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The Kill Switch

The brand-new explosive 2026 thriller from the bestselling UK political journalist

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The Kill Switch

By: Robert Peston
Narrated by: Matt Addis
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Journalist Gil Peck has spent decades breaking stories about Britain's political elites, shining a light on the darkest corners of Whitehall.

But when the Prime Minister, Stella Barnsbury, collapses during an interview on his podcast he finds himself at the centre of the scoop.

Within 48 hours, the Prime Minister is dead. And when foul play is confirmed, Gil and his partner Jess - the last civilians to see Stella alive - become the prime suspects.

With everything on the line, Gil and Jess investigate the government's shadowy contract with a global tech giant - a deal that collapsed in the lead up to Stella's assassination. Was it just another government U-turn, motive for murder - or worse?

In a brave new world of megalomaniac technocrats, malevolent AI super-intelligence and cutting-edge brain implants, Gil must confront a deadly, age-old question: how far will some go in the name of progress . . . and profit? Espionage Genre Fiction Medical Political Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense
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This is the third book in the Gil Peck trilogy and I've very much enjoyed the earlier two. The first one, the Whistleblower was great, the next one the Crash, very good but a little more far fetched with the ending being somewhat disappointing and this one has continued the trend being implausible and ending very anticlimactically.

In many ways it reminded me of Robert Harris's The Fear Index, with its focus on technology and its central premise (no spoilers but IYKYK). However, while The Fear Index is set in a fictional world, Peston has set his trilogy in the "real" real world, The Kill Switch often feels far-fetched being at the same time rooted in a story that began two books ago witha Labour victory in 1997 which makes the sci-fi elements difficult to believe.

My biggest criticism is the ending. After spending most of the book building the story and increasing the menace, the resolution arrives remarkably quickly and it's all wrapped up in a fraction of the novel. Given that this was the final book, the story (as well as we readers) deserved a more substantial and satisfying conclusion to the whole saga. Instead, the ending felt rushed and anticlimactic, leaving me with the sense that the word count was looming and the story had to come to an end very quickly.

Recommended? Yes. But is it as good as either of the two earlier books? No. Would I like to see a fourth book in this "trilogy"? Definitely!

A disappointing end to a great series

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First person point of view keeps fleeting between characters, distracting.
Language is simplistic, lots of “f” expletives without much literary effort.

Slow

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