Dirt

A compulsive, searing political thriller set on a kibbutz in Northern Israel, where the discovery of the body of an Israeli-Arab worker sets off a devastating chain of events…


‘A first-class political thriller’ Steve Cavanagh
 
‘A bitingly sharp, pacy thriller. Devilishly good. I inhaled it’ Freya Berry 
 
‘A powerful political thriller that brims with authentic detail. Clever, compulsive and achingly atmospheric’ Kia Abdullah 
 
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This is no utopia…

1996. Northern Israel. Lola leaves an unhappy home life in England for the fabled utopian life of a kibbutz, but this heavily guarded farming community on the Arab-Israeli border isn’t the idyll it seems, and tensions are festering.

Hundreds of miles away, in the Jerusalem offices of the International Tribune newspaper, all eyes are on Israel’s response to a spate of rocket attacks from Lebanon, until cub reporter Jonny Murphy gets a tip from a mysterious source that sends him straight into the danger zone.

When the body of an Arab worker is discovered in the dirt of the kibbutz chicken house, it triggers a series of events that puts Lola and the whole community in jeopardy, and Jonny begins to uncover a series of secrets that put everything at risk, as he begins to realise just how far some people will go to belong…
 
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‘A fantastic page-turner and an intriguing look at a complex and dangerous world. Sarah Sultoon creates intelligent, memorable characters and fascinating stories’ Holly Watt
 
‘A powerhouse writer’ Jo Spain
 
‘An extraordinary piece of writing from a political thriller writer at the very top of her game’ Victoria Selman
 
‘Brilliant and gripping’ S J Watson
 
‘An immersive and evocative political thriller that thrust me into a unique, razor-edged world, with a plot filled with tension and complexity. The narrative twists around itself, becoming increasingly claustrophobic and fraught, until it arrives at its explosive dénouement’ Philippa East
 
‘Full of danger and pulsating characters’ Louise Beech
 
‘Sarah Sultoon draws on her time spent as a journalist in the Middle East to bring northern Israel, its people, its beauty, and its complexities to life in vibrant colour in this twisting whodunnit…' Antony Dunford
 
‘A compelling thriller that weaves a complex tale … escalating to a shocking finale' Eve Smith
 
‘Unsettling, riveting, gets under your skin’ Peter Hain
 
Praise for Sarah Sultoon:
 
**Longlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger**
**WINNER of the Crime Fiction Lover Debut Thriller Award**

‘A brave and thought-provoking debut novel’ Adam Hamdy

‘A taut and thought-provoking book that’s all the more unnerving for how much it echoes the headlines in real life’ CultureFly

‘A tense thriller, a remarkable debut, heartbreaking, but ultimately this is a story of resilience and survival’ NB Magazine

‘A powerful, compelling read that doesn’t shy away from some upsetting truths … written with such energy’ Fanny Blake

‘A powerful story of the brutality of front-line journalism. Authentic, provocative and terrifyingly relevant’ Will Carver