Death Flight (The Jonny Murphy Files Book Two) by Sarah Sultoon

 

Death Flight (The Jonny Murphy Files Book Two) by Sarah Sultoon.

Published 29th February 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

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…

***********

Buenos Aires, 1998. Cub reporter Jonny Murphy is in Argentina covering the financial crisis that threatens to derail the country. Working alongside photographer, Paloma Glenn, they are barely scratching a living through the stories coming their way, until they receive a tip off about human remains that have washed up on a near-by beach - remains that uncomfortably evoke the stories of the Disappeared from the years of the Dirty War.

As Jonny and Paloma begin to dig into the circumstances of the death, they are shocked at the realisation that this could mean that the infamous Death Flights of the military regime could be under way once again. Caught between the families who need closure for their loved ones who went missing years ago; those who want to confess their part in terrible deeds; and those who want their secrets to never be revealed, Jonny and Paloma begin to realise that the stakes are much higher than they thought. They are now in danger themselves, but the way this investigation calls to secrets from Jonny's own past means he cannot rest until the truth is exposed. 

Set two years after the explosive events in Israel that set Jonny's life reeling in the first book in this series, Dirt, Sarah Sultoon picks up his story in a compelling thriller that delves into the horrifying modern history of Argentina. The action begins with a slow burn build up as Jonny and Paloma get caught up in the financial crisis that plunged Argentina into depression in 1998. With scene after gritty scene as the pair do their best to get be ahead of the game to grab headlines, Sultoon paints a picture of a population reduced to grinding poverty by a perfect storm of political and monetary disasters, and the way she tells it thrums with authenticity clearly garnered from her own journalistic experience. 

Within this storyline, Sultoon lays the seeds of the darkest of plots that brings back all the horror of the military junta years, and she gradually weaves this into Jonny and Paloma's investigation to take them off in a tangent that explodes with full-on political thriller/espionage vibes, and bring them right back in a cleverly contrived circle. If you are of an age to remember the sickening reports of what went on in Argentina during that time, as I am, then this element of the novel will grab you by the scruff of the neck and take you down a truly chilling road. As shocking as the threads are that Sultoon uses to heighten the thrills, spills, twists, and deeply emotional turns in this side of the story, I do not think there is anything here that is beyond the realms of possibility, and that makes it all the more powerful. I recommend a listen to Sting's deeply moving song, They Dance Alone, as a musical accompaniment here too - it always brings me to tears, and fits well with the heartrending scenes of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo.

I really enjoyed how Sultoon connects this second outing for Jonny with the groundwork she laid in the first book, especially how this ties him to Paloma's own poignant past. You do not need to have read the first book to enjoy this story, but it certainly adds layers that make the reading experience all the more worthwhile - and feeds into where she takes Jonny's story next.

This is an absolutely cracking thriller that will pull you in and have you turning the pages from cover to cover in a single breathless read. I consumed it, and am overwhelmed with how well Sultoon shines a light on some very uncomfortable history once again in that way she does so well.

Death Flight is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support the best in indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

About the author:

Sarah Sultoon is a novelist and journalist, whose prior 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 degree in languages, chosen mainly so she could spend time itinerantly travelling the world. 

She likes running, Indian food, cocktails, playing sport with her children and throwing a ball for her dog, order dependent on when the cocktails are consumed. 

The Source is her first novel and is currently in development for television with Lime Pictures.