Argentina. 1998. Human remains are found on a beach on the outskirts of Buenos Aires – a gruesome echo of when the tide brought home dozens of mutilated bodies thrown from planes during Argentina’s Dirty War. Flights of death, with passengers known as the Disappeared.
International Tribune reporter Jonny Murphy is in Buenos Aires interviewing families of the missing, desperate to keep their memory alive, when the corpse turns up. His investigations with his companion, freelance photographer Paloma Glenn, have barely started when Argentina’s simmering financial crisis explodes around them.
As the fabric of society starts to disintegrate and Argentine cities burn around them, Jonny and Paloma are suddenly thrust centre stage, fighting to secure both their jobs and their livelihoods.
But Jonny is also fighting something else, an echo from his own past that he’ll never shake, and as it catches up with him and Paloma, he must make choices that will endanger everything he knows...
It's my pleasure to be hosting the blog tour for Death Flight by Sarah Sultoon today. Many thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and to Orenda Books for sending me an advance copy of the novel.
Death Flight is the second book to feature cub reporter, Jonny Murphy but although some of the events in Dirt are referenced here, it can be read as a standalone. I suspect that if you were to ask British people what comes to mind when they think of Argentina, the replies would predominantly be divided between the Falklands War, football, Eva Perón and possibly the Argentine Tango. Few would mention the Dirty War which took place from 1974 - 1983, and yet during this dark period in the country's history, it is estimated that between 22,000 and 30,000 people were killed or disappeared. As well as communist guerillas, the targets included students, teachers, journalists, trade unionists, writers, artists and anyone suspected of being a left-wing activist. It's worth noting the term, 'Dirty War' was used by the military junta who claimed that war, including the use of torture, was necessary to maintain social order, however, human rights organisations oppose its use, explaining it is a term used to excuse state terrorism.
Perhaps one of the most shocking practices of the time were the death flights; following detention and torture, thousands of people were killed after being, drugged, hog-tied and thrown from aircraft into the Río de la Plata or the Atlantic Ocean. Sarah Sultoon's novel is set in 1998 and so some years after the events of the Dirty War. However, International Tribune reporter, Jonny Murphy and freelance photographer, Paloma Glen have received a tip-off from the local police that a woman's body had washed up on a city beach. Without a head, legs or fingerprints, the only identifying mark is a faded tattoo and as Jonny surmises although drug cartels are brutal, they need their message to be clear. The similarities then to the notorious death flights can't be overlooked and even though Argentina is in the grip of a financial crisis, he becomes obsessed with searching for the truth – about both this victim and the scores of missing children, about whom the white headscarf wearing mothers and grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo are still demanding answers for.
It is soon evident that they are attracting attention and the sinister interference in their investigation grows increasingly dangerous as the novel progresses. As a former CNN journalist herself, Sarah Sultoon's books are always imbued with authenticity and Death Flight is no exception. The layers of political intrigue as well as the lasting human cost of these atrocities are examined with sombre empathy, with the scenes in the Plaza de Mayo being particularly moving.
Jonny's own past means he feels a deeper connection to the investigation and the emotional weight of what he uncovers bears heavily on him at times. His sense of his own abandonment is clear and under such stressful, rapidly developing circumstances, he finds it impossible to know who he can trust. Meanwhile, Paloma is a rather mysterious figure and although there's an intense energy to their partnership, they both have cause to question one another's actions.
This is a faster paced thriller than Sarah Sultoon's previous books and the sense of danger percolates throughout as the storyline takes the couple out of Buenos Aires and into a situation which tests them to their physical and mental limits. With the awful truth gradually revealed, they have to make devastating decisions, the cost of which extends far beyond their respective careers.
The intricately plotted Death Flight is a compulsively immersive, enlightening political thriller; breathtakingly exciting yet frequently deeply poignant, this is Sarah Sultoon's best book to date.
Death Flight will be published by Orenda Books on 29th February, it can be purchased directly from their website, further purchasing links can be found here.
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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.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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