK policing history. It was followed by the longest siege and one of the greatest mysteries: why were her killers allowed to go free? On 17 April 1984, as police and anti-Gaddafi demonstrators gathered in the street outside the Libyan People’s Bureau in London, they had no Matt Johnson has written about a deeply sad subject that became so complicated and he has kept the pace and the detail involved succinct and flowing at the same time. The research and travel that John made in his quest to find those responsible took him on some hair raising journeys deep into Lybia to places where even hardened soldiers would fear to go on a deployment.Very well written and deeply researched . . . an account of a relentless search for justice. It has pride of place in my library' John Grieve CBE QPM former DAC MPS and former National Coordinator for Counter-Terrorist Investigations Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: A beautifully written story about the life a poor girl in India. Even though the book was short, I felt like I knew Valli. Highly recommended with young readers, I will definitely be saving this one for when my kids are a bit older. It has been listed for or won the following awards: