Jennie Godfrey's Live Aid Thriller

- *The Barbecue at No 9* is Jennie Godfrey's second novel, following her bestselling debut, *The List of Suspicious Things*. The author has stated that the new book is not about the Live Aid concert itself, but rather about the residents of a new-build housing estate who are getting together for the first time at a barbecue to watch the event. - The novel's plot unfolds over the 12 hours of the Live Aid concert on July 13, 1985. Key characters include the party's hostess, Lydia Gordon; her teenage daughter, Hanna; a mysterious new neighbor from Australia named Rita; and a shell-shocked Falklands veteran, Steve. - The Live Aid concert was a massive benefit event organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. It was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, with an audience of 72,000, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, with an audience of about 89,000. - The event was a global phenomenon, watched by an estimated 1.9 billion people across 150 countries, which was nearly 40% of the world's population at the time. The 16-hour broadcast featured more than 70 performers, including notable sets by Queen, U2, and David Bowie. - One of the other novels praised by *The Guardian* is Alex Preston's *A Stranger in Corfu*. This spy thriller is set on the Greek island of Vidos, which serves as a sort of purgatory for compromised or burnt-out MI6 agents. - Also featured was MK Oliver's debut, *A Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage*, a satirical thriller about a wealthy and status-obsessed London mother named Lalla Rook, who will do anything to maintain her perfect life, including murder. - The roundup also included *Holy Boy* by South Korean author Lee Heejoo. The novel is a dark thriller about four obsessive K-pop fans who kidnap their idol, holding him captive in a secluded mansion.