The Whistleblower: The explosive thriller from Britain's top political journalist

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I’m reading George Orwell’s essays and I do think he has an understanding of England that is really profound. Also, Anna Karenina. It’s an amazing book, I don’t know why I waited so long. It wasn’t. The story plods along and the protagonist Gil is incredibly irritating to spend time with. It’s never a good sign to have to continuously tell your reader that “I know this sounds boring but trust me, it’s REALLY IMPORTANT”. If you find yourself repeatedly writing that than maybe it’s a sign you should find a more interesting scandal for your debut novel.

The Whistleblower by Robert Peston | Goodreads The Whistleblower by Robert Peston | Goodreads

I already liked Gil when I first met him in The Whistleblower, and or relationship blossoms through this book too. I also like Peston's style of writing. How he writes very intelligent, detailed, stories but manages to get the crux across in layman's terms without patronising the reader. It was a tough read. I found the world Peston depicts quite nauseating. The political and journalistic shenanigans are rife with lousy ethics and truly disgraceful behaviour. Of course this is a thriller and it's fiction, but Robert Peston knows this world and one suspects there is a hard core of truth underlying the "story". I wasn’t blown away, the story seems fairly basic with desperate journalists trying to uncover the truth and expose power hungry politicians. This has been done many times before and no doubt will be done many times more! The weird thing about being OCD is you can be OCD about some things and not about others. When I was young, my brain was utter chaos. There were just thoughts going everywhere the whole time, it was total noise. I could control it when I was writing, but my book collection was always like the way I thought, everything was everywhere – and still is.Robert has sprinkled the story with descriptions of lavish parties and expensive designer wear that the banking world id famous for. It's hard at time to not think of the Prime Ministers mentioned as being the ones who actually existed in the UK at this time. Indeed, if you were to tell me that this really happened, I'd believe him. Things again turn personal for Gil when his on/off long time lover Marilyn is found dead in an apparent suicide – Marilyn was a director the Bank of England and had been involved with a potential Bank of England bail out and Gil is convinced that something untoward has happened to her. When it came to someone he could work with, Steph McGovern’s name came up as the consumer and business journalist had also been Peston’s producer on the BBC when he was first reporting on the 2008 financial crash. “We’ve stayed close friends. She was very excited”. Whilst Gil is most certainly a flawed character, I found myself warming to him and cheering him on to uncover the truth. Given we don't actually meet his sister, she is still a central figure to the book and one who adds to the political intrigue. I am not normally a fan of political thrillers, but seeing that The Whistleblower was written by one of my favourite broadcasters, the award-winning journalist Robert Peston, I thought I’d give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was considering this is not always the case when journalists decide to try their hand at fiction. Set in the run-up to the 1997 general election, he seamlessly weaves thinly disguised, real-life people into the narrative, and paints a warts-and-all portrait of what goes on behind the scenes at Westminster. If you were following the news at the time, the atmosphere of hope and desire for change will be instantly recognisable.

Robert Peston | Waterstones The Whistleblower by Robert Peston | Waterstones

verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ The crime story is the core of the book and what makes it work. They say write what you know and Peston sensibly creates a tangle of politics and finance, all hiding murder. As someone who studied economics, I had no issues following the more detailed sections, but some readers may be as bored by them now as they were then – hence one of the reasons that there was a crash as no one was interested in mortgage issues for the poor. This throws Gil into torment as not only does he feel a bit guilty about the Bank run he sparked, but he also feels responsible for Marilyn's death - the two being very close. Although he can't believe it was suicide. I'd just read Kate Spicer's Lost Dog and was amazed a tthe amount of drugs and alcohol. Gil obviously runs in the same circles. I’m sure readers will be trying to work out which politicians have been rewritten in here and to be honest I didn’t care.

The author Robert Peston, may have wrote a novel based on what he knows, but he has weaved tragedy into the storyline. Gil claims that he is able to compartmentalise his work and personal life. Yet in his quest for the next big story, he continues to make ill-considered decisions which will impact on his family and friends. McDermid, who worked as a journalist in the 70s and 80s, gives a nail-biting account of the newsroom, and Allie is another character I’m looking forward to learning more about. There are plenty of twists, turns and red herrings in the course of the book and the end does not disappoint.