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Table of Contents
About The Book
'Reporting at its best. Immaculately researched, sober and informative' John le Carré
‘Compulsory reading…fast-paced and brilliantly written’ Jeremy Bowen
After Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was filmed going in to the Saudi consulate in Turkey, he was never seen alive again. What happened next turned into a major international scandal, now finally pieced together by Channel 4's BAFTA award-winning Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Rugman.
Described by Donald Trump as the 'worst cover-up ever', this is the first comprehensive account of one of the most notorious and outrageous murder plots of our time. In The Killing in the Consulate, Rugman pieces together in minute-by-minute detail the events after Khashoggi entered the Saudi diplomatic building on 2 October 2018, expecting to receive the documentation that would enable him to marry Hatice Cengiz, patiently waiting for him outside. Little did they realise, he was entering a trap, as a 15-man Saudi hit squad had just flown in to the country and was waiting for him. Within minutes he had been viciously murdered and his body was quickly disposed of. The Saudis thought they would be able to get away with it all, and concocted a far-fetched story to cover it up. But what they didn't realise was that Turkey's President Erdogan's security and intelligence agencies had bugged the consulate, and captured the horrific events on tape.
Based on confidential sources, dramatic new evidence and in-depth research across several countries, Rugman reveals the context behind the murder and attempted cover-up. He shows how a power struggle between Erdogan and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, had such fatal results. The prince had seemed to promise a new and more open era for his country, while also investing vast sums in arms deals with the West. Inevitably other nations, including President Trump and the USA, were drawn into the affair, which created the biggest crisis in US-Saudi relations since 9/11. Skilfully, Rugman draws together all the strands to tell a gripping story of one man's tragedy that had global consequences.
‘Compulsory reading…fast-paced and brilliantly written’ Jeremy Bowen
After Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was filmed going in to the Saudi consulate in Turkey, he was never seen alive again. What happened next turned into a major international scandal, now finally pieced together by Channel 4's BAFTA award-winning Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Rugman.
Described by Donald Trump as the 'worst cover-up ever', this is the first comprehensive account of one of the most notorious and outrageous murder plots of our time. In The Killing in the Consulate, Rugman pieces together in minute-by-minute detail the events after Khashoggi entered the Saudi diplomatic building on 2 October 2018, expecting to receive the documentation that would enable him to marry Hatice Cengiz, patiently waiting for him outside. Little did they realise, he was entering a trap, as a 15-man Saudi hit squad had just flown in to the country and was waiting for him. Within minutes he had been viciously murdered and his body was quickly disposed of. The Saudis thought they would be able to get away with it all, and concocted a far-fetched story to cover it up. But what they didn't realise was that Turkey's President Erdogan's security and intelligence agencies had bugged the consulate, and captured the horrific events on tape.
Based on confidential sources, dramatic new evidence and in-depth research across several countries, Rugman reveals the context behind the murder and attempted cover-up. He shows how a power struggle between Erdogan and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, had such fatal results. The prince had seemed to promise a new and more open era for his country, while also investing vast sums in arms deals with the West. Inevitably other nations, including President Trump and the USA, were drawn into the affair, which created the biggest crisis in US-Saudi relations since 9/11. Skilfully, Rugman draws together all the strands to tell a gripping story of one man's tragedy that had global consequences.
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (October 1, 2020)
- Length: 368 pages
- ISBN13: 9781471184789
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Raves and Reviews
'Reporting at its best. Immaculately researched, sober and informative. The facts lead, the sensation follows, and is all the more telling on that account. I was grateful for the wider political perspective, and for the alarming vision of what's to come.'
– John le Carré
'[A] superb account of this horrendous affair... The Killing in the Consulate is rich with telling detail and narrated with unobtrusive skill. Rugman is especially good on the motivations and machinations of Erdogan... If you come away from this meticulously assembled book sensing that MbS is a dangerous man, trust your instinct.'
– David Gardner, Financial Times
'Compulsory reading. Grab this excellent book if you want to understand why and how Jamal Khashoggi was murdered - and the uneasy political triangle of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States that is behind so many events in the Middle East. Rugman's book is fast-paced and brilliantly written, with chilling transcripts of bugged conversations as a Saudi hit squad killed a journalist - true crime, and high level diplomatic analysis.'
– Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor
'Reads like a page-turning spy thriller. That it is true makes it all the more chilling. Engrossing and enthralling.'
– Tim Marshall, author of the bestselling Prisoners of Geography
‘A murder mystery where the mystery is why the world has stayed silent. From the bride-to-be pacing the pavement outside, to the assassination squad inside with the bone-saw, Rugman has produced a gripping read revealing what really happened inside the Istanbul consulate in all its shocking detail. He has done any of us who believe in a free press and human rights an important service in making sure this cannot go forgotten.’
– Christina Lamb, Sunday Times chief foreign correspondent
'Gripping in its hideous detail... Far more compelling is Rugman’s discussion of the rise of the impetuous MbS, the floundering reaction from the new ruler’s friends in the White House and the murky global politics that swirl around the incident like flies around dung. This tawdry tale, skilfully woven by Rugman, shows again how money trumps morality.'
– Ian Birrell, Spectator
‘This new account...still has the power to shock. Rugman’s forensic investigation leaves us in no doubt that it was the Crown Prince who ordered Khashoggi’s death’
– Tony Rennell, Daily Mail
'[A] powerful account...The Killing in the Consulate is a chilling book. Rugman... supplies telling new detail, transforming it into a dark fable of unaccountable power.'
– Peter Beaumont, Observer
'Jonathan Rugman's fine book about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi...describes the murder plot being organised...the killing itself in its shocking detail and the amateurish attempt at a cover-up which followed.'
– Kim Sengupta, The Independent
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