Excellent and well-researched thriller about journalism and its connections with diplomacy. This has all the hallmarks of a good series as the characters develop. Would attract readers of e.g. Charles Cumming. I look forward to reading more about the veteran reporter William Carver.

I haven’t read anything by this author and this sounded like a rather different read.

It combines a number of interesting issues; conflict, ethnicity and migration, politics and underhand business deals. The setting is contemporary and that added to the authenticity. I found it a little slow to get into, but stuck with it and overall, the narrative is hard edged and occasionally quite harrowing. The central characters are plausible enough, but I’d have liked to know them a little better. They’re a bit one dimensional. However, there’s enough plot and action to keep the story moving and I’d certainly read more by this author.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

William Carver is a veteran radio journalist with a track record of getting bored with the main story and looking at new issues that he picks up.  The year is 2011 and he's in Cairo to cover the demonstrations in Tahir Square against the regime in the Arab Spring.  A local blogger finds evidence of tear gas canisters that should not have been sold to Egypt by a UK source - this is Carver's side issue and the arms manufacturer really doesn't want him to expose it.  Fast moving, well researched and  written - a good read.

Sorry but i failed to get to the end of this book, struggled with any sense of direction and ended up wondering what am i reading closely followed by why.

It's the authenticity that rules this fragmented and edgy story set in technology times in Egypt .. .. we also eavesdrop on exchanges we are not fully prepared for.. and there is a harrowing story of migrants attempting to escape and the harsh criminals taking their money and 'helping' them in the cruelest ways.  The main protagonist is a journalist working on a story of murderous corruption that takes the lives of a brave resistance leader, and a stalwart fellow newspaper woman.  Immersive often due to its fragmentary dialogue,  the scene setting is dazzling.  Really haunting.

Topical but tragic

Though this felt a shade fragmented at times the threads eventually came together and led to a hope that some kind of justified resolution could be achieved.
It is sad that this book appears to reflect actual global events and today’s political and business cynicism but perhaps they have always been there below the surface.
Hanington paints a skilled picture of how life must be for refugees and political resisters, drawing the reader into the story. There are few ‘happy ever afters’, perhaps the reality of life in these countries.
I look forward to the author’s next book.
This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Note : I posted the above review on Amazon 8 June 2019.

I find myself almost lost for words in terms of how to review this book. It's certainly thrilling and I always love a story that has a British political spin to it as I'm super interested in that area. However, I just felt that I was going through the motions after a certain period in the story. 

There are a few different storylines and they converge fairly well, so that was satisfying, yet I almost feel cheated out of a much more conclusive ending.

The characters were interesting although not particularly fleshed out. It almost felt like I was reading Book 8 in a detective series where you're just supposed to know how these people roll. Not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation.

Overall, a real page turner and some moments of real tension and fear but lacking an ending that matches the rest of the novel.

Thanks to John Murray Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for review.

A very complex story set in Egypt,London and Eritrea. Took a while to bring all the threads together but got there in the end.

Not normally my type of book to read but wow! So.much going on in this novel how does it all the together? Who can be trusted? Where will it all lead? Corrupt armies along with people willing to be bribed and human smuggling make this book very intriguing. The routes people have to take to get out of their country, even told from their point of you.

A Dying Breed was a great introduction to William Carver and with A Single Source this excellent second novel more than lives up to it. Deeply unsettling and very gripping the plot drives forward at great pace. The datelines at the start of each chapter guide you as you flip between geographical location and different strands of the narrative, but even without these the clarity of the writing is such that you are always immediately in the moment of the scene. Little is black or white in this chilling novel which presents an all too realistic picture of the varying degrees of corruption to be found in the world.Thanks to Netgalley and John Murray Press for providing this free ARC.

This is an unusual book, very well written and fascinating. It deals with the subject of the Arab Spring in 2011, and intertwines three threads of an emerging story from Egypt. William Carver is the experienced journalist on the trail of a story that is being uncovered by some young activists, and which some politicians high up in the UK government are desperate to suppress. Woven throughout this narrative is the story of two young men from Eritrea, whose grandfather is trying very hard to secure them a safe passage to Europe and a better life. 

The story is very much of this time, in that it reflects the extensive use of social media for the tense situation that the central characters find themselves dealing with. It seems very real and chillingly plausible, and I found this to be a very thought provoking read. The writing is excellent, as is the characterisation. I would say that the reader has to concentrate, especially at the beginning, until the three strands of the story begin to come together. But it kept me hooked to the end, and was ultimately a rewarding, if disturbing book.
 
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy of this book.

I had never read a book with a journalistic focus before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. How Peter wove the characters together, the threads of their intertwined stories, and gave it a topical focus in the events of the Arab Spring made for fascinating reading.

His research is evident in the book, and his insights too.  There was also a spectrum of human life, from joy to tragedy, that added to the power of his narrative.

I will follow William Carver's future journeys, and highly recommend this book.

A Jigsaw, thats the first word comes to mind to describe this book
The book is really 3 separate stories that all link into one, The Arab Spring ( concentrated in Egypt ), The UK Govt and the very delicate line  between legal and illegal arms sales and the story of 2 brothers and their perilous journey from Eritrea to Italy via Sudan and Libya
ALL 3 are massive stories in themselves and although linked it takes a lot of the book for the link to appear and at times can be overwhelming to try and ‘get there’, this, I felt wasn’t helped with the chapters containing all 3 stories with sometimes not even a line break to differentiate them, also all 3 are character rich and so takes time to get to know who is who and a few times I was completely lost as to which character and plot I was reading.....HOWEVER the writing is worthwhile the work, there is ( I have found ) a certain style that ex journalist’s now authors use and it seems part fiction/part biography and rich in researched fact and detail, you feel the words you are reading have been experienced ( at least second hand ) and that for me adds a certain magic to the story
This book is descriptive to a fault and images ( good and not so ) floated through my mind from the start to the finish, I felt I was learning as well as reading a story
Fascinating but not a 2 min here and there read, it took a ‘buckling down’ and full concentration but it was worth it, very worth it and the effort paid off 
 9/10 5 Stars

A Single Source is the second William Carver book by Peter Hanington but it’s the first one I’ve read. Set in 2011, there are three plotlines based in Egypt, London and Eritrea. It took me a while to get into the book with three different storylines but I’m glad I persisted.

My favourite of the three is the Egyptian thread. The Arab Spring is in full flow and has reached Egypt. William Carver is one step ahead of the rest of the news journalists and is already making local contacts through Zahra, the receptionist at his hotel. I don’t want to give too much away but Peter Hanington has managed to recreate the tension of the Arab Spring – excitement mixed with real danger along with the belief that things really could change.

In Eritrea, brothers Solomon and Gebre are encouraged by their grandfather, Gabriel, to leave and travel to Europe. He has insured their safe passage at huge financial cost. We don’t often hear about migrants and refugees until they’re near our coastline. At the time of writing this (mid-May), two dinghies were found off the coast of Kent with migrants, thankfully alive. But more migrants died last week in the Mediterranean. Through this storyline, we see the terrible predicament that people go through, risking everything for a better life.

Rob Mariscal, a former radio news editor, is now the Communications Director for the MoD. He’s good at spinning stories but he finds himself caught in a web of deceit. He’s tasked with taking down the person who’s threatening to expose a scandal that could rock the Government – William Carver.

To begin with, it’s hard to work out how these stories are going to mesh together but Hanington slowly does this, before picking up pace. A Single Source really packs some punches and is harrowing at times. Although this is fiction, Peter Hanington’s journalistic experience shines through and it feels all too real. This book may be set in 2011 but it’s still just as relevant today. Looking back, and I think the book hints at this, we have to ask the question, did the Arab Spring really achieve freedom? Or was it a perceived freedom which kept power in the same elite hands? I can’t think of another book (fact or fiction) that has made me think so much about today’s world. Bravo, Peter Hanington.

Journalist William Carver is in Egypt in 2011, in the middle of the Arab Spring. While this is a huge story, he is given details of a far bigger and more dangerous involving the trafficking of people across Africa and Europe.
Compelling reading.

Intelligent, unsparing novel based on the events in Egypt in 2011 and those who get caught up in the fallout from the Arab Spring, this is brutal and unflinching stuff. I hadn't read A Dying Breed but it transpired that this is a sequel of sorts, in that journalist William Carver and his producer, Patrick were in Hanington's debut outing and appear here too. It's political and bitter and honest and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys spy thrillers and great writing.

It's early 2011 and the Egyptian uprising is in full spate. Veteran BBC radio journalist William Carver is covering the story with his producer Patrick. Though a huge story, another more explosive one is brought to him by a young woman - a single source.

The story moves between Cairo, two brothers being smuggled out of Eritrea, and London, home of the Ministry of Defence and a major arms manufacturer.

The story is vividly told with authority born of the author's background as a BBC journalist. It is slow to start but picks up pace to become compelling reading.

Veteran BBC reporter William Carver is in Cairo, bang in the middle of the Arab Spring. 'The only story in the world' according to his editor. But it isn't.
There's another story, more significant and potentially more dangerous, and if no one else is willing to tell it, then Carver will - whatever the consequences.
A Single Source tells two stories, which over a few tumultuous months come together to prove inextricably linked. There are the dramatic, world-changing events as protests spread across North Africa and the Middle East, led by a new generation of tech-savvy youngsters challenging the corrupt old order. And then there are two Eritrean brothers, desperate enough to risk everything to make their way across the continent to a better life in Europe.
The world is watching, but its attention span is increasingly short. Carver knows the story is a complex one and, in the age of Facebook, Twitter and rolling news, difficult stories are getting harder to tell. If everyone is a reporter, then who do you believe?

I have to say this book was a complete departure from the types of books I've been reading recently.
A Single Source is set in 2011 in a time that came to be known as the Arab Spring.  Carver and his producer Patrick are in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to report on the January 25th uprising.  There are three strands to the story the one set in Egypt, another revolving around the foreign office and the third set in Eritrea.  Gradually these three strands are woven together..
A slow starter which I found very difficult to get into maybe because this is not my usual type of reading material. 
This book is well written and descriptive and the author has done a lot of work and research.
Unfortunately just not my cup of tea but do recommend if political thrillers is what you like.

Many thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book.

This book was a complete departure from the types of books I’ve been reading recently and it was exactly what I needed. I love books that contain elements of things I can relate to real life, and this book captures the fact that you can’t always trust what you read in the news perfectly. It really details all the goings on behind the scenes and all the parties at play trying to spin information to suit their own political agendas. 

There are a lot of different characters in this book so you really need to pay attention. We follow two journalists in Egypt, a local woman they have hired to help with translation, two brothers are they try to smuggle their way to Italy, a communications employee working within a government department, and a few other characters around these ones. What is really clever though is how all these characters stories are intertwined and linked even though some of them never even meet. 

This is a bit of a slow burner but it is brilliantly crafted and if you stick with it to the end I personally don’t think you will regret it. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was well researched and expertly plotted to deliver this finished book.

A brilliant novel incorporating the Egyptian uprising, media undercover operations, people smuggling and illicit exports. Novels can educate as well as entertain and this gripping story reflects what we hear about on the News programmes with the depth of its research backed detail. Highly recommended.