The Whistleblower is Robert Peston’s debut political thriller. Set in 1997 in the run-up to the General Election, Gil Peck, a senior political journalist suspects that the death of his sister, who worked at the treasury, is not an accident. As he investigates, his tenuous grip on his own sanity becomes even weaker while he uncovers layer upon layer of corruption and wrongdoing.
Robert Peston writes well, of course he does, but this reader’s interest in the plot, such as it was, sank like a stone under the weight of the descriptions. Every location, event or person Gil came across was described in full and numbing detail, so that all I could hope for was to get to the end of it.
Lots of readers have found it a page-turner and many more will, but not for me.

A fast paced page turner which lays bare the world of political journalism and politics itself. Well researched and with well depicted characters and a clever plot, this is an excellent read that will not disappoint.

I enjoyed this. It took a bit of time to get going and at first there were a lot of characters to get to grips with. But it became engrossing further into the story. Well worth a read.

Hmm. I was a bit torn on this one.
The style of writing was, as expected, excellent. (I really like Robert Peston, he's one of my favourites)
Often comical, gripping throughout and certainly engaging..
However, as much as I enjoyed the story line about Claire, in order to get there I did feel that the reader would need to have a strong interest in either politics or journalism.
I felt I learned quite a bit and I also recommended it to my son who has just completed a Masters degree in the latter (he will love it) but I wasn't sure it was one for me, sorry.

The Whistleblower by Robert Peston takes us into the murky world of political journalism. Gil, his hero of the piece is well developed as tenacious and intuitive, but also with personal hang-ups, insecurities and addictions. The storyline is complex, using political and journalistic references that require some concentration but the underlying story of Gil and his sister adds a lovely human interest to the intrigue. The slow, and somewhat instructional, first part is worth any effort to better understand the subsequent action. Overall a fairly fast paced read with credible characters and plenty to keep the brain engaged. This book smacks of a sequel (or two) so I’m sure those familiar characters will appear again. Four stars from me

Very gripping story-line, involving politics, journalism and big business. Almost impossible to put down.

Political journalist Gil Peck is hellbent on getting a scoop which often lands him into trouble and caused a rift between him and his sister. However, after his sister gets involved in a serious accident, he starts to re-examine his ways - he also needs to find out if someone was behind the ‘accident’... This political thriller is fast-paced and interesting, especially as we get a glimpse of life as a political journalist. Peston also delivers a cynical analysis of the unchanging corridors of power, questioning who exactly those that govern Britain are serving and to what extent change is possible. A thought-provoking read.

Firstly I want to say another huge thank you to the publisher/author/netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is different to what I would normally read however I enjoyed it none the less.

This book was always going to be well written and incredibly clever, due to the author of the book but it exceeded my expectations.

This book will be launched on the 2nd September and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers that keep you guessing.

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I have to say it did take me a while to get into this as its different to my usual thriller reads, however I then couldn’t put it down.

The author, Robert, plays on his life experience as a real life journalist within politics and uses this well within his book. It gives you a really good insight into British politics and is actually really interesting.

The book also had a sense of humour that is kind of unusual for a thriller but it really added to the story and I enjoyed it a lot.

A political thriller I thoroughly enjoyed. The machinations in politics are no different now than they have ever been throughout the ages, just the dress and the weapons change. In this story a respected political hack, Gil Peck, suffers the tragedy of losing his Treasury based sister in an “accident”. One teased out lead and all is not what it seems. Those at the point of power, both commercial and political, manipulate, bully and bribe, of course there are casualties - Art imitating Life?
With enough jumping to conclusions to win 100 metre hurdle race Gil Peck finally arrives at the truth, political, unpalatable and as a novel, unputdownable. Of course it’s only fiction…….
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

A reasonable first attempt at a political thriller from an author who probably knows more than most about the shenanigans of politicians from all parties. The chief protagonist a three dimensional flawed character enjoys the cut and thrust of investigative journalism whilst partaking the excesses that accompany the job. When his sister is killed in a hit and run he will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. Lots of characters, with periods where detail and characters overtake the thrill of the chase. This political saga from a journalist who knows and understands where and why the bodies are hidden translates into a worthy read although perhaps the requisite beginning of honing and fine tuning a skill towards a refinement of his writing skills towards an even more credible second novel. Many thanks to author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

I didn’t know what to expect with this book, it was an ok read. This would be down to me as I don’t really read too many political dramas. This moves at a relatively good pace with the odd twists and turns. Would recommend if you like the political genre.

There is a question when a high profile celebrity (and Robert Peston is very much a celebrity journalist) as to how much they will be edited. "He's a journalist, he can write" seems to be a fair assumption. But there is some distance between being able to make financial copy sing on the page to making a punchy thriller and that distance is yawningly traversed here. Perhaps a paragraph long description on how to use a D-Lock to secure a bike in the rain which strings an alliterative run of six S words would work as colour in a newspaper long read, here every modifier thuds like a hammer. In the acknowledgements Peston thanks his wife to removing his clunkier metaphors. How much clunkier were they than the ones that make it through? I advise any creative writing class to read the first chapter to see how not to do it; Peston is trying way too hard and it is painful to read.

I'd like to say it gets better as we get into the meat and potatoes of this political thriller, and after a while the prose streamlines a touch,. You cannot relax though, as around every page turn there is a far too indepth travelogue of the "knocking shops of Finsbury Park", or people singing along to Blur's Song 2. Woo-Hoo. And in-case that needed emphasis. Woo-Hoo. And why not throw in a Woo-Fucking-Hoo in italics to underscore the point. All of which cripples the attempt at breathless prose, punctures the pacing and makes you step back to look into the funhouse mirror that Peston has attempted to set up. Because in The Whistleblower it is March 1997, just before the General Election. Our hero Gil Peck is a somewhat sleazy reporter for the Financial Chronicle (Financial Times), chasing stories on the rise of Modern Labour (New Labour) and their charismatic leader Johnny Todd (Tony Blair). And so it goes, there is a crude South African owner of Media Corp who is Rupert Murdoch, a Welsh Gordon Brown, a thinly disguised John Prescott and as if these one dimensional caricatures aren't enough, even Joan Collins turns up in the guise of Jackie Elstree. Obviously Peston has written a fiction, but he wants us to know that he was there in 1997 and since then has become really really upset with Tony Blair. The horse has bolted and the stable door never needed some Peston invented malfeasance to show he was rotten from the get go.

The problem is (and this is all a problem since its tough to read and the analogies are paper -thin) even when he is trying to develop a character from fresh cloth he can't. His lead, Gil Peck, works for the FC as Peston worked for the FT. Now I am not suggesting this amoral, coke snorting alcoholic is Peston, but those are all cliched journalist takes and he tries to give us a humanising back-story. Except the back-story is that Peck is the son of an immigrant socialist political theorist, and you give him a brilliant sister and - hold on - Gil Peck is Ed Miliband. And its odd because the very nature of the semi-lurid thriller that Peston is trying to write means that for Peck to have foresight about how rotten Johnty Todd - he invents something that as far as I know (and my ear is relatively close to the ground on these things) that Blair never actually did. The current Prime Minister however....

A first novel is often where you try everything out and there is a fair bit of kitchen sink here, not least with the adverbs, adjectives and unwanted exposition. Its not as if he didn't get help, there is effusive praise heaped upon a thriller writer who gave him invaluable advice (it may be ghostwritten though the regular occurrence of terrible sentences suggests not). The plot works, it is exciting enough in a Jeffrey Archer/Michael Dobbs conspiracy thriller way. But Peston is best known for his strange TV news delivery, his pauses, his hanging on words. What's interesting here is that he has found a completely different way to transfer that clunkiness into prose. Woo-fucking-hoo indeed.

I didn’t really know what to expect with this, Robert Peston’s first foray into fiction. I loved it. It’s a real page turner. Perfect ending and he’s left it set up nicely for a sequel. Highly recommended.

Enjoyed the plot, which rattled along, and the way the characters were drawn. I did find at points there was a lot of background detail (understandable given the author’s knowledge) and quite a large cast of characters - kept me on my toes!

Better known for his non fiction work Peston turns his hand to fiction and politics. Smartly staying away from the morass of todays political landscape he returns us to 1997 and the dawn of "New Labour".This book has it all, political intrigue and scandal, corrupt media moguls\ls, bankrupt pension schemes and at the centre of it all hard nosed journalist whose sister, a Treasury "high up" has just died in what appears to be a bike accident. Nothing is as it seems with good old smoke and mo=irrors and back room wheeling and dealing. Highly enjoyable, fast paced read

This taste of political shenanigans and corruption invades darker themes when a death is involved. Gil delves deeper into the loss of his sister but what a dark and sinister trail he exposes. Excellently gripping story telling.

I was expecting an exciting and intriguing plot – but feel very let down. I struggled to get through the first chapters and did not feel engaged with any of the characters. I’m frustrated – I wanted to be wowed and I haven’t been.

Prior to this book, my knowledge of the author had been limited to him being the dude from ITV who asked mostly awkward questions at the end of the daily government covid press conferences. Actually I have since found out, he has his own TV show and has also written several non-fiction books as well as having a stellar political journalist career to date. This however is his first foray into the world of fiction and, tell the truth, it's not half bad either!
What he does do very well is explain the ins and outs of political journalism at the time the book is set, occasionally these bits do get a bit dry but they are necessary both to scene setting and plot development, and are few and far between, so not too painful. Certainly he doesn't drag it out half as long as he does his questions to Boris!
Our main protagonist is journalist (write what you know) Gil Peck who, on the death of his sister in a cycling accident, is thrown more into the murky world of politics than he already was, or wants to be. On examining things a bit closer, Gil starts to believe that this was no accident. Clare held a prestigious job in the treasury and was privy to a lot of hush hush stuff. Even more so in the run up to the latest election. And so begins a veritable cats and mice (there are many balls in the air most of the way through) game which had me spinning around as I tried to figure it all out... and failed.
Pacing (apart from my comment earlier) is good and follows the narrative well. The story is also both interesting and intriguing, and gets on with itself well too and I was held captive throughout my time reading.
So much so that when I finished the book I was desperate to talk to someone about it. So I immediately went out and purchased a physical copy for my brother. He isn't an e-reader, nor is he as voracious as me. Hopefully he will be as sucked in as I was and we can talk soon...
Oh and Gil... what an interesting character he is... maybe this is the start of a series...? Hope so.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Great story of Gil Peck a journalist but when Gil's estranged sister Clare dies in a hit-and-run, he begins to believe it was no accident. Clare knew some of the most sensitive secrets in government. One of them might have got her killed.
As election day approaches, Gil follows the story into the dark web of interests that link politics, finance and the media. And the deeper he goes, the more he realises how wrong he has been. Power isn't sport: it's war. And if Gil doesn't stop digging, he might be the next casualty.
I found ‘The Whistleblower’ a fast-paced, intelligent thriller that captured perfectly those heady days of the spring of 1997. The dialogue is cracking and there were veins of wry humour and satire running through the narrative.

This is a first novel, but not the author,’s first book, so I approached the described political thriller with interest.
Is is fast moving and entirely plausible. The characters and background are superb. You feel you could reach out and touch any of them. If you were in the heart of Westminster you would surely bump into such people.
There are nods to types of people we are familiar with. Of course no one knows who they , but everyone would have a good idea,
The author has said he may have two more books in this style. Hopefully if it is to become a trilogy we will see some unfinished business for the central character resolved.
I will look forward to these and hope they are written in the same way.
A great book