Crisis by Nicky Perfect – a triumph. Reviewed by Natalie Jayne Peeke West Country Correspondent

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‘We had been there for over 12 hours. The man was still 30 feet up a tree, balancing on a branch directly over one of the main railway lines out of one of the busiest train stations in the country. He refused to talk to us, threatening to jump if we came too close. To him, we were the enemy. My job was to preserve his life.

The most dangerous time in any negotiation is when you think you’re winning.’

From kidnappings to terrorist incidents, violent armed stand-offs to talking someone back from the ledge: all these make up the day-to-day life of Nicky Perfect’s job as a crisis and hostage negotiator.

One of the first on the scene in situations that most would run from, Nicky is deployed to defuse the most volatile and fraught situations imaginable.

After a decade on the frontlines, confronting the extremes of human behaviour, these are the stories and cases that have shaped a career spent on high alert, where life often hangs in the balance. It’s about finding yourself and following your passion, and of a life lived to help others.

Review

This book is sensational. I will warn you that once you’ve started you will struggle to do anything else until you have finished. Nicky starts off with her early career and as the book progresses so does her experience, it is amazing to be taken on that journey with her. The other thing that struck me was Nicky’s compassion and understanding, her wish and desire to help people on the worst day of their lives.

With Crisis, Nicky also shares her personal thoughts and emotions, I felt like I knew her once I had finished it. I didn’t, I knew her story. I took it upon myself to follow Nicky on social media, and I am so pleased I did , for she shares weekly tips which really have helped me. Nicky Perfect is an impressive woman and I recommend this book to everyone. If you enjoyed Fighting For Your Life by Lysa Walder and The Prison Doctor by DR Amanda Brown then you need to add Crisis to your reading collection.

Crisis by Nicky Perfect. Pub Harper Collins. £8.99 for paper back.

eBook and audio are also available.