An entertaining thriller by political and financial journalist, Robert Peston.
The detail is highly autobiographical. Our hero, Gil, the narrator of the story, is a political and financial journalist working for the "FC" (Financial Chronicle) - not to be confused with the FT, for which Peston worked. The most informative element of the book is the insight it gives on the Lobby system in Parliament and how the journalists work.
The plot is set in the weeks leading up to the 1997 General Election, when a Tory government is about to be swept from power by a revivified Labour party under a charismatic young leader. (Sounds familiar).
Gil's sister Claire, who was a top civil servant advising the government, has been tragically killed in a cycling accident, leaving two young sons. It soon becomes clear to Gil, if not the authorities, that she's been murdered. It's all to do with skulduggery with a huge media company doing naughty things with its pension fund, the chancellor of the exchequer being blackmailed, and lots of sleazy people at the top. Gil is determined to clear his sister's name and find out the truth - which nearly comes to him being murdered too - twice.
A ripping yarn which would make a great TV series.
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