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Jonny Murphy #1
Dirt
As sirens wail over a kibbutz in Israel, a cub reporter unearths a link between a body found in chicken shed, the small farming community and an age-old political conflict.
276 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2023
8 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Sultoon
6 books14 followersSarah Sultoon is a novelist and journalist, whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her from Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. She has extensive experience in conflict zones, with 3 Peabody awards and 2 Emmys to her name. She also holds a number of Royal Television Society gongs and is a recurring judge at the RTS Television Journalism awards. As passionate about fiction as non-fiction, she also has a Master of Studies in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. Her first novel, The Source, was nominated for the CWA's New Blood Dagger and won the inaugural Crime Fiction Lover's Best Debut of the Year Award in 2021. Her second novel, The Shot, was published by Orenda Books in April 2022. Dirt, her third thriller and the first in a series featuring cub reporter Jonny Murphy, was published in Jan 2023 to widespread critical acclaim.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 23, 2023
"The body steamed gently in the heat as the birds pecked their way around it, the fetid smell of chicken feed mingling with the sulphurous whiff of smashed eggs. The pecking became indecorous as the hardest-working chicken, a champion amongst fowl, found an eyeball. Then another."
When a thriller opens with lines like that you know you’re in for a great read. And Dirt did not disappoint. There is a sense of foreboding that hovers over the pages from the start, something ominous in the air that we are yet to discover. And there is a lot to discover in the complex, layered and twisty political thriller filled with secrets, tension and cover-ups.
1996 is a nostalgic year for me. I was 17-years-old and it was the year I felt I found a sense of freedom and adventure among my peers, so I instantly connected with Lola who is experiencing that on a much bigger scale in this story. Lola has left behind her unhappy home life in England for an adventure in Northern Israel alongside her Jewish best friend, Sam. The two are working as volunteers on a kibbutz, a fabled utopian farming community located on the Arab-Israeli border. There is a real sense of family living and working alongside these people every day. But when a body is found in the heavily guarded community all signs point to murder, and it seems Lola doesn’t know these people as well as she thought.
Meanwhile, our other narrator, Jonny, is hundreds of miles away in Jerusalem. Jonny has also come to the country to find himself, a quest to learn more about his heritage after his Jewish mother was disowned by her family for falling in love with his Irish father. A reporter for the International Tribune, a source alerts him to the body discovered on the kibbutz. Unable to resist the lure of a story, he travels there to investigate, not realising the dangerous chain of events he is about to ignite.
"You have no idea what you've stumbled into. Everyone thinks that it is simple - both sides hate the other and will fight to the death until one of them wins. Nothing's ever that simple though is it?"
Sarah Sultoon isn’t afraid to tackle a difficult subject. Her debut, The Source, was a hard-hitting read and this one is just as unflinching. Alongside her examination of the Arab-Israeli conflict is an exploration of identity that also touches on subjects such as prejudice and sexual assault. While there are occasional gruesome scenes, it is never graphic and she instead focuses on the emotions of the characters to tell her story, making the reader feel everything alongside Lola and Jonny. The writing is so evocative that I was transported and it was almost like I could feel the heat of the sun bearing down on me in the kibbutz or feel the terror as rockets flew overhead during an air raid. It gave me a real connection not only to the characters, but to the setting itself, something that is very important in this book.
A clever, intriguing and intricate thriller that I’d highly recommend.
When a thriller opens with lines like that you know you’re in for a great read. And Dirt did not disappoint. There is a sense of foreboding that hovers over the pages from the start, something ominous in the air that we are yet to discover. And there is a lot to discover in the complex, layered and twisty political thriller filled with secrets, tension and cover-ups.
1996 is a nostalgic year for me. I was 17-years-old and it was the year I felt I found a sense of freedom and adventure among my peers, so I instantly connected with Lola who is experiencing that on a much bigger scale in this story. Lola has left behind her unhappy home life in England for an adventure in Northern Israel alongside her Jewish best friend, Sam. The two are working as volunteers on a kibbutz, a fabled utopian farming community located on the Arab-Israeli border. There is a real sense of family living and working alongside these people every day. But when a body is found in the heavily guarded community all signs point to murder, and it seems Lola doesn’t know these people as well as she thought.
Meanwhile, our other narrator, Jonny, is hundreds of miles away in Jerusalem. Jonny has also come to the country to find himself, a quest to learn more about his heritage after his Jewish mother was disowned by her family for falling in love with his Irish father. A reporter for the International Tribune, a source alerts him to the body discovered on the kibbutz. Unable to resist the lure of a story, he travels there to investigate, not realising the dangerous chain of events he is about to ignite.
"You have no idea what you've stumbled into. Everyone thinks that it is simple - both sides hate the other and will fight to the death until one of them wins. Nothing's ever that simple though is it?"
Sarah Sultoon isn’t afraid to tackle a difficult subject. Her debut, The Source, was a hard-hitting read and this one is just as unflinching. Alongside her examination of the Arab-Israeli conflict is an exploration of identity that also touches on subjects such as prejudice and sexual assault. While there are occasional gruesome scenes, it is never graphic and she instead focuses on the emotions of the characters to tell her story, making the reader feel everything alongside Lola and Jonny. The writing is so evocative that I was transported and it was almost like I could feel the heat of the sun bearing down on me in the kibbutz or feel the terror as rockets flew overhead during an air raid. It gave me a real connection not only to the characters, but to the setting itself, something that is very important in this book.
A clever, intriguing and intricate thriller that I’d highly recommend.
January 4, 2023
Sarah Sultoon is back with yet another gripping political thriller.
This time she transports us to a kibbutz in the north of Israel right on the border with Lebanon.
Lola is a non-Jewish volunteer at the kibbutz (a communal settlement specific to Israel, usually a farm) where she works at the banana fields in exchange for lodgings and the experience of a kibbutz life. She left her family behind in London and I could immediately feel her loneliness. She wasn’t specifically close to her family, but she appeared lost, looking for something.
Then, a tragedy strikes at the kibbutz and Lola’s life will never be the same again…
Jonny is a cub reporter for the International Tribune. He speaks fluent Hebrew thanks to his Jewish mother, but he was raised in England. When he receives a tip from a trusted informant, he travels to the kibbutz in the northern Israel to find out what happened. He has no idea what he will discover…
I loved this book from start to finish. I enjoyed the setting – it’s the first time I have heard of a kibbutz (I can understand why it’s appealing to a lot of people), so I feel that I’ve learnt something new. Thank you!
My understanding of the Israeli conflict is somewhat basic, but Sultoon clearly explains it all, so I didn’t feel lost as I was reading the book.
I enjoyed getting to know the two main characters, Lola and Jonny. They both appeared lost and were searching for something, or someone. I was despairing when I found out Lola’s background (and what happened on that field! Shocking!) and Jonny’s sad childhood. No wonder the two of them wanted to belong somewhere.
Having read Sultoon’s previous books, I can honestly say that Dirt is her best work up to date.
This time she transports us to a kibbutz in the north of Israel right on the border with Lebanon.
Lola is a non-Jewish volunteer at the kibbutz (a communal settlement specific to Israel, usually a farm) where she works at the banana fields in exchange for lodgings and the experience of a kibbutz life. She left her family behind in London and I could immediately feel her loneliness. She wasn’t specifically close to her family, but she appeared lost, looking for something.
Then, a tragedy strikes at the kibbutz and Lola’s life will never be the same again…
Jonny is a cub reporter for the International Tribune. He speaks fluent Hebrew thanks to his Jewish mother, but he was raised in England. When he receives a tip from a trusted informant, he travels to the kibbutz in the northern Israel to find out what happened. He has no idea what he will discover…
I loved this book from start to finish. I enjoyed the setting – it’s the first time I have heard of a kibbutz (I can understand why it’s appealing to a lot of people), so I feel that I’ve learnt something new. Thank you!
My understanding of the Israeli conflict is somewhat basic, but Sultoon clearly explains it all, so I didn’t feel lost as I was reading the book.
I enjoyed getting to know the two main characters, Lola and Jonny. They both appeared lost and were searching for something, or someone. I was despairing when I found out Lola’s background (and what happened on that field! Shocking!) and Jonny’s sad childhood. No wonder the two of them wanted to belong somewhere.
Having read Sultoon’s previous books, I can honestly say that Dirt is her best work up to date.
January 16, 2023
‘Dirt’ is a powerful look at the tensions on a kibbutz at the Israel and Lebanon border in the aftermath of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. It's a complex tale full of political intrigue, complex characters, family secrets and a murder mystery at its heart. It's a book that isn't afraid to pull punches, both haymakers but also ones to your solar plexus that render you unable to function. As we have seen in her previous books Sarah Sultoon has the ability to discuss powerful and emotive topics in such a way that you find it unable to walk away from her books. You become engrossed, involved, and intrinsically intertwined with the characters and again you will find this with ‘Dirt’.
‘Dirt’ follows two characters Lola and Jonny over 48 hours. Lola is a volunteer working on the kibbutz in the banana fields. She is a troubled young woman from London who has travelled to the kibbutz to escape her past and live a far less complicated life. Up at dawn to work in the fields, communal meals and time spent around a bonfire with the other volunteers at night. But there is the ever-threatening presence of the political situation - rockets are liable to fly over at any point, and air raid sirens and shelters are a part of everyday life. One that is becoming frequent as the tensions between the two countries heighten. Jonny Murphy is a young cub reporter at the International Tribune. A young man hailing from the UK but with an Israeli mother, therefore he has his own reasons to be living in Jerusalem. But when a source gives him a tip that a kibbutz worker has been found dead he is determined to go up there and delve into the story and when it takes a drastic turn he soon realises that this discovery could have a major impact on the conflict raging around them all.
Out of the two main characters I found myself more drawn to Jonny than I did to Lola. However, Lola has the more powerful and heart-wrenching narrative out of the two. ‘The’ scenes in the banana fields and the beach were one of the solar plexus moments I was talking about above. They were relatable, horrific and devastating and something that I will remember for quite a while. But still, I couldn't warm to her as I felt duplicity radiating off her. I had sympathy but that's about it and I feel that this was an objective that the author has maybe put in place to counterbalance the sheer charming and likeable nature of Jonny. Ying and Yang so they say. Jonny was instantly likeable at that food stand and it continued throughout despite what his character goes through. He has the determination to uncover the truth of what is happening at the kibbutz but that determination intertwines with his wanting to belong somewhere. Something that Lola is also wanting. And that is one of the beautiful strands of this book is that despite the raging political situation it's really about personal aspirations of finding a home. Finding and understanding themselves. I can't remember who said it now in the book (maybe it was Tom?) but he said until you live at the edge of the world you can't understand the world and yourself. I think this sums up this book.
The last book I read by Sarah devastated me (in a good way) and I am still haunted by it. ‘Dirt’ is slightly more subtle about its hard-hitting(ness), despite its thriller and high-paced action sections underground. It's a book based on the complexity of personalities rather than humanity. Yes, they are used as a filter to reflect tensions in the area but you could have lifted the two main characters into a different area and have the same outcome, say Northern Ireland in the Troubles or on the Mexican US border. But what makes this book is the character's authenticity, their complex backgrounds and the exquisite way they have been written. However, despite what I said about location earlier, its placement here is a reflection on the author's history of working in journalism and it makes the setting ring true. Once again I'm in awe of the books that Sarah can write and I am eagerly awaiting what comes next!
Let me know if you read this one!
‘Dirt’ follows two characters Lola and Jonny over 48 hours. Lola is a volunteer working on the kibbutz in the banana fields. She is a troubled young woman from London who has travelled to the kibbutz to escape her past and live a far less complicated life. Up at dawn to work in the fields, communal meals and time spent around a bonfire with the other volunteers at night. But there is the ever-threatening presence of the political situation - rockets are liable to fly over at any point, and air raid sirens and shelters are a part of everyday life. One that is becoming frequent as the tensions between the two countries heighten. Jonny Murphy is a young cub reporter at the International Tribune. A young man hailing from the UK but with an Israeli mother, therefore he has his own reasons to be living in Jerusalem. But when a source gives him a tip that a kibbutz worker has been found dead he is determined to go up there and delve into the story and when it takes a drastic turn he soon realises that this discovery could have a major impact on the conflict raging around them all.
Out of the two main characters I found myself more drawn to Jonny than I did to Lola. However, Lola has the more powerful and heart-wrenching narrative out of the two. ‘The’ scenes in the banana fields and the beach were one of the solar plexus moments I was talking about above. They were relatable, horrific and devastating and something that I will remember for quite a while. But still, I couldn't warm to her as I felt duplicity radiating off her. I had sympathy but that's about it and I feel that this was an objective that the author has maybe put in place to counterbalance the sheer charming and likeable nature of Jonny. Ying and Yang so they say. Jonny was instantly likeable at that food stand and it continued throughout despite what his character goes through. He has the determination to uncover the truth of what is happening at the kibbutz but that determination intertwines with his wanting to belong somewhere. Something that Lola is also wanting. And that is one of the beautiful strands of this book is that despite the raging political situation it's really about personal aspirations of finding a home. Finding and understanding themselves. I can't remember who said it now in the book (maybe it was Tom?) but he said until you live at the edge of the world you can't understand the world and yourself. I think this sums up this book.
The last book I read by Sarah devastated me (in a good way) and I am still haunted by it. ‘Dirt’ is slightly more subtle about its hard-hitting(ness), despite its thriller and high-paced action sections underground. It's a book based on the complexity of personalities rather than humanity. Yes, they are used as a filter to reflect tensions in the area but you could have lifted the two main characters into a different area and have the same outcome, say Northern Ireland in the Troubles or on the Mexican US border. But what makes this book is the character's authenticity, their complex backgrounds and the exquisite way they have been written. However, despite what I said about location earlier, its placement here is a reflection on the author's history of working in journalism and it makes the setting ring true. Once again I'm in awe of the books that Sarah can write and I am eagerly awaiting what comes next!
Let me know if you read this one!
January 3, 2023
This was an utterly gripping book from start to finish that kept me on my toes from the outset. Sarah Sultoon is an award-winning international journalist who clearly knows what she is writing about and describes it faithfully and honestly, whilst pulling no punches.
Our two main protagonists are Lola, who at the kibbutz with her Jewish friend Sam, working on the banana crops with Israeli-Arab workers when the body of one of the kibbutz workers is found in a chicken coop. She knows the man who has died; you can sense the penny drop as she unravels what might have been behind their relationship.
The second main character is Johnny, a young Israeli-British journalist whose parents met on the kibbutz. He’s a great character, fiercely ambitious and keen to break a story, wherever it might lead him. He’s based in Jerusalem but travels to north Israel when a story tip off comes his way. Their two stories are separate to start but become interlinked as Johnny hears about the kibbutz worker’s death and wonders what might be behind it and Lola realises more about life on the kibbutz.
The politics of life on the borders of Israel and Lebanon is central to the story, with the author’s expertise coming to the fore. It is a dangerous place to be, with bombs and fighting part of every day life. There’s a strong feeling that this bonds the kibbutz community together against the outside world, protecting what is theirs. The book doesn’t pull any punches about communal life; its tough manual labour in the heat of the sun, working to grow food for the whole community and beyond with continuous bombardments and attacks and the sense of community
I have often wondered about life on a kibbutz as the idealism of communal living and working together sounds wonderful but I’m not so sure its as relaxing as that after reading ‘Dirt’; groups split off from one another and keep secrets from each other, however hard you try to treat everyone equally.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a political thriller that’s different from the norm, which may make you think about the world around in a slightly different light. Thanks again for letting me kick off the tour!
Our two main protagonists are Lola, who at the kibbutz with her Jewish friend Sam, working on the banana crops with Israeli-Arab workers when the body of one of the kibbutz workers is found in a chicken coop. She knows the man who has died; you can sense the penny drop as she unravels what might have been behind their relationship.
The second main character is Johnny, a young Israeli-British journalist whose parents met on the kibbutz. He’s a great character, fiercely ambitious and keen to break a story, wherever it might lead him. He’s based in Jerusalem but travels to north Israel when a story tip off comes his way. Their two stories are separate to start but become interlinked as Johnny hears about the kibbutz worker’s death and wonders what might be behind it and Lola realises more about life on the kibbutz.
The politics of life on the borders of Israel and Lebanon is central to the story, with the author’s expertise coming to the fore. It is a dangerous place to be, with bombs and fighting part of every day life. There’s a strong feeling that this bonds the kibbutz community together against the outside world, protecting what is theirs. The book doesn’t pull any punches about communal life; its tough manual labour in the heat of the sun, working to grow food for the whole community and beyond with continuous bombardments and attacks and the sense of community
I have often wondered about life on a kibbutz as the idealism of communal living and working together sounds wonderful but I’m not so sure its as relaxing as that after reading ‘Dirt’; groups split off from one another and keep secrets from each other, however hard you try to treat everyone equally.
I would recommend this to anyone looking for a political thriller that’s different from the norm, which may make you think about the world around in a slightly different light. Thanks again for letting me kick off the tour!
January 17, 2023
Firstly thank you so much to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for inviting me to be on the Dirt blog tour.
I was taken by the premise of Dirt as I've never read a book set in Israel, and I hoped to learn something from Dirt about this politically difficult area, the Middle East.
The plot is a gripping tale set in a Kibbutz (A kibbutz is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania), involving a group of European volunteers who traveled to this so-called utopia, often running away from things at home, in the hope to have a "perfect" life with their Jewish and Arab colleagues. However, this is all brought to an abrupt end when first they are very nearly shelled (They believe that by being so close to the Arab-Israeli border they won't ever get shelled) and whilst they are all sheltering in a bomb shelter a body of one of the workers is found in the chicken house.
The descriptions of the kibbutz setting are absolutely exquisite, I could picture the terrain and layout so well, Sarah has a talent for really putting the reader in the book setting. And these descriptions all really added to make this an unforgettable and tense read. Only let down by not having a map in the beginning, but google did help me! The tensions between the cast of characters are extremely well-written and with each page, you are more and more invested in the plot,I couldn't put Dirt down!
The book builds to a brilliant ending and even I didn't guess the outcome, but this is a brilliant thriller involving spies, damaged humans, and damaged relationships, Sarah has a fabulous spirit with the way she writes her cast on Dirt, making them ultra visceral and Dirt played out like a movie in my mind!
A superb 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read and another triumph from Orenda Books!
I was taken by the premise of Dirt as I've never read a book set in Israel, and I hoped to learn something from Dirt about this politically difficult area, the Middle East.
The plot is a gripping tale set in a Kibbutz (A kibbutz is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania), involving a group of European volunteers who traveled to this so-called utopia, often running away from things at home, in the hope to have a "perfect" life with their Jewish and Arab colleagues. However, this is all brought to an abrupt end when first they are very nearly shelled (They believe that by being so close to the Arab-Israeli border they won't ever get shelled) and whilst they are all sheltering in a bomb shelter a body of one of the workers is found in the chicken house.
The descriptions of the kibbutz setting are absolutely exquisite, I could picture the terrain and layout so well, Sarah has a talent for really putting the reader in the book setting. And these descriptions all really added to make this an unforgettable and tense read. Only let down by not having a map in the beginning, but google did help me! The tensions between the cast of characters are extremely well-written and with each page, you are more and more invested in the plot,I couldn't put Dirt down!
The book builds to a brilliant ending and even I didn't guess the outcome, but this is a brilliant thriller involving spies, damaged humans, and damaged relationships, Sarah has a fabulous spirit with the way she writes her cast on Dirt, making them ultra visceral and Dirt played out like a movie in my mind!
A superb 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read and another triumph from Orenda Books!
October 6, 2023
An interesting and powerful read
January 19, 2023
Last year I read The Shot by Sarah Sultoon and was wowed, so much so that it ended up on my list of favourite books in 2022; as a result I was intrigued to read Dirt, her latest book, which is classified as a political thriller.
The novel, set in 1996, opens with the discovery of the body of Farid, an Israeli-Arab worker, in a chicken house of a kibbutz located on the border of Israel and Lebanon. Chapters alternate between the perspectives of two characters, Lola and Jonny. Lola is a non-Jewish volunteer who came with her best friend to work on the kibbutz. Because she had a relationship with Farid, the discovery of his body means she will be a figure of interest in any investigation. Jonny, a cub reporter working for the International Tribune, receives a tip about goings-on at the kibbutz with which he has a familial connection. He arrives there and gets drawn into uncovering more than one secret at the commune.
Apparently, the author has some personal experience with life on a kibbutz, and it is her use of that setting which captured my interest. I know little about life on a kibbutz except what I was told by a former student who volunteered on one for a few months when he was visiting Israel. Beit Liora is not a socialist utopia: “Its bounty may be on full display, but the reality inside is never quite the same.” Residents receive food and shelter, but work hard, rising with the sun. “In a community where everyone and everything is supposed to sit on the same plane, . . . hierarchies hide in plain sight.” Volunteers reveal only what they want about themselves so may not be what they seem. There is heavy security with “tangles of razor wire edging almost every fence,” armed guards, and hidden cameras. There is an intolerance of differences, and outsiders are treated with suspicion: “In a community as tight as this, its commanders can’t afford to be seen as anything other than in complete control.” In addition, the kibbutz has air raid shelters because of rocket attacks from Lebanon.
For some reason, I had difficulty connecting with either of the main characters. Revelations about Lola’s home life certainly arouse sympathy, but her behaviour is frustrating. She is obviously desperate for affection, but her actions towards Tom and Farid make her appear fickle. She admits to being described as gullible though she prefers to think of herself as trusting and hopeful. But shouldn’t her painful experiences in the past have taught her to be more wary? Like Lola, Jonny is also a lost soul damaged by his past and looking for a sense of belonging. Though he is ambitious and determined to succeed as a journalist, he is also seeking a connection where his mother once lived. Perhaps their fragility was too overwhelming for me?
I read this book in fits and starts while travelling and that may not have been the best approach. Because I was not as attentive as I normally am, I kept feeling I was missing things. Why is there a used condom in the chicken house? It was brought to the chicken house by someone? I can’t imagine that people had sex in the chicken house with its overwhelming odour? I visualize when I read but I had difficulty imagining some scenes. For instance, near the end, “all three men are thrown back down into the alley between the warehouses, landing in a tangle of limbs, sweat and earth” and then one of them (Jonny) is immediately embraced by a fourth man “so tight it chokes the air from his lungs.” They’re embracing while lying down? A scuffle follows “as the men all separate themselves” but the two continue in their embrace, Jonny “still clinging” to the other while the hugger keeps “his arms folded tightly around Jonny” until he “drops” Jonny? Are these latter two standing? There is no mention of their rising to their feet. I found myself pausing while reading because of such gaps in the description of action. One or two such gaps would not be an issue, but there were several which disconcerted me.
There were some elements that bothered me. Some are just minor irritations like Jonny’s overuse of “eightieth time” and his frequent inability to see someone’s face clearly because of either the sun or shadows. I wanted to yell at him to just move. More seriously, I questioned the actions of one of the founding members of the kibbutz. Since the collective has existed for almost 50 years, the founder must be older, around 70 years of age, yet he behaves as he does towards Lola? Much is made of the “freeze setting, rather than fight or flight” as a response to a situation. But this is a response for everyone? Lola constantly freezes, it’s a learned behaviour for Jonny, and Tom freezes at a critical moment? Ambiguous endings don’t bother me, but the epilogue left me confused. Is it just to emphasize that secrets can never be fully buried?
This book didn’t engage me as much as I hoped, but the fault may lie in how I read the book in rather a disjointed fashion. Perhaps I need to reread it when I can be more attentive.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
The novel, set in 1996, opens with the discovery of the body of Farid, an Israeli-Arab worker, in a chicken house of a kibbutz located on the border of Israel and Lebanon. Chapters alternate between the perspectives of two characters, Lola and Jonny. Lola is a non-Jewish volunteer who came with her best friend to work on the kibbutz. Because she had a relationship with Farid, the discovery of his body means she will be a figure of interest in any investigation. Jonny, a cub reporter working for the International Tribune, receives a tip about goings-on at the kibbutz with which he has a familial connection. He arrives there and gets drawn into uncovering more than one secret at the commune.
Apparently, the author has some personal experience with life on a kibbutz, and it is her use of that setting which captured my interest. I know little about life on a kibbutz except what I was told by a former student who volunteered on one for a few months when he was visiting Israel. Beit Liora is not a socialist utopia: “Its bounty may be on full display, but the reality inside is never quite the same.” Residents receive food and shelter, but work hard, rising with the sun. “In a community where everyone and everything is supposed to sit on the same plane, . . . hierarchies hide in plain sight.” Volunteers reveal only what they want about themselves so may not be what they seem. There is heavy security with “tangles of razor wire edging almost every fence,” armed guards, and hidden cameras. There is an intolerance of differences, and outsiders are treated with suspicion: “In a community as tight as this, its commanders can’t afford to be seen as anything other than in complete control.” In addition, the kibbutz has air raid shelters because of rocket attacks from Lebanon.
For some reason, I had difficulty connecting with either of the main characters. Revelations about Lola’s home life certainly arouse sympathy, but her behaviour is frustrating. She is obviously desperate for affection, but her actions towards Tom and Farid make her appear fickle. She admits to being described as gullible though she prefers to think of herself as trusting and hopeful. But shouldn’t her painful experiences in the past have taught her to be more wary? Like Lola, Jonny is also a lost soul damaged by his past and looking for a sense of belonging. Though he is ambitious and determined to succeed as a journalist, he is also seeking a connection where his mother once lived. Perhaps their fragility was too overwhelming for me?
I read this book in fits and starts while travelling and that may not have been the best approach. Because I was not as attentive as I normally am, I kept feeling I was missing things. Why is there a used condom in the chicken house? It was brought to the chicken house by someone? I can’t imagine that people had sex in the chicken house with its overwhelming odour? I visualize when I read but I had difficulty imagining some scenes. For instance, near the end, “all three men are thrown back down into the alley between the warehouses, landing in a tangle of limbs, sweat and earth” and then one of them (Jonny) is immediately embraced by a fourth man “so tight it chokes the air from his lungs.” They’re embracing while lying down? A scuffle follows “as the men all separate themselves” but the two continue in their embrace, Jonny “still clinging” to the other while the hugger keeps “his arms folded tightly around Jonny” until he “drops” Jonny? Are these latter two standing? There is no mention of their rising to their feet. I found myself pausing while reading because of such gaps in the description of action. One or two such gaps would not be an issue, but there were several which disconcerted me.
There were some elements that bothered me. Some are just minor irritations like Jonny’s overuse of “eightieth time” and his frequent inability to see someone’s face clearly because of either the sun or shadows. I wanted to yell at him to just move. More seriously, I questioned the actions of one of the founding members of the kibbutz. Since the collective has existed for almost 50 years, the founder must be older, around 70 years of age, yet he behaves as he does towards Lola? Much is made of the “freeze setting, rather than fight or flight” as a response to a situation. But this is a response for everyone? Lola constantly freezes, it’s a learned behaviour for Jonny, and Tom freezes at a critical moment? Ambiguous endings don’t bother me, but the epilogue left me confused. Is it just to emphasize that secrets can never be fully buried?
This book didn’t engage me as much as I hoped, but the fault may lie in how I read the book in rather a disjointed fashion. Perhaps I need to reread it when I can be more attentive.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
January 12, 2023
1996, Northern Israel: Lola thought she had left her unhappy family life, and feelings of never quite fitting in, back in the UK, when she followed her best friend Sam out here to sample the famed kibbutz lifestyle. But it is not quite so easy to leave your problems behind when you are living among strangers in a heavily guarded compound near the Lebanese border, and you understand only a fraction of the divisions that trouble this land.
In Jerusalem, young reporter Jonny Murphy is also in Israel, searching for a sense of belonging among the family his mother left behind when she 'married out' of the Jewish community. His work immerses him in the fallout of the recent rocket attacks from Lebanon, and when he receives a surprising tip about something odd going on in a kibbutz near the northern border, he is sure he is on to a big story.
An Arab worker has been found murdered in a chicken house on the kibbutz, and it sparks a series of events that put Lola and her fellow kibbutzniks in danger. Can Jonny uncover the secrets that lie at the heart of this community before it is too late?
I love a story with layer upon layer to peel back before the truth becomes clear, and Dirt by Sarah Sultoon does this to perfection. What begins as a tale of a group of volunteers finding their feet in a kibbutz community that it not quite as idyllic as anticipated, especially given the strain of frequent missile attacks from just over the border, ripens into a story rife with complex relationship dynamics that are provoked by more than political and religious tension.
Following on from a chilling prologue, the story is driven by the narrations of Lola and Jonny, setting the scene about atmosphere between the workers at the kibbutz from one side, and the over-arching time and place on the other. You get the feeling that something is very wrong here about the way the workers interact with each other, but it is not until the murder brings Jonny on the scene in pursuit of a headline grabbing scoop that the secrets start to spill - especially when he is forced to reluctantly take on the role of detective.
Sultoon touches on so much in the telling of this tale, and her knowledge of the conflict that marks the Middle East really comes through in the way she spins what is essentially a murder mystery into a complicated story that twists beautifully into a cracking political thriller. However, it is the human factors that really make this book for me, in the way she floods it with echoing themes around blood, family, identity, loyalty, and power, using them with a light touch to lay bare what lies underneath the surface in more ways than one. Jonny and Lola are both broken, and I very much enjoyed how Sultoon uses their search for belonging to ramp up the emotional content too. And, as a fan of a clever book title, I must say that Dirt deserves a mention as one filled with many shades of delicious meaning.
This is a book to read in one sitting, as you follow the suspense suffused threads to their explosive conclusions - which I guarantee will take you to places you do not see coming! I am really looking forward to adding more Sarah Sultoon to my reading pile!
In Jerusalem, young reporter Jonny Murphy is also in Israel, searching for a sense of belonging among the family his mother left behind when she 'married out' of the Jewish community. His work immerses him in the fallout of the recent rocket attacks from Lebanon, and when he receives a surprising tip about something odd going on in a kibbutz near the northern border, he is sure he is on to a big story.
An Arab worker has been found murdered in a chicken house on the kibbutz, and it sparks a series of events that put Lola and her fellow kibbutzniks in danger. Can Jonny uncover the secrets that lie at the heart of this community before it is too late?
I love a story with layer upon layer to peel back before the truth becomes clear, and Dirt by Sarah Sultoon does this to perfection. What begins as a tale of a group of volunteers finding their feet in a kibbutz community that it not quite as idyllic as anticipated, especially given the strain of frequent missile attacks from just over the border, ripens into a story rife with complex relationship dynamics that are provoked by more than political and religious tension.
Following on from a chilling prologue, the story is driven by the narrations of Lola and Jonny, setting the scene about atmosphere between the workers at the kibbutz from one side, and the over-arching time and place on the other. You get the feeling that something is very wrong here about the way the workers interact with each other, but it is not until the murder brings Jonny on the scene in pursuit of a headline grabbing scoop that the secrets start to spill - especially when he is forced to reluctantly take on the role of detective.
Sultoon touches on so much in the telling of this tale, and her knowledge of the conflict that marks the Middle East really comes through in the way she spins what is essentially a murder mystery into a complicated story that twists beautifully into a cracking political thriller. However, it is the human factors that really make this book for me, in the way she floods it with echoing themes around blood, family, identity, loyalty, and power, using them with a light touch to lay bare what lies underneath the surface in more ways than one. Jonny and Lola are both broken, and I very much enjoyed how Sultoon uses their search for belonging to ramp up the emotional content too. And, as a fan of a clever book title, I must say that Dirt deserves a mention as one filled with many shades of delicious meaning.
This is a book to read in one sitting, as you follow the suspense suffused threads to their explosive conclusions - which I guarantee will take you to places you do not see coming! I am really looking forward to adding more Sarah Sultoon to my reading pile!
January 12, 2023
Nobody could ever accuse Sarah Sultoon of avoiding difficult subjects in her books. Her debut, The Source looked at historic abuse allegations at an army base while her second novel, The Shot featured searing scenes from both a war-ravaged Kabul and genocide hit Darfur. In Dirt she once again heads into incendiary territory, setting her third book in a kibbutz on the border between Israel and Lebanon.
It is 1996, a few months after the assassination of Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin and a month since the devastating terrorist attack in a Tel Aviv shopping mall. More recently, the kibbutzniks have contended with missiles launched from Southern Lebanon flying over their heads. However, it's a murder on the ground which is the first shocking moment in the book. The actual means in which an Arab worker is killed in a chicken house isn't actually that violent but what happens afterwards is almost too horrific to contemplate.
His death sends shockwaves throughout the kibbutz and it quickly becomes evident that this community isn't quite as cohesive as its ideology might suggest. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, cub reporter Jonny Murphy writes for the International Tribune as is desperate to make his mark. He believes he may have a chance when a tip-off alerts him to the discovery of the body at Beit Liora and is able to convince his boss that there may just be a story worth pursuing. It's only when he arrives in the north, that he discovers an even more pressing reason to investigate further.
The narrative is divided between Jonny and kibbutz volunteer, Lola and while a murder may appear to be the catalyst for all that follows, this is really a novel about decisions and mistakes made in the past. Lola is an intriguingly complex character and it becomes increasingly clear that her past has left a dark shadow which helps explain some of the choices she makes throughout the book. She isn't an easy person to understand; is she fragile, fickle or both? Her sense of panic is obvious but quite how much she has to hide is kept obscured and it means she elicits both sympathy and suspicion.
Jonny is far more likeable and his reasons for being so keen to find out more about the kibbutz are understandably poignant. His early keenness and perhaps even flashes of youthful arrogance are soon lost as he realises Beit Liora is awash with secrets and duplicity. Dirt isn't an especially fast-paced novel and the complicated, nuanced storyline demands attention but as with all Sarah Sultoon's books, there's a ring of authenticity which ensures a real sense of immersiveness.
Dirt is a multilayered story which, although imbued with the politics of the region, doesn't take sides and instead explores how hatred and divisiveness impacts both communities and individuals. There are no easy answers or unrealistic resolutions suggested here and the result is a novel which paints an honest picture of fallible people shaped by circumstances often beyond their control, searching for their truths and a feeling of belonging. A dark, perceptive and moving read.
It is 1996, a few months after the assassination of Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin and a month since the devastating terrorist attack in a Tel Aviv shopping mall. More recently, the kibbutzniks have contended with missiles launched from Southern Lebanon flying over their heads. However, it's a murder on the ground which is the first shocking moment in the book. The actual means in which an Arab worker is killed in a chicken house isn't actually that violent but what happens afterwards is almost too horrific to contemplate.
His death sends shockwaves throughout the kibbutz and it quickly becomes evident that this community isn't quite as cohesive as its ideology might suggest. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, cub reporter Jonny Murphy writes for the International Tribune as is desperate to make his mark. He believes he may have a chance when a tip-off alerts him to the discovery of the body at Beit Liora and is able to convince his boss that there may just be a story worth pursuing. It's only when he arrives in the north, that he discovers an even more pressing reason to investigate further.
The narrative is divided between Jonny and kibbutz volunteer, Lola and while a murder may appear to be the catalyst for all that follows, this is really a novel about decisions and mistakes made in the past. Lola is an intriguingly complex character and it becomes increasingly clear that her past has left a dark shadow which helps explain some of the choices she makes throughout the book. She isn't an easy person to understand; is she fragile, fickle or both? Her sense of panic is obvious but quite how much she has to hide is kept obscured and it means she elicits both sympathy and suspicion.
Jonny is far more likeable and his reasons for being so keen to find out more about the kibbutz are understandably poignant. His early keenness and perhaps even flashes of youthful arrogance are soon lost as he realises Beit Liora is awash with secrets and duplicity. Dirt isn't an especially fast-paced novel and the complicated, nuanced storyline demands attention but as with all Sarah Sultoon's books, there's a ring of authenticity which ensures a real sense of immersiveness.
Dirt is a multilayered story which, although imbued with the politics of the region, doesn't take sides and instead explores how hatred and divisiveness impacts both communities and individuals. There are no easy answers or unrealistic resolutions suggested here and the result is a novel which paints an honest picture of fallible people shaped by circumstances often beyond their control, searching for their truths and a feeling of belonging. A dark, perceptive and moving read.
January 26, 2023
I did not see the end coming. I thought I did. It was all making sense to me. But hidden in the Dirt were secrets waiting to be revealed, mysteries that stayed buried, connections found only through the rock and soil.
Jonny is a cub reporter for a Jerusalem newspaper. Raised in England by his single mother, then after her death by a foster family, he has come to Israel to discover more about himself and his mother’s home country.
Lola is a British volunteer for a kibbutz. Not Jewish herself, she is one of a number of young adults who spend time volunteering at kibbutzim trying to find themselves. Volunteers come from all over the world, some because they believe in the lifestyle practiced, some to get in touch with their faith, some to escape their past, some for reasons of their own.
When Jonny hears about a death in the kibbutz during a rocket attack on Israel, he begs his editor to pursue the story. She is not keen; a man’s death in a far away kibbutz is hardly the stuff for an urban newspaper. Jonny convinces her that there is more to the story, though, and she reluctantly gives him a day to look into things.
Jonny has his own reasons to visit the kibbutz, reasons that are revealed in the course of the book. But the facts are that he is an outsider, not even Israeli, there to ask unpleasant questions and reveal dark secrets. And whether the outsider is a volunteer like Lola or a journalist like Jonny, those secrets do not want to be revealed. Dirt is silent.
I have read and reviewed a couple of other books by Sarah Sultoon, and I am a huge fan. Her writing and detail betrays her journalistic roots. It is crisp and pointed, a style that is engaging and readable and feels like it is being told by an expert on the story. What separates the great journalists from the ordinary is the ability to tell a story, to create a narrative connecting disparate facts. That ability carries well into fiction writing as well. Sultoon pulls various threads together brilliantly, tying her characters, her story, her setting, and their secrets so tightly together that when the end comes it is surprising and unexpected and yet, somehow, perfectly satisfying.
Although I have long desired to visit Israel, that remains a hopeful dream for “someday.” Through Sultoon’s vivid description, though, I have felt the sun on my face. I have felt the spray and tasted the salt of the sea. I have smelled the smoke and vodka on the breath of the people. I have shivered from the tensions between people caught in generational warfare over the same slivers of land. I have mourned the loss of too many people killed in too many battles for reasons that feed their own self-fulfilling prophecies. I have touched the dirt that has been watered with blood for more than a thousand years.
Jonny is a cub reporter for a Jerusalem newspaper. Raised in England by his single mother, then after her death by a foster family, he has come to Israel to discover more about himself and his mother’s home country.
Lola is a British volunteer for a kibbutz. Not Jewish herself, she is one of a number of young adults who spend time volunteering at kibbutzim trying to find themselves. Volunteers come from all over the world, some because they believe in the lifestyle practiced, some to get in touch with their faith, some to escape their past, some for reasons of their own.
When Jonny hears about a death in the kibbutz during a rocket attack on Israel, he begs his editor to pursue the story. She is not keen; a man’s death in a far away kibbutz is hardly the stuff for an urban newspaper. Jonny convinces her that there is more to the story, though, and she reluctantly gives him a day to look into things.
Jonny has his own reasons to visit the kibbutz, reasons that are revealed in the course of the book. But the facts are that he is an outsider, not even Israeli, there to ask unpleasant questions and reveal dark secrets. And whether the outsider is a volunteer like Lola or a journalist like Jonny, those secrets do not want to be revealed. Dirt is silent.
I have read and reviewed a couple of other books by Sarah Sultoon, and I am a huge fan. Her writing and detail betrays her journalistic roots. It is crisp and pointed, a style that is engaging and readable and feels like it is being told by an expert on the story. What separates the great journalists from the ordinary is the ability to tell a story, to create a narrative connecting disparate facts. That ability carries well into fiction writing as well. Sultoon pulls various threads together brilliantly, tying her characters, her story, her setting, and their secrets so tightly together that when the end comes it is surprising and unexpected and yet, somehow, perfectly satisfying.
Although I have long desired to visit Israel, that remains a hopeful dream for “someday.” Through Sultoon’s vivid description, though, I have felt the sun on my face. I have felt the spray and tasted the salt of the sea. I have smelled the smoke and vodka on the breath of the people. I have shivered from the tensions between people caught in generational warfare over the same slivers of land. I have mourned the loss of too many people killed in too many battles for reasons that feed their own self-fulfilling prophecies. I have touched the dirt that has been watered with blood for more than a thousand years.
January 19, 2023
In the Beit Liora kibbutz on the border with Palestine, Lola is taking shelter during the latest rocket attack. In Jerusalem, Jonny takes a call about a body found in the kibbutz, just as the newsroom bursts into action to cover the rocket attack. Our two protagonists introduced and contrasted neatly.
Politics permeates everything on the kibbutz, despite its communal ideals: who can go where and when, who gets what job, even who sits with who at meal times. In the newsroom, it's how the data on the attacks is recorded: who and where and what response from the other side. Some are always more equal than others... But Sultoon's past as a journalist sees her scrupulous in showing varied points of view through conversations between characters.
Secrets are a staple of crime fiction; here they are everywhere, from the minor to the massive. And in some cases, they are compounded by emotion: Jonny is living the consequences of his mother falling in love with the wrong person and being shunned by her family - his grandmother (who has secrets of her own), won't even speak her daughter's name. Lola is starting to realise the consequences of getting involved with the wrong person. All of a sudden, all the volunteers are in danger as the rigidly political and deeply personal collide.
Sultoon's prose is well-paced, spooling out the plot smoothly, with an unfussy style that still has space for some of Lola's musings on the landscape, the languages literal and metaphorical around her, and her interactions with the permanent workers versus the volunteers. She is our guide in what will be an unfamiliar world to most readers, and while she's not always likeable she's hugely relatable, flaws and all.
The border setting, which contrasts the toil of farming with forbidding fences and guards, as well as the cliffs on part of the kibbutz's land, are liminal spaces; there's a feeling anything could happen here, and in the late scenes there's definitely a sense of transition for many characters as well as a literal transition of the site thanks to a couple of determined figures.
But while the politics and the daily dangers front-loaded into the plot fascinate and the unusual setting holds the attention perfectly, it's the personal that really matters - it's the family ties, lost and found and lost again, then irrevocably altered, that are at the heart of Dirt.
Politics permeates everything on the kibbutz, despite its communal ideals: who can go where and when, who gets what job, even who sits with who at meal times. In the newsroom, it's how the data on the attacks is recorded: who and where and what response from the other side. Some are always more equal than others... But Sultoon's past as a journalist sees her scrupulous in showing varied points of view through conversations between characters.
Secrets are a staple of crime fiction; here they are everywhere, from the minor to the massive. And in some cases, they are compounded by emotion: Jonny is living the consequences of his mother falling in love with the wrong person and being shunned by her family - his grandmother (who has secrets of her own), won't even speak her daughter's name. Lola is starting to realise the consequences of getting involved with the wrong person. All of a sudden, all the volunteers are in danger as the rigidly political and deeply personal collide.
Sultoon's prose is well-paced, spooling out the plot smoothly, with an unfussy style that still has space for some of Lola's musings on the landscape, the languages literal and metaphorical around her, and her interactions with the permanent workers versus the volunteers. She is our guide in what will be an unfamiliar world to most readers, and while she's not always likeable she's hugely relatable, flaws and all.
The border setting, which contrasts the toil of farming with forbidding fences and guards, as well as the cliffs on part of the kibbutz's land, are liminal spaces; there's a feeling anything could happen here, and in the late scenes there's definitely a sense of transition for many characters as well as a literal transition of the site thanks to a couple of determined figures.
But while the politics and the daily dangers front-loaded into the plot fascinate and the unusual setting holds the attention perfectly, it's the personal that really matters - it's the family ties, lost and found and lost again, then irrevocably altered, that are at the heart of Dirt.
January 1, 2023
Sarah Sultoon is never one to shy away from a difficult subject. With her experience in journalism, in particular, in conflict zones, she brings an air of authenticity to her work that is difficult to replicate, and an honesty to the portrayal of the settings and characters who inhabit her novels. This is once again the case with Dirt, a book which takes readers to a kibbutz on the borders of Israel and Lebanon who constantly find themselves in the firing line of rockets from both sides of this deep political divide. With intriguing mystery and a cast of complicated but compelling characters, the author takes us on an unexpected and dangerous journey.
There are two principal characters who help us navigate this particularly mysterious novel. The first is Lola, a young woman with a very difficult past who has left home in England to join the kibbutz and live a fart less complicated, if somewhat more dangerous, life. She is one of many who have given up the trappings of the western world for a life where the inhabitants are entirely dependant on the fruits of their own labours, as well as the prayer that they don't become victim to a badly aimed rocket or two. The second character who dominates out attention is Jonny Murphy. he has his own reasons for being in Israel. A junior reporter, he rarely has the opportunity to break a big story but after a source leads him to a discovery that could blow the whole conflict apart, he pushes hard to b given an opportunity to visit the kibbutz under the guise of a story on how it is to live in the path of war.
I must say that I found it easier to be in the company of Jonny than I did Lola. It is clear that Lola is a damaged young woman, and as more of her past is revealed I started to feel some sympathy for her, but she comes across as the perpetual victim, completely unsure of what it is she is looking for and, as a result, prone to pleasing others. I was frustrated by her as a personality, but angered by the way she is treated by the men too. The objectification of a beautiful young woman is nothing new, sadly all to prevalent in society now, never mind in the years when this book was set, but in this case it leads to tragedy in a place that is already beset with danger. Add in Lola's complicated feelings towards a discovery that ultimately blows apart the sanctuary of the kibbutz and it makes for a very difficult and sometimes uncomfortable part of the story.
Jonny was a character I actually liked from the start. I liked his determination, his insistence to be allowed to head out to the kibbutz, and ultimately his bravery in the face of clear adversity. He is plunged into a situation he has no experience of, familial lies driving him to keep moving forward with his investigation when most people would turn tail and run. I respected that, and I liked his personality. He felt like someone who was driven by a need for truth and understanding. Again, there is far more to learn about Jonny than you might expect, elements of his past that take even him by surprise, but the scenes in which we were with him feeling his fear and the urgency of his quest, were some of the strongest scenes for me.
This is a story of conflict, both internal as well as political. Sarah Sultoon has managed to capture that sense of fear and tension that I can imagine was part of the day to day experience of anyone living on the border between Lebanon and Isreal, and of creating that sense of fractures between the residents of the kibbutz. It is not just the murder which occurs at the start of the novel that creates the intrigue, very cleverly framed by the author to open and close the book in a very inventive way - certainly a perspective I was not expecting - although I was certainly curious as to who was murdered and why. That in itself if important to the residents, and to Lola. But they why leads into a much wider story than is understood by the people of the Kibbutz, one with potentially devastating and far reaching consequences.
I will be honest, there is one revelation that happens near to the end of the book that I am not sure was necessary. There was sufficient intrigue and tension without it and it felt a little jarring, pushing me out of the story a little when I was finally fully invested I the fates of all of the characters, not just Jonny. that aside, there is no questioning the quality of the authors writing, her ability to put you right in the heart of the novel and capture the essence of the setting so clearly that you can almost feel the oppressive heat emanating from the page as you read. There is an increase in tension towards the end, where the sense of jeopardy escalates, before bringing us to the quieter but no less impactful ending, a full circle from start to finish. Infused with authenticity borne of journalistic experience and knowledge, fans of the author will be totally absorbed by this book.
There are two principal characters who help us navigate this particularly mysterious novel. The first is Lola, a young woman with a very difficult past who has left home in England to join the kibbutz and live a fart less complicated, if somewhat more dangerous, life. She is one of many who have given up the trappings of the western world for a life where the inhabitants are entirely dependant on the fruits of their own labours, as well as the prayer that they don't become victim to a badly aimed rocket or two. The second character who dominates out attention is Jonny Murphy. he has his own reasons for being in Israel. A junior reporter, he rarely has the opportunity to break a big story but after a source leads him to a discovery that could blow the whole conflict apart, he pushes hard to b given an opportunity to visit the kibbutz under the guise of a story on how it is to live in the path of war.
I must say that I found it easier to be in the company of Jonny than I did Lola. It is clear that Lola is a damaged young woman, and as more of her past is revealed I started to feel some sympathy for her, but she comes across as the perpetual victim, completely unsure of what it is she is looking for and, as a result, prone to pleasing others. I was frustrated by her as a personality, but angered by the way she is treated by the men too. The objectification of a beautiful young woman is nothing new, sadly all to prevalent in society now, never mind in the years when this book was set, but in this case it leads to tragedy in a place that is already beset with danger. Add in Lola's complicated feelings towards a discovery that ultimately blows apart the sanctuary of the kibbutz and it makes for a very difficult and sometimes uncomfortable part of the story.
Jonny was a character I actually liked from the start. I liked his determination, his insistence to be allowed to head out to the kibbutz, and ultimately his bravery in the face of clear adversity. He is plunged into a situation he has no experience of, familial lies driving him to keep moving forward with his investigation when most people would turn tail and run. I respected that, and I liked his personality. He felt like someone who was driven by a need for truth and understanding. Again, there is far more to learn about Jonny than you might expect, elements of his past that take even him by surprise, but the scenes in which we were with him feeling his fear and the urgency of his quest, were some of the strongest scenes for me.
This is a story of conflict, both internal as well as political. Sarah Sultoon has managed to capture that sense of fear and tension that I can imagine was part of the day to day experience of anyone living on the border between Lebanon and Isreal, and of creating that sense of fractures between the residents of the kibbutz. It is not just the murder which occurs at the start of the novel that creates the intrigue, very cleverly framed by the author to open and close the book in a very inventive way - certainly a perspective I was not expecting - although I was certainly curious as to who was murdered and why. That in itself if important to the residents, and to Lola. But they why leads into a much wider story than is understood by the people of the Kibbutz, one with potentially devastating and far reaching consequences.
I will be honest, there is one revelation that happens near to the end of the book that I am not sure was necessary. There was sufficient intrigue and tension without it and it felt a little jarring, pushing me out of the story a little when I was finally fully invested I the fates of all of the characters, not just Jonny. that aside, there is no questioning the quality of the authors writing, her ability to put you right in the heart of the novel and capture the essence of the setting so clearly that you can almost feel the oppressive heat emanating from the page as you read. There is an increase in tension towards the end, where the sense of jeopardy escalates, before bringing us to the quieter but no less impactful ending, a full circle from start to finish. Infused with authenticity borne of journalistic experience and knowledge, fans of the author will be totally absorbed by this book.
January 25, 2023
I read a lot of crime fiction and what I particularly love about Sarah Sultoon's books is the journalistic setting. She draws on her own experiences of working in the news and creates realistic characters who see a different side to ongoing issues. They are not there to solve the crimes, they are there to report and inform, yet often, they will uncover things that lead to the capture of the villans.
In Dirt, the reader is taken to a kibbutz that sits on the border of Isreal and Lebanon, the year is 1996 and the war is unrelenting. The kibbutz community sit in the firing line of shells and bombs whilst trying to create a community that is peaceful and inclusive. Living off the land, all nationalities together, trying their best to live their very best life.
Lola is English. Her life at home was unhappy and for her, the kibbutz is a place to heal, to mend herself and to start afresh. However, it's clear that the damage done to her is long lasting, and she often makes decisions that only harm her more.
Our other main character is Johnny Murphy, a cub reporter at the International Tribune newspaper, based in Bethlehem. Johnny is desperate to get out and report on the war, but his boss is more interested in having him compile stats for the paper. Until the day that a source informs Johnny of something that could have massive implications on the conflict. Finally, he is out of the newsroom, and in the field, and it's as exciting, frightening and precarious as he expected. What he didn't expect though, was to find out so much about himself.
This is a complex and cleverly woven political thriller that never lets up. Sultoon's ability to create the urgency that surrounds the kibbutz, and the wide, eclectic characters that make up the community is just immaculate. The reader never really knows who to trust, and Lola and Johnny are both certainly deceived along the way, many times.
Dirt is a powerful, informing novel. The writing is sharp and precise and the characterisation is spot on. The inclusion of personal back stories for the lead characters add such depth, meaning that this is not just a political story, but one of humanity too. My favourite of her books so far. Highly recommended.
In Dirt, the reader is taken to a kibbutz that sits on the border of Isreal and Lebanon, the year is 1996 and the war is unrelenting. The kibbutz community sit in the firing line of shells and bombs whilst trying to create a community that is peaceful and inclusive. Living off the land, all nationalities together, trying their best to live their very best life.
Lola is English. Her life at home was unhappy and for her, the kibbutz is a place to heal, to mend herself and to start afresh. However, it's clear that the damage done to her is long lasting, and she often makes decisions that only harm her more.
Our other main character is Johnny Murphy, a cub reporter at the International Tribune newspaper, based in Bethlehem. Johnny is desperate to get out and report on the war, but his boss is more interested in having him compile stats for the paper. Until the day that a source informs Johnny of something that could have massive implications on the conflict. Finally, he is out of the newsroom, and in the field, and it's as exciting, frightening and precarious as he expected. What he didn't expect though, was to find out so much about himself.
This is a complex and cleverly woven political thriller that never lets up. Sultoon's ability to create the urgency that surrounds the kibbutz, and the wide, eclectic characters that make up the community is just immaculate. The reader never really knows who to trust, and Lola and Johnny are both certainly deceived along the way, many times.
Dirt is a powerful, informing novel. The writing is sharp and precise and the characterisation is spot on. The inclusion of personal back stories for the lead characters add such depth, meaning that this is not just a political story, but one of humanity too. My favourite of her books so far. Highly recommended.
June 20, 2025
Finished reading: June 19th 2025
“She thinks about how rules always change based on who you are, not what you're doing.”
REVIEW
January 26, 2023
Some books are written to make you disconnect, some others to make you search and learn a little bit more about human history. “Dirt” is part of the second type, a book that will not leave anyone indifferent, it will make you be interested on the real story on the Arab-Israeli border, what part of the book is true and what part is fiction is for you to decide.
This is a very interesting story to read; it was a little bit tricky at the beginning to know what was really happening, but once you start getting into it, it’s quite impossible not wanting to know more. Who is the killer and why did they kill them? Does it have anything to do with the rocket attacks?
The story is told between two different perspectives; Jonny Murphy, a journalist from the International Tribune newspaper, who goes to the border between Lebanon and Israel to investigate a murder. And the other characters are the people living on the border, the kibbutz community, where the victim has been living and where nothing is what it seems.
This is a mystery, there’s been a murder and someone needs to know why this happened, but the core of the story is much darker and twisted, nothing is what it seems in this book. One surprise after another, this book kept me awake all night.
I have to say that after reading the book I search for some historical facts about the history of the story; which part is true, which part is fiction. The author, Sarah Sultoon, did an amazing job with the research, you can’t know the difference while you are reading it.
Racism, rape, abandonment are some of the difficult themes that are part of this book story; not easy but it puts the reader in the difficult position to know what’s fair and what’s not.
This is a mystery, there’s been a killer and someone needs to know why this happened, but the core of the story is much darker and twisted, nothing is what it seems in this book. One surprise after another, this book kept me awake all night.
So, are you ready to get the “Dirt”?
This is a very interesting story to read; it was a little bit tricky at the beginning to know what was really happening, but once you start getting into it, it’s quite impossible not wanting to know more. Who is the killer and why did they kill them? Does it have anything to do with the rocket attacks?
The story is told between two different perspectives; Jonny Murphy, a journalist from the International Tribune newspaper, who goes to the border between Lebanon and Israel to investigate a murder. And the other characters are the people living on the border, the kibbutz community, where the victim has been living and where nothing is what it seems.
This is a mystery, there’s been a murder and someone needs to know why this happened, but the core of the story is much darker and twisted, nothing is what it seems in this book. One surprise after another, this book kept me awake all night.
I have to say that after reading the book I search for some historical facts about the history of the story; which part is true, which part is fiction. The author, Sarah Sultoon, did an amazing job with the research, you can’t know the difference while you are reading it.
Racism, rape, abandonment are some of the difficult themes that are part of this book story; not easy but it puts the reader in the difficult position to know what’s fair and what’s not.
This is a mystery, there’s been a killer and someone needs to know why this happened, but the core of the story is much darker and twisted, nothing is what it seems in this book. One surprise after another, this book kept me awake all night.
So, are you ready to get the “Dirt”?
February 10, 2023
Thriller set in Northern ISRAEL
The geographical setting is integral to the novel and if you are a little hazy on the dynamics between nations, you will at least glean a little information about the worrying conflict that still flares up regularly.
Jonny is a junior reporter and is keen to make his mark. He hears about the death of a local man, on a kibbbutz in fictional Beit Liora in Northern Israel, where young people live and work, tending the avocados, bananas and the chickens they raise. A kibbutz is a community where – oftentimes – young people can learn the value of joint enterprise and co-existence, whilst usefully working the land for the common good. Jonny is immediately off up country, calling in on his Grandmother on the way, who seems to have some intelligence on the activities nearby.
Lola has joined her friend in working on that very kibbutz, where the death has happened. As she gets to the know people, all working together for the good of the closed community, she finds herself drawn in deeper into the quagmire of local machinations than she could ever have imagined.
Both Jonny and Lola are people who for different reasons have a sense of dislocation, both in different ways searching for fulfilment and connection. Neither has had an ideal upbringing and their loneliness and basic need to belong is palpable – and forms much of the driving force that underpins their behaviour.
The sense of the kibbutz, a community living behind security fences, bordering potentially hostile territories, is well depicted, the heat and sometimes and closeness feels claustrophobic. The threat of missiles is an everyday factor and medical packs are a part of daily routine. Bunkers beckon when the sirens sound and life resumes in a sealed off world until the all-clear is given.
Dirt is a different kind of thriller that explores the legacy of upbringing, which is powerfully set in the context of on-going strife.
The geographical setting is integral to the novel and if you are a little hazy on the dynamics between nations, you will at least glean a little information about the worrying conflict that still flares up regularly.
Jonny is a junior reporter and is keen to make his mark. He hears about the death of a local man, on a kibbbutz in fictional Beit Liora in Northern Israel, where young people live and work, tending the avocados, bananas and the chickens they raise. A kibbutz is a community where – oftentimes – young people can learn the value of joint enterprise and co-existence, whilst usefully working the land for the common good. Jonny is immediately off up country, calling in on his Grandmother on the way, who seems to have some intelligence on the activities nearby.
Lola has joined her friend in working on that very kibbutz, where the death has happened. As she gets to the know people, all working together for the good of the closed community, she finds herself drawn in deeper into the quagmire of local machinations than she could ever have imagined.
Both Jonny and Lola are people who for different reasons have a sense of dislocation, both in different ways searching for fulfilment and connection. Neither has had an ideal upbringing and their loneliness and basic need to belong is palpable – and forms much of the driving force that underpins their behaviour.
The sense of the kibbutz, a community living behind security fences, bordering potentially hostile territories, is well depicted, the heat and sometimes and closeness feels claustrophobic. The threat of missiles is an everyday factor and medical packs are a part of daily routine. Bunkers beckon when the sirens sound and life resumes in a sealed off world until the all-clear is given.
Dirt is a different kind of thriller that explores the legacy of upbringing, which is powerfully set in the context of on-going strife.
January 6, 2023
Sarah Sultoon is back with her latest novel, Dirt, and once again, it is clear to see that she is an author who is a master of creating atmosphere and a sense of place in her writing. Sarah Sultoon takes us back to 1996 to a kibbutz on the borders of Israel and Lebanon. Sarah opens her novel with such a vivid first chapter, that I don’t think I’ll be able to get it out of my head any time soon. It did send shivers down my spine as I read Sarah’s vivid descriptions of the body waiting to be discovered. I wanted to know who this person was and why they had been murdered.
I’m sure I’ve said this before, when reviewing Sarah’s books, but what I love about her writing, is her ability to draw upon her own experience as a journalist, which she uses very well to create a real sense of authenticity in her books. In Dirt we meet Lola, who is from the UK. She has travelled to this part of the world to join the kibbutz, even though it is fraught with danger. You can especially see what a change in environment it is for Lola, but she struck me as a person who can adapt well to new surroundings. There is also, in this area, the constant threat of an attack and missile strikes. Lola also has to deal with the misogynistic behaviour from men, which made me angry as I was reading. I was drawn in by her story and thought she was a fascinating character to follow.
We also meet journalist Jonny, who, like Lola, is from the UK. He comes across a really likeable character. You can see that he is determined to chase down big stories and to make a name for himself. It is what Jonny is looking into at the farm, where Lola is working, that becomes the main driving plot point of the novel. It becomes clear that there is something more going on here that poses high risks for the characters. Sarah Sultoon delves deep into both Jonny and Lola’s characters, and she makes their stories come through stronger on the page with each new revelation about then.
As this novel is set the year after I was born, I’m not aware of what was going on in this part of the world at all during this time. So once again, for me, Sarah Sultoon has created a really eye-opening story. Sarah Sultoon ratchets up the tension as she reveals what has been really going on at the farm where Lola is working. There is a lot of political tension going on in the background and this was fascinating to learn about as well.
I was totally immersed in Sarah’s story as I was reading. I’m looking forward to seeing what topics she covers in her next book.
I’m sure I’ve said this before, when reviewing Sarah’s books, but what I love about her writing, is her ability to draw upon her own experience as a journalist, which she uses very well to create a real sense of authenticity in her books. In Dirt we meet Lola, who is from the UK. She has travelled to this part of the world to join the kibbutz, even though it is fraught with danger. You can especially see what a change in environment it is for Lola, but she struck me as a person who can adapt well to new surroundings. There is also, in this area, the constant threat of an attack and missile strikes. Lola also has to deal with the misogynistic behaviour from men, which made me angry as I was reading. I was drawn in by her story and thought she was a fascinating character to follow.
We also meet journalist Jonny, who, like Lola, is from the UK. He comes across a really likeable character. You can see that he is determined to chase down big stories and to make a name for himself. It is what Jonny is looking into at the farm, where Lola is working, that becomes the main driving plot point of the novel. It becomes clear that there is something more going on here that poses high risks for the characters. Sarah Sultoon delves deep into both Jonny and Lola’s characters, and she makes their stories come through stronger on the page with each new revelation about then.
As this novel is set the year after I was born, I’m not aware of what was going on in this part of the world at all during this time. So once again, for me, Sarah Sultoon has created a really eye-opening story. Sarah Sultoon ratchets up the tension as she reveals what has been really going on at the farm where Lola is working. There is a lot of political tension going on in the background and this was fascinating to learn about as well.
I was totally immersed in Sarah’s story as I was reading. I’m looking forward to seeing what topics she covers in her next book.
January 10, 2023
This is no Utopia...
Sarah Sultoon is undeniably the Queen of suspense, and every time I read one of her books I'm proven right. From the very first few lines, I'm deeply uncomfortable and terrified about what is to come. You could argue that Sultoon writes horrors, and you'd be right - but she writes about the kinds of horrors you find in the real world. In war and conflict, in politics and violence - in places that are more frightening than the scariest monster because they do exist. She has this ability to blend the same nervous aura and cinematic energy of a thriller with the gritty, biting authenticity that only a person who has seen the darkest situations first hand could.
Dirt jumps right in and doesn't let up - it's high-octane and buzzing with electricity, with short chapters and a highly readable tone that feels personal making it a really quick and easy read despite the subject matter. The settings were masterfully made to be vivid and evocative, transporting the reader to places in astounding clarity, each little detail that on the surface seems insignificant just adding to the already intense immersion.
Lola and Johnny act as our main guides through this journey - both of them with very different reasons to be in Israel, and very different things they're trying to leave in the past, but they both have an important part to play in a bigger story they don't even know yet. They were complex, with intricate back stories and motivations, their personalities were distinct and detailed - full of their own traumas, flaws, fears just waiting to come to the surface.
A story about conflict - the kind that shatters the world and the internal kind that shatters hearts, all told by a passionate and well-researched voice. Exciting, electric and evocative - Sarah Sultoon is a blinding example of fiction that never fails to bring a statement, and never fails to impress.
Sarah Sultoon is undeniably the Queen of suspense, and every time I read one of her books I'm proven right. From the very first few lines, I'm deeply uncomfortable and terrified about what is to come. You could argue that Sultoon writes horrors, and you'd be right - but she writes about the kinds of horrors you find in the real world. In war and conflict, in politics and violence - in places that are more frightening than the scariest monster because they do exist. She has this ability to blend the same nervous aura and cinematic energy of a thriller with the gritty, biting authenticity that only a person who has seen the darkest situations first hand could.
Dirt jumps right in and doesn't let up - it's high-octane and buzzing with electricity, with short chapters and a highly readable tone that feels personal making it a really quick and easy read despite the subject matter. The settings were masterfully made to be vivid and evocative, transporting the reader to places in astounding clarity, each little detail that on the surface seems insignificant just adding to the already intense immersion.
Lola and Johnny act as our main guides through this journey - both of them with very different reasons to be in Israel, and very different things they're trying to leave in the past, but they both have an important part to play in a bigger story they don't even know yet. They were complex, with intricate back stories and motivations, their personalities were distinct and detailed - full of their own traumas, flaws, fears just waiting to come to the surface.
A story about conflict - the kind that shatters the world and the internal kind that shatters hearts, all told by a passionate and well-researched voice. Exciting, electric and evocative - Sarah Sultoon is a blinding example of fiction that never fails to bring a statement, and never fails to impress.
January 20, 2023
In Dirt, by Sarah Sultoon, we follow two characters who grew up in Britain - Lola, a young non-Jewish volunteer at Israeli kibbutz Beit Liora, and Jonny, a rookie journalist for the International Tribune - in the aftermath of the murder of Farid, an Arab man local to the kibbutz who managed its chicken house.
It soon becomes clear that the community - right in the line of fire on Israel’s side of the border with Lebanon - isn’t the socialist utopia it portrays itself to be, harbouring a secret that could be catastrophic for national security, as well as people who aren’t what they seem. Was Farid killed because of who he was, or something he knew?
I found this book absolutely fascinating. I’d never read a story based around a kibbutz before, so I enjoyed reading about how Beit Liora was organised and what it was like to be part of it. The author has first-hand experience of kibbutz life, and she makes the community feel authentic with minute details and vivid descriptions that invoke all the senses.
Similarly, my knowledge of the political situation in Israel now, let alone nearly 30 years ago, is fairly basic, so it was also interesting to learn about that. Sultoon tells you all you need to know in order to understand the characters’ circumstances, without overwhelming you with information.
While the focus is very much on individuals’ motives and experiences, the political situation affects them all, whether it’s that they need to hide in a shelter when the sirens go off, that they have an active - albeit hidden - role in the conflict. Considering the action covers about a day and a half, the author packs in a hell of a lot of developments and revelations, with Farid’s murder setting off a massive spark.
Something that particularly intrigued me (aside from the main whodunit, obviously!) was the volunteers’ (Lola’s there with her friend Samantha, and there’s also Australian Tom, South African Johan and Andre, and American Dave) motivations for being there, especially those who, like Lola, weren’t Jewish and therefore wouldn’t have had the same level of investment in the vision of the kibbutz. These turn out to be quite varied, and not all wholesome, either.
This is just one of the truths that belie the image of the prosperous self-sustaining farming collective. There’s also the need for barbed wire fences, round-the-clock security, and concrete bunkers; the intolerance that meant Farid was never fully welcome in a place he’d contributed a lot to over the course of a decade; the community members who aren’t just there to farm; and the treatment of members who fail to conform in one way or another.
In fact, Jonny’s parents were among these. His mother grew up on Beit Liora as a ‘kibbutz kid’, only for her family to end up leaving in disgrace when she fell for his father, an Irish Catholic volunteer. With his mum dead, and his dad having absconded long ago, the story of Farid’s murder offers Jonny an opportunity to reconnect with his roots and find some answers for himself.
His maternal grandmother - a spiky, complex, and surprising character - still lives locally to the kibbutz and is an obvious first port of call, but which of them is really calling the shots?
Lola also finds that utopian ideals are no match for actual human behaviour. The predatory men and rape culture she was hoping to escape aren’t kept out by the kibbutz gates and fences, and she’s frustrated by the persistence of her habitual “freeze” response, which helps her survive, but isn’t how she wants to react.
It’s always gratifying to see this trauma response used and examined in a book, as it’s not as well-known as “fight” or “flight” and, as Sultoon explains through Lola, often misunderstood.
I sympathised with both main characters, who are more or less alone in the world, and desperately seeking belonging having been damaged by the abuse of power, as well as human limitations and failings.
Dirt is fast-paced, intriguing, and fascinating, with sympathetic main characters.
It soon becomes clear that the community - right in the line of fire on Israel’s side of the border with Lebanon - isn’t the socialist utopia it portrays itself to be, harbouring a secret that could be catastrophic for national security, as well as people who aren’t what they seem. Was Farid killed because of who he was, or something he knew?
I found this book absolutely fascinating. I’d never read a story based around a kibbutz before, so I enjoyed reading about how Beit Liora was organised and what it was like to be part of it. The author has first-hand experience of kibbutz life, and she makes the community feel authentic with minute details and vivid descriptions that invoke all the senses.
Similarly, my knowledge of the political situation in Israel now, let alone nearly 30 years ago, is fairly basic, so it was also interesting to learn about that. Sultoon tells you all you need to know in order to understand the characters’ circumstances, without overwhelming you with information.
While the focus is very much on individuals’ motives and experiences, the political situation affects them all, whether it’s that they need to hide in a shelter when the sirens go off, that they have an active - albeit hidden - role in the conflict. Considering the action covers about a day and a half, the author packs in a hell of a lot of developments and revelations, with Farid’s murder setting off a massive spark.
Something that particularly intrigued me (aside from the main whodunit, obviously!) was the volunteers’ (Lola’s there with her friend Samantha, and there’s also Australian Tom, South African Johan and Andre, and American Dave) motivations for being there, especially those who, like Lola, weren’t Jewish and therefore wouldn’t have had the same level of investment in the vision of the kibbutz. These turn out to be quite varied, and not all wholesome, either.
This is just one of the truths that belie the image of the prosperous self-sustaining farming collective. There’s also the need for barbed wire fences, round-the-clock security, and concrete bunkers; the intolerance that meant Farid was never fully welcome in a place he’d contributed a lot to over the course of a decade; the community members who aren’t just there to farm; and the treatment of members who fail to conform in one way or another.
In fact, Jonny’s parents were among these. His mother grew up on Beit Liora as a ‘kibbutz kid’, only for her family to end up leaving in disgrace when she fell for his father, an Irish Catholic volunteer. With his mum dead, and his dad having absconded long ago, the story of Farid’s murder offers Jonny an opportunity to reconnect with his roots and find some answers for himself.
His maternal grandmother - a spiky, complex, and surprising character - still lives locally to the kibbutz and is an obvious first port of call, but which of them is really calling the shots?
Lola also finds that utopian ideals are no match for actual human behaviour. The predatory men and rape culture she was hoping to escape aren’t kept out by the kibbutz gates and fences, and she’s frustrated by the persistence of her habitual “freeze” response, which helps her survive, but isn’t how she wants to react.
It’s always gratifying to see this trauma response used and examined in a book, as it’s not as well-known as “fight” or “flight” and, as Sultoon explains through Lola, often misunderstood.
I sympathised with both main characters, who are more or less alone in the world, and desperately seeking belonging having been damaged by the abuse of power, as well as human limitations and failings.
Dirt is fast-paced, intriguing, and fascinating, with sympathetic main characters.
January 31, 2023
This is an addictive, political thriller that has so much tension it almost singes the pages! The connections and misdirection is perfect as we learn why the kibbutzniks are all really there and why they are hiding, some in plain sight.
This is a clever novel that draws you in and makes you wonder the whole way through. It gives you a glimpse of something then seems to duck back into the shadows where it started from.
I liked Jonny a lot and wanted to see him escape the possible situation he was in. The conclusion is shocking and brutal, bringing tears to my eyes. Lola in some ways was harder to like, because it was obvious she had to hide but not why. I did feel a massive amount of sympathy for her as she seemed flawed and desperate for attention.
Sarah Sultoon gets better with each book. More thrilling, yet almost underrated, intense, addictive and boy how she builds her plots to a bang of an ending. I felt as though I were there, holding my breath waiting for the next moment to happen and what it would reveal.
With thanks to Anne Cater, Orenda Books and the author for the advanced reading copy of this book.
This is a clever novel that draws you in and makes you wonder the whole way through. It gives you a glimpse of something then seems to duck back into the shadows where it started from.
I liked Jonny a lot and wanted to see him escape the possible situation he was in. The conclusion is shocking and brutal, bringing tears to my eyes. Lola in some ways was harder to like, because it was obvious she had to hide but not why. I did feel a massive amount of sympathy for her as she seemed flawed and desperate for attention.
Sarah Sultoon gets better with each book. More thrilling, yet almost underrated, intense, addictive and boy how she builds her plots to a bang of an ending. I felt as though I were there, holding my breath waiting for the next moment to happen and what it would reveal.
With thanks to Anne Cater, Orenda Books and the author for the advanced reading copy of this book.
March 4, 2023
An intense political thriller with very real world scenarios!
A political landscape that we all know all too well. As a result, a tense atmosphere envelopes this book that Sarah Sultoon so excellently navigates.
Sarah Sultoon has a masterful ability to traverse through a complex political environment and create an incredibly intriguing and entertaining story. The story is split into two directions, two directions that are equally complex and varied. This keeps the storytelling fresh, both characters have very distinct journeys but ultimately these cross paths to bring the whole main story together.
The descriptive prowess of Sarah is magical in this novel, the ability to keep the descriptions of in and around the kibbutz fresh and enticing was superb considering the limited landscape and environment surrounding a small area. The descriptions of Jonny’s travels through the nation are equally brilliant.
Dirt is the latest thriller from the wonderful mind of Sarah Sultoon and those with a preference for a political/crime thriller are in for a real treat. Thank you Orenda Books and Anne at Random Things Book Tours for the ARC.
A political landscape that we all know all too well. As a result, a tense atmosphere envelopes this book that Sarah Sultoon so excellently navigates.
Sarah Sultoon has a masterful ability to traverse through a complex political environment and create an incredibly intriguing and entertaining story. The story is split into two directions, two directions that are equally complex and varied. This keeps the storytelling fresh, both characters have very distinct journeys but ultimately these cross paths to bring the whole main story together.
The descriptive prowess of Sarah is magical in this novel, the ability to keep the descriptions of in and around the kibbutz fresh and enticing was superb considering the limited landscape and environment surrounding a small area. The descriptions of Jonny’s travels through the nation are equally brilliant.
Dirt is the latest thriller from the wonderful mind of Sarah Sultoon and those with a preference for a political/crime thriller are in for a real treat. Thank you Orenda Books and Anne at Random Things Book Tours for the ARC.
April 14, 2023
Some time in my early teens I read Lynne Reid Banks' 'One more river' and remember being fascinated by its being set in a Israeli kibbutz. This is third of Sarah Sultoon's novels I have read and to me it felt like a change of gear had been made; it felt meatier in some way, even though I was made aware of my ignorance concerning everyday life in Israel.
Which is not to say I didn't find it as impactful, enjoyable and impressive as her previous books, because I did. Intricate and convoluted; characters multi-layered and all with secrets. I look forward to re-reading in the not too distant future (as I also will 'One more river')
Which is not to say I didn't find it as impactful, enjoyable and impressive as her previous books, because I did. Intricate and convoluted; characters multi-layered and all with secrets. I look forward to re-reading in the not too distant future (as I also will 'One more river')
April 17, 2023
Dirt by Sarah Sultoon.
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.
This was a gripping read. Tense and captivating. 5*.
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.
This was a gripping read. Tense and captivating. 5*.
January 10, 2023
How good was this? It's my first book by Sultoon and I can't wait to look up further books of hers in the future.
I've struggled with political thrillers in the past, but this was such an easy one to read. It was exciting, gripping and I couldn't flip the pages fast enough, it was so compelling.
The author is an international journalist so certainly knows her stuff and I can imagine that she's pretty familiar with areas of conflict and political unrest.
Very well written, with a cast of complex characters.
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for my tour spot.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I've struggled with political thrillers in the past, but this was such an easy one to read. It was exciting, gripping and I couldn't flip the pages fast enough, it was so compelling.
The author is an international journalist so certainly knows her stuff and I can imagine that she's pretty familiar with areas of conflict and political unrest.
Very well written, with a cast of complex characters.
Many thanks to Random Things Tours for my tour spot.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
April 16, 2023
An exciting interesting book. Interesting characters set in a different setting to books I would normally read. Couldn’t wait to get to the end to see what had happened. Will definitely read more by this author.
March 24, 2023
An interesting read. A group of young volunteers working in a kibbutz... This book highlights the unrest between Israel and Palestine. Secrets, family history, murder and deception. Gripping.
August 22, 2023
Let down by the middle section which went on far too long.Great beginning and the ending at least told you the why's
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2023
This is a really powerful story and I mean that in so many ways. The story itself is powerful getting the balance between politics, and thriller right but the writing itself is incredibly very strong and powerful. You can feel the writing reaching out and grabbing at you from the page making you listen and take notice.
The story alternates between the narratives of Lola and Jonny. Lola is a volunteer on a Kibbutz in Northern Israel and Jonny is a young reporter for an international newspaper both very different characters but both with dysfunctional backgrounds. Lola gives us the inside story of life from within the kibbutz whilst Jonny gives us the bigger picture of life in Israel. There are quite a few threads to this story but they are all exceptionally well woven together resulting in an explosive ending.
The story alternates between the narratives of Lola and Jonny. Lola is a volunteer on a Kibbutz in Northern Israel and Jonny is a young reporter for an international newspaper both very different characters but both with dysfunctional backgrounds. Lola gives us the inside story of life from within the kibbutz whilst Jonny gives us the bigger picture of life in Israel. There are quite a few threads to this story but they are all exceptionally well woven together resulting in an explosive ending.
January 17, 2023
This is my first book by the author although I have her other books on my TBR pile. I did enjoy it but found it a bit difficult to follow, maybe because it was my first political thriller or if you like me it's her first book and not a good starting point. Not really sure, but as I said earlier I did enjoy it.
You can see straight away the author has done a lot of research (btw she's a journalist), although the story is set in 1996 it's very current and straight out of the news. The writing was engaging with complex characters.
Many thanks to @SultoonSarah @OrendaBooks & @annecater for my blog spot.
You can see straight away the author has done a lot of research (btw she's a journalist), although the story is set in 1996 it's very current and straight out of the news. The writing was engaging with complex characters.
Many thanks to @SultoonSarah @OrendaBooks & @annecater for my blog spot.
March 5, 2023
What starts out as an intricately-threaded, exotic locked room mystery turns on a dime about half way through and races into layers and layers of history, relationships, politics, the basest of human behaviours, and chickens. The sense of place is so strong, Dirt is not so much written as filmed, complete with soundtrack and smelltrack, it is immersive. I’m in the caves, in the bunkers, in the chicken huts, in the banana fields, watching everything unfolding first hand. Reading it was a very intimate experience, reflective of the communal claustrophobia of the kibbutz. Highly recommended
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