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A Dying Breed

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A Dying Breed

By: Peter Hanington
Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
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About this listen

A debut novel in the vein of Greene and le Carré, A Dying Breed is a brilliant and gripping story of the politics of news reporting, intrigue and blood set between the dark halls of Whitehall, the shadowy corridors of the BBC and the perilous streets of Kabul, in the shadowy le Carré-esque world of foreign correspondents reporting from war zones around the world.

Carver, an old BBC hack, is warned off a story when a bomb goes off, killing a local official in Kabul, but his instincts tell him something isn't quite right, and he won't give up until he finds the truth. A junior producer sent out from London to control him is kidnapped, and as the story unravels it looks like there's collusion between the local consul, Whitehall and someone in the BBC to ensure the real story never sees the light of day.

©2016 Peter Hanington (P)2016 Hodder & Stoughton Espionage Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Exciting

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Critic reviews

"A tremendous novel - shot-through with great authenticity and insider knowledge - wholly compelling and shrewdly wise." (William Boyd)
"A Dying Breed is a deeply insightful, humane, funny and furious novel. This is both a timely reflection on how Britain does business and a belting good read." (A. L. Kennedy)
"A compelling read, and a great insider's view of life in broadcast journalism. I'm disappointed I am not to feature in the book: it is a brilliant read." (Evan Davis)
"Buy this book. Find a quiet place. Switch off your phone and devour it. Hanington's ability to wrap a story around the ghosts of truth is superb. He spins his tale with a true writer's gift. I loved every minute in this book's company." (Fi Glover, BBC Radio 4 presenter)
"Peter is that rare commodity in the journalistic fraternity...a natural storyteller. You really want to turn the pages. And that's what matters." (John Humphrys)
"A deeply intelligent, beautifully constructed story." (Will Gompertz, BBC arts editor)
"All journalists seem to think they can write great novels about journalism and 99% of those who try make a hash of it. Hanington is in the 1%. Having created believable characters caught up in the hell that is Afghanistan, he weaves a story that manages to excite, appall and instruct in equal measure. And it reveals one of the trade's most important differences: the chasm that exists between horizontal journalism and vertical journalism." (Roy Greenslade, Guardian and Evening Standard columnist and commentator)
"A Dying Breed is a gripping, fast-moving tale of shifting loyalties and creeping betrayal.... Hanington connects the inner-workings and skullduggery of the BBC's London headquarters to the quiet, menacing stillness of the deserts of Central Asia, where the story turns dramatically and violently in a heartbeat and builds to its tempestuous, thrilling conclusion.... A page turner from the first line - and full of insights, some chilling, some hilariously well-observed - into the murky worlds of the war on terror, the secret intelligence services, and the mainstream British news media." (Allan Little, former BBC foreign correspondent and chair of the Edinburgh International Book Festival)
All stars
Most relevant
Suspense, Sensitivity - gulped it down in one sitting. Sort of confirms how the real world of political journalism works.

GREAT - s squared within a web of reality

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Thought the book ended rather abruptly would have liked more into the aftermath. Well worth a listen though

Great but cut short

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Found this book very enjoyable. The characters are believable and the situation surrounding the subject well described. Jonathan Keble reads it well and helps the story come alive. In style it reminded me in some ways of John Le Carre, especially the "Honourable Schoolboy"

Really enjoyed this book

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Not my normal choice of reading material but have to say that this was really good - varied, exciting, and nail biting chapters, historical
facts and an insight into the world today and the dangers of reporting events -

A dying breed

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I spent a very pleasant few hours listening to this book. Very reminiscent of le Care but an easier read / listen. The characters are fully formed and engaging, with strengths and weaknesses, behaving well and badly. The story concluded leaving questions unanswered and loose ends, which initially I thought was unsatisfactory, but actually it supports the premise that it's the process which matters almost more than the outcome. Well worth a listen.

An excellent story, excellently read.

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