Death Flight by Sarah Sultoon

Today I'm sharing my review for Death Flight, the second novel featuring reporter Jonny Murphy, by Sarah Sultoon for my stop on the blog tour. As with her previous books, it's a hard hitter. Big thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

Cub reporter Jonny Murphy is in Buenos Aires interviewing families of victims of Argentina’s Dirty War, when a headless torso washes up on a city beach, thrusting him into a shocking investigation with harrowing echoes from the past…

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 body 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…

Death Flight is published by Orenda Books and comes out on 29th February 2024.

My Review

I was completely wowed by The Shot by Sarah Sultoon - it made my top three books of 2022, so was really keen to read something else by her. I missed the blog tour for Dirt, the first book featuring Jonny Murphy so caught up with  that recently before starting this one. 

After being based in Israel for the International Tribune in the first book, in Death Flight we find Jonny now in Argentina, having spent a year living in Buenos Aires, although he hasn't learned much of the language. He is working alongside photographer Paloma who puts him to shame with her fluent Spanish. They are working on a story about Argentina's financial crisis but it's all quite dry stuff. So the news of a body found on the outskirts of the city has caught their interest. Especially as the condition of the corpse is reminiscent of the bodies dropped from the so called Death Flights, 'los Vuelos de Muerte' of Argentina's Dirty War, which ended 15 years previously. It's a story Jonny can't resist following, a decision he might come to regret, if he lives that long...

Jonny is easy to like. He's keen to make a name for himself at the International Tribune, eager to follow the story. He has a conscience though, a strong sense of right and wrong, and of what should and shouldn't be reported. But he carries a lot of sadness and grief, after things that happened in his childhood, and during the last book, all of which is recapped here, so don't worry if you haven't yet read Dirt. I say yet, because you should! Anyway, as a result of all that, there is pretty much only one person in the world he trusts, and it isn't Paloma. Their relationship is an interesting one. They need each other - her pictures could  raise a piece of journalism to a whole other level, whilst his ability to sell a story means she gets paid. They work well together and care about each other, but they don't feel like a team all the time, there is definitely tension under the surface, especially from Jonny towards Paloma. But I enjoyed getting to know her. 

I knew woefully little about Argentina's Dirty War and found this book, whilst a work of fiction, very enlightening. I knew from the previous books I was likely to be educated, and I'm so glad I was, although it was a terrible time with thousands of people of all ages disappearing, and there are  some truly heart breaking moments in the book that reflect this. I found Jonny and Paloma meeting with the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the Mothers of the Disappeared, identified by their white headscarves, who met every single week in the square from which they take their name, very affecting, but loved that the strength of these women comes through the pages. There is also a relatively short scene where they come across an elderly man doing his best to care for countless young children whose parents had disappeared. He had very little but did what he could for these children. I found that particular scene very moving. 

The book is fast moving with a palpable sense of rising tension as it becomes clear that Jonny's choice to pursue the story of the headless corpse has not gone down well with someone, and he risks more than his reputation by pursuing it. But he is a dogged, determined young man and Paloma, along with the reader, gets swept along with him. And all of this is happening against the backdrop of the exploding, or perhaps imploding, financial crisis in the country. There were moments I found I was unconsciously holding my breath, it's certainly exciting. 

Death Flight is a brilliantly written, hard hitting and fast moving novel. Uncomfortable to read in places, but truly worth it - it's impactful, as well as educational. Please do check this one out. 

The Author

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. 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 … Her debut thriller The Source is currently in production with Lime Pictures, and was a Capital Crime Book Club pick and a number one bestseller on Kindle. The Shot (2022) and Dirt (2023) followed, with multiple award longlistings, including the CWA Daggers. Sarah currently works for Channel 4 News and lives in London.