It really is a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour for The Source by Sarah Sultoon.
'A hugely anticipated debut thriller from former CNN international news executive Sarah Sultoon. Inspired by Sarah’s own time in the newsroom, The Source follows a young TV journalist who is forced to revisit her past when she’s thrust into a sex-trafficking investigation in her hometown. TV rights have already been sold to Lime Pictures, with Jo Spain writing the screenplay.'
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…
Follow @SultoonSarah on Twitter
About the book
1996. Essex. Thirteen-year-old schoolgirl Carly lives in a disenfranchised town dominated by a military base, struggling to care for her baby sister while her mum sleeps off another binge. When her squaddie brother brings food and treats, and offers an exclusive invitation to army parties, things start to look a little less bleak…
2006. London. Junior TV newsroom journalist Marie has spent six months exposing a gang of sex traffickers, but everything is derailed when New Scotland Yard announces the re-opening of Operation Andromeda, the notorious investigation into allegations of sex abuse at an army base a decade earlier.
As the lives of these two characters intertwine around a single, defining event, a series of utterly chilling experiences is revealed, sparking a nail-biting race to find the truth… and justice.
A tense, startling and unforgettable thriller, The Source is a story about survival, about hopes and dreams, about power, abuse and resilience.
Review
Carly is a thirteen-year-old who has become the substitute mommy to her baby sister, because her mother is a lush and her older brother doesn't care enough to help. He is too invested in his military career, to the point of being willing to do anything to keep his position.
Carly, who is overwhelmed and vulnerable, is slowly drawn into situations that seem innocent on the surface and yet are far more insidious than she realises. All Carly really cares about is keeping her sister alive and safe, which is her Achilles heel.
In the present we meet journalist Marie, who has spent a lot of time investigating a sex trafficking ring. The two characters have more in common than they realise. One driven by trauma and fear, and the other by the need to save victims.
I am always cautious when a book gets a lot of hype and I like to find out for myself if it lives up to it - well it does and did. It's a cracking read. As readers pivot from past to present and back, from Marie and Carly and back again, you just can't help but become invested in their stories.
It's simultaneously a deeply disturbing image of our society, how the vulnerable are targeted and become invisible victims. Their perpetrators hide in plain sight and are often never brought to justice. Unfortunately this story isn't fiction drawn out of thin air - for the majority it is truth and features one of the most despicable, prevalent and profitable crimes the modern world faces.
Kudos to Sultoon for the absolutely engaging, heart wrenching and brutally honest read.
Buy The Source at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Orenda: pub date 15 April 2021. Paperback Original - £8.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Orenda.
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