The Kill Switch
The brand-new explosive 2026 thriller from the bestselling UK political journalist
Will be published approx. on 16. July 2026
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-78512-608-6 (ISBN)
Description
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?
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?
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bonnier Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78512-608-6 (9781785126086)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Robert Peston is ITV's political editor, presenter of the politics show Peston, founder of the education charity, Futures for All (www.futuresforall.org), and vice president of Hospice UK. He has written five critically acclaimed non-fiction books, How Do We Fix This Mess?, Who Runs Britain?, Brown's Britain, How To Run Britain and WTF?, which was described by the Financial Times as 'mandatory reading' for anyone seeking to understand Brexit, Trump and the collapse of confidence in western liberalism. His first thriller, The Whistleblower, published by Zaffre, was 'brilliant' according to the Guardian and called 'a rollicking read' by the Evening Standard. Its sequel, The Crash, was praised as 'clever' by the Times and as 'fast paced' by the Financial Times.
For a decade until the end of 2015, he was at the BBC, as economics editor and business editor, and in the 1990s he was at the Financial Times, as political editor, financial editor and head of investigations. At the BBC he played a prominent role in exposing the causes and consequences of the credit crunch, banking crisis and Great Recession. Peston has won more than 30 awards for his journalism, including Journalist of the Year and Scoop of the Year (twice) from the Royal Television Society. Find him on his blog at itv.com/robertpeston, and on Substack and X as @peston. He hosts a podcast with Steph McGovern, The Rest is Money.
For a decade until the end of 2015, he was at the BBC, as economics editor and business editor, and in the 1990s he was at the Financial Times, as political editor, financial editor and head of investigations. At the BBC he played a prominent role in exposing the causes and consequences of the credit crunch, banking crisis and Great Recession. Peston has won more than 30 awards for his journalism, including Journalist of the Year and Scoop of the Year (twice) from the Royal Television Society. Find him on his blog at itv.com/robertpeston, and on Substack and X as @peston. He hosts a podcast with Steph McGovern, The Rest is Money.