The Shot by Sarah Sultoon #BookReview #BlogTour

 

An act of mercy

Or the ultimate betrayal…

Who decides?

Samira is an up-and-coming TV journalist, working the nightshift at a major news channel and yearning for greater things. So when she’s offered a trip to the Middle East, with Kris, the station’s brilliant but impetuous star photographer, she leaps at the chance.

In the field together, Sami and Kris feel invincible, shining a light into the darkest of corners … except the newsroom, and the rest of the world, doesn’t seem to care as much as they do. Until Kris takes the photograph.

With a single image of young Sudanese mother, injured in a raid on her camp, Sami and the genocide in Darfur are catapulted into the limelight. But everything is not as it seems, and the shots taken by Kris reveal something deeper and much darker … something that puts not only their careers but their lives in mortal danger.

Sarah Sultoon brings all her experience as a CNN news executive to bear on this shocking, searingly authentic thriller, which asks immense questions about the world we live in. You’ll never look at a news report in the same way again…

 I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for The Shot today. Many thanks to Sarah Sultoon, Orenda Books and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for my advance copy of the novel.

Aspiring authors are often counselled to write what they know and while that advice is open to debate, there can be no doubt that Sarah Sultoon's previous career as a frontline journalist ensures The Shot is suffused with raw authenticity and although it's a difficult read at times, I was unable to tear my eyes from the page.

The horrific reports currently coming out of Ukraine means The Shot feels particularly resonant at present but the atrocities of war more often don't hit the headlines until the scale of them makes it impossible to look away. As the photographer for a major news station, Kris is a brilliant maverick who is fully aware of the dichotomy between his Gonzo nickname and reputation and their collective objective to report the news impartially. He has grown battle-weary and cynical, accepting that the supposed aim of journalism is to 'shine a light into the darkness' has become a cliché, but despite recently being shot, is still desperate to return to danger – even though he uses the sand of the desert to excuse his watering eyes and inability to speak – rather than stay home where his marriage is in trouble and his children barely know him. 

Meanwhile, Samira is desperate for her shot to prove she can be more than the nightshift graphics producer and leaps at the opportunity to accompany Kris to Kabul. It's soon clear that she bears the scars of her own family tragedy but nevertheless, is enlivened by her first sight of Afghanistan where, in a city ravaged by war, she paradoxically feels optimism and hope. Kris and Sami would appear to be diametrically opposed; his caustic experience in direct contrast to her naïve enthusiasm. However, this is a more complex novel than that and it becomes evident that they share a burning desire to document the truth, even though the effect it has on their bodies and minds bears a striking resemblance to the symptoms of addiction.

As Sami hears horrific stories of brutality and loss, she believes that bearing witness to such barbarity is key to informing the public what is really happening but she learns the reality is less straightforward.  Although gonzo journalism openly rejects objectivity, even the mainstream news is subjective to some degree; when the harrowing report of a woman who chooses to immolate herself isn't considered new or geopolitically important, she realises choices are made every day. Meanwhile, Kris makes biting observations of the public's complicity – although the claims of fake news by conspiracy theorists can be widely debunked, the uncomfortable fact is that we want a more palatable version of the truth while still expecting the unfiltered proof before we demand action. Their reasons for seeking that one compelling picture of the genocide in Darfur may differ but their determination despite the risks is shared. It's only afterwards that the terrible truth becomes known and even then there is enough doubt cast for readers to draw their own conclusions about the shocking repercussions. 

The Shot is a gritty, honest exploration of reporting from war zones and though fictional, the insight that comes from an author who has lived it and like Kris, recalls every name and every moment, burns from the pages throughout. Sarah Sultoon pays homage to the victims whose privacies are invaded and whose tragedies become brief talking points, and to the translators whose bravery is often forgotten. It's not an easy story to read and is not a rousing tale of the courage of frontline journalists, instead opting for a more nuanced, perceptive look at the impact on these people who influence what we see and hear while simultaneously having little power to change anything. A provocative, humbling and profoundly penetrating read.

The Shot is published by Orenda Books, it is available now in ebook and will be out in paperback on 28th April 2022. Purchase directly from the Orenda website, also available through Bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones, Kobo and Amazon but please support independent bookshops if possible.

Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.

Sarah Sultoon is a journalist and writer, whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her all over the world, from the seats of power in both Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. She has extensive experience in conflict zones, winning three Peabody awards for her work on the war in Syria, an Emmy for her contribution to the coverage of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, and a number of Royal Television Society gongs. As passionate about fiction as nonfiction, she recently completed a Masters of Studies in Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge, adding to an undergraduate language degree in French and Spanish, and Masters of Philosophy in History, Film and Television. When not reading or writing she can usually be found somewhere outside, either running, swimming or throwing a ball for her three children and dog while she imagines what might happen if… Sarah lives in London with her family.

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