Ian is an award-winning football writer and the author of 10 books. A former chairman of Weymouth and St Albans City, he has been writing about football for over 30 years, having worked for various newspapers including the Daily Telegraph, The Independent on Sunday and The Observer.
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About the book
It's the morning after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in London. The city is relaxed as rarely before, delighted with itself at how spectacularly it has hosted the uplifting event. The capital, however, will be rudely and brutally awoken from its self-congratulation by a shocking atrocity committed upon innocent Muslims at the London Central Mosque in Regent's Park. How could it happen? Why did it happen? Is this a terrorist attack? Is it political? Or is it personal? THE OUTER CIRCLE is concerned with the culture of modern Britain. It follows five characters caught up in this tragic event and the aftermath of anxiety and reprisal as the answers dramatically emerge.
Ridley likes to rattle cages, albeit in a subtle way with comments or opinions thrown in here and there. His intention is clearly to make the reader think about both sides of the argument, regardless of which controversial topic that is mentioned in the book.
He takes nice little pot-shots at the new era of media, and the way it is making the old media, such as newspapers, obsolete. At the way the police and journalists used to collaborate to inform the public, whereas now it is more about the media and police public relations outmanoeuvering each other to the finish line. News has become about sensationalism instead of the truth.
The Outer Circle is like a passion piece with a variety of main characters connecting briefly, and yet each of them have their own story to tell within the confines of the bigger story.
What really spoke to me, and not in a good way, was the reaction Tom had to the rape. Unfortunately this is how many men react. They make it all about their ego, their disgust and the way their lives have been changed by the rapes of their girlfriends or wives. It's just so narcissistic and caveman-esque, with no regard for the victim at all.
The Outer Circle is a snapshot of the world we live in. The 21st century is still about religious wars, intolerance and lack of understanding. Nothing has really changed over the centuries except the setting for the battles. It is also about compassion, kindness and human interactions.
Ridley puts the focus on the humane element of the inhumane atrocities, which may sound bizarre, but it is more or less about squeezing that one good moment out of many bad ones. The glass isn't half empty or half full, it can be refilled over and over again. In essence that is the message the author wants to convey or at least the message I received.
It's about second chances, bad choices and the crossroads we come to in life. It is also about the reactions before, during and after terror attacks. Survivor's guilt combined with relief, and yet also with disbelief at the horror of the situation.
Ridley confronts his readers with uncomfortable truths, and then invites them in to dissect the controversial scenarios and their reactions to them. It's a contemporary read with an element of crime with a heavy emphasis on the unpredictability of human nature.
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