Rating: 3.3/5
I can be a bit wary of reading novels by celebrities who have made their name doing something else. However, even though "The Whistleblower" is Robert Peston's fictional debut, I was given confidence by the fact that he has already been the author of a number of non-fiction books and is, of course, a trained and very experienced political journalist. That said, I have also read enough disappointing novels by journalists hoping to make the leap into published fiction to know that not all of them make a particularly good fist of it.
Thankfully, Robert Peston's fictional debut is a solid enough piece of work. I won't rehash the plot, as I have no wish to divulge annoying spoilers and the official synopsis already provides you with as much background information as you need. This is part political thriller and part murder mystery, amidst a perpetual background of conspiracy theories. It is said that you should "write what you know" and Robert Peston has certainly followed that adage by putting his background in the world of journalism - and especially political journalism - to good use. You can't help but think that certain elements have an autobiographical feel to them. Certainly, anyone who remembers the late 1990s well will immediately recognize a number of well-known characters from that time, who have only been very thinly disguised and reinvented as fictional protagonists in this story.
The "three Ps" of premise, plot and pace hang together pretty well and make for engaging and entertaining reading. I would suggest that the main thing holding the novel back, so that it remains as being "good" rather than "very good" is that the author's style is a little erratic at times. I sensed that Robert Peston was still (understandably) searching for his fiction-writing DNA , which will almost certainly develop over time, assuming he continues with this new aspect of his writing career. A sound debut.
I can be a bit wary of reading novels by celebrities who have made their name doing something else. However, even though "The Whistleblower" is Robert Peston's fictional debut, I was given confidence by the fact that he has already been the author of a number of non-fiction books and is, of course, a trained and very experienced political journalist. That said, I have also read enough disappointing novels by journalists hoping to make the leap into published fiction to know that not all of them make a particularly good fist of it.
Thankfully, Robert Peston's fictional debut is a solid enough piece of work. I won't rehash the plot, as I have no wish to divulge annoying spoilers and the official synopsis already provides you with as much background information as you need. This is part political thriller and part murder mystery, amidst a perpetual background of conspiracy theories. It is said that you should "write what you know" and Robert Peston has certainly followed that adage by putting his background in the world of journalism - and especially political journalism - to good use. You can't help but think that certain elements have an autobiographical feel to them. Certainly, anyone who remembers the late 1990s well will immediately recognize a number of well-known characters from that time, who have only been very thinly disguised and reinvented as fictional protagonists in this story.
The "three Ps" of premise, plot and pace hang together pretty well and make for engaging and entertaining reading. I would suggest that the main thing holding the novel back, so that it remains as being "good" rather than "very good" is that the author's style is a little erratic at times. I sensed that Robert Peston was still (understandably) searching for his fiction-writing DNA , which will almost certainly develop over time, assuming he continues with this new aspect of his writing career. A sound debut.