Blackwater - by Sarah Sultoon (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

As the clock ticks towards the millennium - and the threat of a potentially new apocalyptic reality - Jonny Murphy is sent to investigate the discovery of a child's body on a deserted swamp island, fifty miles from London. What he finds is more than just a tragedy, it's a warning. Something big is coming ... Can Jonny stop it? Should he?

London, Christmas 1999. The world is on edge. With the new millennium just days away, fears of the Millennium Bug are spiraling - warnings of computer failures, market crashes, even global catastrophe. But 50 miles east, on the frozen Blackwater Island, a different kind of mystery unfolds. A child's body is discovered on the bracken, untouched by footprints, with no sign of how he died. And no one has come forward to claim him.

At the International Tribune, reporter Jonny Murphy senses something is off. Police are appealing for relatives, not suspects. An anonymous call led officers to the scene, but no one knows who made it. While the world fixates on a digital apocalypse, Jonny sees the real disaster unfolding closer to home. With just 24 hours before the century turns, he heads to Blackwater - driven by curiosity, desperation, and the sting of rejection from his colleague Paloma.

But Blackwater has secrets buried deep in the frozen ground. More victims - some dead, others still paying for past sins. And when Paloma catches up to him, they stumble onto something far bigger than either of them imagined. Something that could change everything. The millennium is coming. The clock is ticking. Can Jonny stop it? Should he?

And what if Y2K wasn't a hoax, but a warning...?

About the Author

Sarah Sultoon is a journalist and writer, whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her all over the world, from the seats of power in both Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. She has extensive experience in conflict zones, winning three Peabody awards for her work on the war in Syria, an Emmy for her contribution to the coverage of Europe's migrant crisis in 2015. Her debut thriller The Source is currently in production with Lime Pictures and was a Capital Crime Book Club pick and a number one bestseller on Kindle. The Shot (2022), Dirt (2023), and Death Flight (2024) followed.