The Peak completely blew me away. From the moment the crisis in Hong Kong triggered a global fallout, I was glued to the page. Guthrie crafts a world of high-stakes espionage and political tension yet keeps the pacing on point and relentless. I received a copy from Harper Collins UK via Netgalley. It comes out on the 28th.

I appreciated the emotional core of the story a lot. Charlie’s struggle after Sebastian’s death added a vulnerability that deepened the suspense of the story. It wasn’t just about spy games or geopolitical chaos. It was also about grief, loyalty, and the cost of silence.

This book is an absolute recommendation as the writing is spot on, the storyline perfectly worked out, and the characters well fleshed out. A must-read!

5/5 ⭐️

Political thrillers are not necessarily my go-to reads however the premise of this story drew me in and I was so glad that it did. Right from the beginning you are aware that something shocking is going to happen however the author teases and tantalises the reader throughout the story and makes you turn the pages of each chapter wanting to know what the next explosive piece of information might be. Plenty of twists and turns and a great insight into how politics may be used to infiltrate other countries. I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend the book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

A political story following Charlie who is the Chief of Staff and friend of Sebastian Assistant Minister who finds himself deep in trouble when he finds Sebastian has shot himself.

What follows is a deep edge of your seat thriller involving their diplomatic roles in China and how they affect the Australian government.

Loved the back story of Sebastian's and Charlie's friendship and the unwavering loyalty.

Would highly recommend.

Senator Sebastian Abler is a rising star in the Australian Parliament and is currently assistant minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Charlie Westcoff is his “attack dog” whose job is to protect Sebastian from his fellow politicians. They have been friends since childhood. However, Charlie’s world collapses when he walks into Sebastian’s office to see him stick a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger! Concurrently a cyber attack is launched on parts of Australia.

Briefly, what transpires, through a tape left for Charlie by Sebastian, and by his own recollections as he writes them down for the head of intelligence, is a story of intense love, jealousy and betrayal which has far reaching and calamitous consequences. Both of them loved the same Chinese girl but Charlie backed off when suffering a lack of confidence. Sebastian stepped into his place but as the story unfolds the consequences of both their actions becomes shockingly clear.

Set in Australia, China and Hong Kong, the latter being the home of The Peak as mentioned in the book title. Quite a lot of the narrative is set in Hong Kong, somewhere I visited quite a lot in the 1980’s and 90’s and the author clearly knows it well. There are so many secrets revealed, some very dark, some shocking. A scary indictment of how far some nations will go to achieve dominance. A very clever and powerful political thriller.

The Peak is an interesting mix of Australian and Chinese politics, international espionage and an old fashioned love triangle. The politics take a bit of thought for a UK reader unfamiliar with the nuances, but much of the narrative is a straightforward tale of love, loss and betrayal.

Main character Charlie is Chief of Staff to an ambitious junior minister, Sabastian, whose past comes back to haunt him, leading to a number of revelations about his relationships and activities as a diplomat before entering politics. Part of the problem I had reading The Peak is that almost all of the characters are unsympathetic. Perhaps inevitably in the world of parliamentary politics, power and position seems more important than principles.

The story is told largely in a mixture of exposition and flashbacks and feels very slow initially, as the back story of every character to childhood is laid out. The pace does increase as the ending approaches, though. Overall this is an interesting novel with a different setting to most.

Debut Australian novelist Sam Guthrie has spent many years in the foreign service and it shows. The Peak is an international political thriller that often feels like it is pulling back some of the veils that shroud the workings of government. That said, Guthrie does is this in a particularly heightened way that very quickly and effectively diverts from any reality to deliver a page-turning game of what-if.
The opening chapter of The Peak is a cracker. Narrated by Charlie Westcott is the chief of staff for Sebastian, junior trade minister in the Australian government. The two are also very old friends. A visiting Chinese businessman gives Sebastian a cryptic message from another senior Chinese official. Minutes later, Sebastian has committed suicide and Charlie’s life is thrown into complete chaos. Charlie tries desperately to cover for Sebastian, but slowly details of his life emerge that turn his understanding upside down. And while there are threads that go back to their school days, that understanding is all tied into a time when they were young men living in Hong Kong and they both fell for a Chinese woman called Chloe.
There are so many twists and turns in The Peak that it is best not to reveal any more about the plot. Suffice to say that what the reader understands about the situation will change numerous times over the course of the book. The only problem for Guthrie is that in order to do this he needs to deliver a lot of exposition. And while Guthrie does his best to intersperse this aspect of the novel with some action, and there is a growing threat in the background, there are still long sections that feel like being told about events rather than learning about them in a more organic way.
Overall, though The Peak is a great political thriller, a genre that is much more common in America and that we do not see much in Australia. Particularly not this well. There is a real feel of authenticity to the setting and the characters which helps carry the plot (and the reader) into some interesting uncharted territory. Because this thriller goes to some surprising places and it does it with refreshing verve and a level of veracity that helps it land.

A political thriller set across Canberra, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Charlie and Sebastian have been friends since school days, and know each others secrets. They also work together.

But a shocking event changes everything.

This book was described as a political thriller.

Yes, there was politics involved and it was a thriller, but at its heart it was a love story.

It was also a tale of friendship, devotion and betrayal.

To call it a political thriller is accurate, however this book was so much more than that.

It wasn’t quite a page turner for me, almost, but not quite. But it was a brilliantly told story with depth, imagination and psychological intrigue.

Overall an enjoyable and fascinating read.

I really should have read more about the blurb and the author before reading this book. I did enjoy it but would have enjoyed it more if I had a better understanding of the Australian political system. I found myself adrift at times.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was very readable and got off to an explosive start, but I found the second half slower. The chapters describing Hong Kong at the time of the handover to China were very interesting, but on the other hand there were a lot of acronyms and job titles which would presumably make more sense to Australian readers. I found that the more I read, the less I liked any of the characters, and Chloe's story was sickening. I was glad to get to the end, although it isn't exactly a happy ending.

A darkly political thriller from Australia, The Peak by Sam Guthrie that explodes in action from the first chapter.

This thriller focuses on China and Australian politics and is a frenzied and frantic thriller that really does read with pace.

It’s an intelligent thriller with characters that are relatable but also very easy to dislike. Not only is at a political story but Guthrie does well in exploring the relationships of the characters.

With the Chinese backdrop so well drawn, , this Tense, taught and thoroughly engaging is a super debut.

Some say this is a spy thriller with a large amount of politics but at its heart it's a story about love, unwavering love and friendships, animosity too. The unwavering love angle is what is exploited to turn an otherwise 'normal' person in to a spy. But all throughout the novel we see how relationships can change future generation's perspectives and how alliances are formed through mutual adversity. I found all this quite fascinating, especially the apparent ease with which a tragic accident can be used to achieve the political aims of a hostile country. I liked the nod to a mythical beast, the 'Kraken', as a codename for an underwater surveillance and defence system, very appropriate.
Altogether a really enjoyable read with snippets of recent history spliced in for added pathos.

I’m not interested in politics so found this book to be boring and full of bad language.
To me it wasn’t a thriller.

The Peak is a fast-paced and edge-of-the-seat political thriller. When Assistant Minister Sebastian kills himself, Chief of Staff and school friend, Charlie has to work against the clock to understand the connection between their previous diplomatic roles in China and the rapid loss of power and signal across Australian cities. The reader is instantly submerged in an atmospheric and dangerous world that threatens global catastrophe.

I loved the paced of this story and how it switches between Sebastian and Charlie’s backstory and the present day. Whilst the past is told through a considered and provactive pace, the modern day is chaotic and fast-paced. The alternating speeds complement each other to tell of complicated characters and even more complicated relationships. As the timelines come together, knowledge grows, pressure mounts and the threat is realised.

Political thrillers are not too of my list of favourite genres to read. Early in the book there was great promise but for me it did not grab me which is a shame as the author has submitted this as a debut novel using real life experiences in a edition story which I always applaud. Loved the music references which always catch my eye on any book I read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

The Peak is an interesting concept with the book being set against China/ Australia political relations and the betrayal of friendships and country.

It is told from multiple viewpoints and as a thriller was ok however most of the twists and turns were not really surprises as I had worked them out well beforehand

So overall an ok thriller.

This is a tale of politics and espionage. Very interesting story, but hard to get into at first due to me not understanding Australian or Chinese politics. Full of unlikeable, yet believable characters; well, it is political, so that goes with the territory.

Three words!

Everything is at a standstill. Phone lines are down and there is no power and only one person knows why.
However he has just committed suicide watched by his best friend Charlie.

What has Sebastian been involved in and can Charlie find out before the world ceases to be.

The Peak - an historic hilltop district of Hong Kong giving stunning panoramic views of the city.

Senator Sebastian Abler is an Australian government minister and his old friend Charlie Westcoff go way back to school days. They are extremely close, as close as brothers. Sebastian’s job is to promote foreign direct investment in Australia and the pair are in Hong Kong for a meeting when a Chinese businessman gives him a message - ‘It’s done’. It transpires this links to Sebastian’s past and Chloe Zheng and what unfolds next is truly horrifying for Charlie. Why? Everything before has seemed so normal and crucially, what does the message mean? There’s a time bomb ticking and least of all is this – does Charlie know Sebastian as well as he thinks he does? Charlie swings into action to try to piece it all together to find out what an earth Sebastian has done because it’s possible tomorrow when you wake up, it could be the end of the world.

Phew. Can I breathe now? This is one cracking, outstanding, excellent political thriller debut and if that’s a genre you like, this is a MUST read. Explosive sums the plot up well as we head into the murky, shadowy and devious underworld of espionage where any methods seem to be on the table in order to obtain information. There’s everything from loyalty to treachery and betrayal although at the heart of it there’s deep love. Politics and power, coverups, cyber power, secrets, manipulation and extreme danger. It’s extremely tense and suspenseful with multiple twists and turns that keep me eagerly reading on, gripped by the action. The plot is very well connected, complex and very believable. The tone it’s written in makes me totally buy into it. It’s very dramatic and real as it builds to a great conclusion.

The backdrop to much of the drama is Hong Kong, which is fantastic as it adds to the atmosphere with its frenetic energy matching the swift pace and intrigue of the plot. It’s obvious the author knows it very well.

Overall, this is an excellent political thriller and one heck of a debut which I have no hesitation in highly recommending.

PS. There are inevitably a lot of acronyms as you would expect in a political thriller. Many are unfamiliar to me as it’s Australian and of course, Chinese but I have no difficulty in figuring out what they mean and it is no way detracts from the plot.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

Political thrillers are miles away from my usual genres however this one grips you from the very start. I absolutely couldn’t put it down- even reading well through one night. It’s many things, a thriller, political, a love story, a story of betrayal, a story of great loyalty, blind loyalty some would say!

The end is as thrilling as you would expect, it’s left me feeling quite shaken, realising this could all happen, it could be reality not just fiction! A brilliantly written story.

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review