Journalist Gil Peck is back; in therapy, married to Jess – now editor of the Financial Chronicle – and still driven by the need to prove a point that he can’t quite identify.

Yet all is not well at home. Jess is fed up with Gil’s obsession with his job, and she’s kicked him out of their home.

But Gil has never let anything get in the way of a scoop. He and Jess have landed the interview of a lifetime with the Prime Minister, Stella Barnsbury, for the podcast they co-host, and Gil has no intention of missing it.

#TheKillSwitch Twitter/X @Peston @ZaffreBooks @Tr4cyF3nt0n #CompulsiveReaders
Instagram: @robert_peston @thebookdealer #CompulsiveReaders @zaffrebooks #blogtour #bookstagram

During the interview, Barnsbury begins to pale, her coughing intensifying before she finally collapses.

Within 48 hours, the Prime Minister is dead.

Gil is used to landing the biggest stories. But as the last person to see the PM alive, he’s now a main character. And when foul play is confirmed, he’s also a prime suspect . . 

My Review

I cannot get over how much I loved this book. I read the first one ages ago and thought it was pretty good, but The Kill Switch is in a league of its own. There are so many shocks, but one of them had me gasping in disbelief.

It’s a mixture of politics, murder – the Prime Minister is killed right near the beginning (just what I like in a book, start off with a bang) – and discussions about AI and whether it is a force for good or bad. How far can we go with it and will it become more powerful and knowledgeable than those who created it?

I was so involved in the story, that when it ended I had to wait a good 24 hours before I started another book. In fact I’m finding it hard to write a review. It’s one of those books you just want to read, rather than analyse. It’s probably because it’s too clever for me to explain the premise. Best to just immerse yourself in Gil and Jess’s world of intrigue and obsession. The kids are great, the dog is cute, Jess is brilliant, and Gil is still annoying. Not because he’s neurodivergent, but because he can be a total twat.

As an aside, I love the way the author self-inserts as political commentator Robert Peston (along with Tom Bradby) in an interview, like a Hitchcock cameo.

Many thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to be part of the #CompulsiveReaders #blogtour and to NetGalley for an ARC. 

About the Author

Robert James Kenneth Peston is an English journalist, presenter, and author. He is the political editor of ITV News and host of the weekly political discussion show Peston. From 2006 until 2014, he was the business editor of BBC News and its economics editor from 2014 to 2015.