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

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So we go on with the rich getting richer, greedier and unwilling to share their benefits, unable to understand that their wealth is based on the exploitation of the many and that when this decadent society will collapse, they too will be dragged down. There are numerous characters within the story, and Preston has kept up a rapid pace and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. Due to his experiences as a political journalist, Preston has added a sense of authenticity to his novel. And then whispers start coming out about people who have gained more than they should have in the Bank's demise... And Gil starts to debate the whole ethos of journalism... Was he simply being used...? My thanks to Robert and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in advance of the publication date.

The Whistleblower by Robert Peston | Waterstones The Whistleblower by Robert Peston | Waterstones

This understanding gives me a problem when grading this book for review: should I give it four stars? (not five because it has a glaring flaw, see below). Or should I give it a more cautious three stars, not wanting to mislead others through being misled myself by so much validated opinion? 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. The crime genre is huge, and a protagonist can become involved in solving a murder in numerous ways. Being a police officer or PI makes sense, being an elderly lady or vicar less so, but authors still manage somehow – to remarkable success. Another easy option is a journalist. Their job is already to investigate so it makes sense that a roving crime reporter comes across a case of misjustice and wants to settle the score. Crime reporter on the beat. What? Robert Peston’s The Crash is about the Chief Finance Reporter at the BBC solving a murder, but it works.For example, his few paragraphs on tax reform for “self-employed” workers conflates all non-employee workers from white van man, to tradespeople, to those freelancers using service companies, and all those “forced” to work the “gig economy”, some under “zero-hour” contracts. These are not all the same. Some are long established ways of working and contribute millions to GDP; some, like zero-hour contracts, are very new and exploitative and, in most of the EU are unlawful. The suggestion that it would be fairer to tax them, and by extension everybody, all the same, simply to raise more treasury revenue for public investment, is to ignore private business needs and personal lifestyle choices for many, to say nothing of GDP. This book contains one of the best and most accessible explanations of why the UK has suffered from low productivity for over a decade now and why this matters and why this can be seen as a contributing factor to the success of the Leave vote.

Robert Peston Jewish News meets: Crash, bang, wallop, it’s Robert Peston

For those readers who recall the financial crisis in the 2008, this book will leave you pondering how much is fact and how much is fiction. A big thank you to Tracy and the publisher, Zaffre Books for issuing me with my review copy of the book and for inviting me to take part on the blog tour. (I am reading and reviewing this voluntarily and my review is my own and not biased in any way) Brexit still means Brexit. The presumption any rational person would make is that Brexit will happen, and to throw everything at trying to prosper both as individuals and a nation outside the EU.”

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This is a rollercoaster of a story. Early in the book, there is an explanation of the Subprime mortgage market which was complex but essential for the storyline. Describing it as “the emperor’s new clothes” was excellent. This legal thriller story takes another turn. Gil is going to find out exactly how this accident happened.