Vulture:
Sara is a journalist covering the 2012 Gaza War. She's ambitious, a bit clueless, living in her late father's shadow, and trying to get the next big exclusive story.

The story is told in the present timeline with Sara in Gaza and in a past timeline with Sara's family and her personal life at home.
At first, I didn't want to leave her present timeline in Gaza, but then the storyline in the past became quite juicy and interesting and I really enjoyed reading that timeline as well.
When I requested to read this arc, I had just read an article about this book and it sounded really interesting - and it was. It's gritty and graphic and at times was challenging to read given everything going on in the world and Gaza now.
What I did not know going into this book, was that it's a satire - so at about the 2/3 mark, I started questioning some of the things going on with Sara, but after I did more digging around about the book and I saw that it's meant to be a satire and have dark humour, I got back on board with things.
Overall, it was interesting.
Sara is definitely a very flawed character and makes some very questionable decisions, but that's also part of what makes the story interesting.

satiric, cynical, fast paced, and well-written novel about war correspondents, reporters, news, and all that sort of thing. would definitely recomend. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Vulture is Phoebe Greenwood’s debut novel gorging on the ruthlessness of war-reporting ethics through a satirical-cynical-propulsive narrative. From the very beginning, the reader gets the idea that this is not going to be the usual emotionally heavy, politicised kind of book, albeit still critical. Sara, daughter of renowned writer Bill Byrne, is an ambitious young journalist pursuing consolidation as a war correspondent. After a year meandering around Jerusalem, searching ceaselessly for any conflict to write about, and drinking fancy cocktails at a bar in Jerusalem – since every other competent journalist from The Tribune was somewhere else – Sara is called to cover the 2012 Gaza–Israeli conflict after the assassination of Ahmed Al Jabari, a Hamas military commander.

Her new home? A private room at The Beach Hotel, the main headquarters for nomadic professionals covering the war, with an incredible view of the Mediterranean Sea. “An oasis of humanity in a blighted desert.” The Beach Hotel represents all Gazans cannot have: great food, safe haven, beach view, concierge service. Sara is a very cynical character, a trademark style of this novel, who often ignores everyone else’s pain and the horrors surrounding her. Likewise, her fellow journalists give the titular meaning: vultures festering on the obscenities of war. Her characterisation is great – and so is her cast – yet there is little character development, which somehow serves to amplify the satiric element in Vulture. Here, the reader does the heavy lifting as a judge, and through the absurdism of the attacks, deaths, and the destruction of fields, houses, culture, and dignity, is exposed to the logistics of war journalism. I appreciate the politics of sending correspondents to report on war zones, and I’ve learned a great deal about the matter. Nasser, Jihad, and Muhammad are great representations of a journalist fixer, a child’s innocence being shredded by war, and the caring nature of Muslim culture, respectively. They serve as counterpoints that contrast with the predatory behaviour of foreign media.

Greenwood is a London-based journalist, and she says in an interview: “The first year you’re in Jerusalem, you come to loathe the Israelis. The second year, the Palestinians. And the third year, you come to loathe yourself.” [link to the article] She explains that her decision to write a novel about the horrible truths and tragedies in Gaza was better told in fiction, even though she reiterates her belief in journalism as a democratic tool, and I can roughly imagine the politics behind reporting. This couldn’t be more evident than in Vulture, and Greenwood does an excellent job of not over-politicising; instead, the focus is on the humanity of people under such distress and the logistics of war reporting. There are a few graphic descriptions of deaths and sexual content, but they do not overextend nor are conspicuously present.

Sara’s demeanour changes as the war progresses, becoming increasingly paranoid, overwhelmed, and careless. On a surface level, she has no regard for her colleagues (or herself). There is no empathy towards the people of Gaza. No moral compass. All she wants is to achieve success from the suffering of people under the guise of reporting. Certainly, there must be an explanation for such behaviour. Perhaps Freud can explain. Therefore, a few chapters explore her familial relationship, yet there is no clear answer, and it rests on the reader to interpret the impact of Sara’s upbringing.

There is much to discuss in this book, and it makes an excellent book-club pick. Vulture is a thought-provoking debut that will make you uncomfortable, angry, flabbergasted, and appalled. I had hoped for the author to go deeper and be harsher at some points, but I understand it may not have been the novel’s focus, since the subject is broad and there is much to explore, and Vulture examines the news-reporting industry. It is a lightning-fast read experience that will keep you on your toes, will upset you, and make you laugh at the absurdity of the lack of humanity found in this and many other conflicts. Phoebe Greenwood is a new voice to keep tabs on.

Rating: 3.5/5

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This novel is set over a decade ago and yet it being about the current war in Gaza would be just as easy to imagine. “Vulture” exposes the reality of wartime reporting & its role in disseminating propaganda. It’s full of hypocrisy, its main character often butting up against the “journalistic standards” that leave the narrative controlled by one side of the conflict.

At the heart of the novel is a deeply irreverent, deeply unlikeable woman who is trying to make a name for herself and doesn’t stop to consider the consequences. It made for a gripping story, and I enjoyed the cast of characters and dark humor that made it come alive.

Vulture is razor-edged, sun-scorched noir with a pulse you can feel in your throat. Phoebe Greenwood delivers a debut that’s as sharp as it is atmospheric—part psychological thriller, part fever dream, all wrapped in a simmering, dusty tension that never quite lets up.

Set against the heat and isolation of the American Southwest, the story follows a woman unraveling—and maybe transforming—under the weight of grief, secrets, and the unbearable expectations placed on her. It’s gritty and propulsive, but there’s something deeply poetic beneath all the sand and sweat. Greenwood’s prose is lean and cutting, but it’s the emotion humming underneath that got me.

What I loved most is how Vulture explores the slow corrosion of identity. It’s about the way trauma lingers, how loss eats at you, and how survival can sometimes look like destruction. It’s eerie, intimate, and quietly devastating. And the setting? It crackles. You can feel the dryness on your skin, the emptiness pressing in.

If you like your thrillers with a literary bite, a feminist spine, and a taste for the strange, Vulture is a gripping, feral read. It left me unsettled—and I loved every second of it.

Vulture is a great novel exposing the hypocrisy of the Western media its way of reporting on war (in particular in the Middle East). Greenwood shows in her fictional work how fabricated news reporting is. And how competitive we’ve allowed it to be. Incredibly important story to consider within the current political climate.

I would’ve loved it even more if we were allowed to see more of the other characters in the book. At times the unlike-ability of the main character felt pushed too far. I was incredibly interested in the ‘weird’ turn it took in the end.

Engaging read from an author with first hand experience, which came through in the writing. This made me want to read the authors journalistic pieces and non-fiction writing to gain further insight into this war and foreign correspondence.

A book that felt very current with the current war. Maybe a bit too current. I feel like the emotions hit me as I read – even though this was sort of a dark humour vibe sometimes – the weight of it all was felt.

It was an engaging read.

Grateful to NetGalley and Europa Editions for the ARC.

This novel is a satirical commentary of international journalism coverage in conflict zones. In 2012, Sara Byrne is in Gaza after the death of her father and the breakup of her affair with his married editor. Trying to advance her career, she over-promises stories to her editor and goes through increasingly desperate measures to deliver an intense story that will set her apart from the rest of the corps of journalists covering the conflict.

I thought this novel was really timely and thought provoking. Sara was deeply unlikeable as a character, but at the same time it was easy to see how her callous outlook on an oppressed people arose from a privileged upbringing and the repeated exposure to violence and atrocities that comes from reporting from an active conflict zone.

3.75/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book!

Vulture by Phoebe Greenwood is a dark satire about the world of war journalism. Set in Gaza in the 2010s, this book takes an unflinching look at the lengths journalists will go to to "get the story," no matter the human cost. The main character, Sara, is highly unlikeable. She seems to have little care for the consequences of her actions and little emotional depth for the plight of Palestinians. But her actions reveal truths about the "spectacle" of war and how easy it is to lose sight of the human toll of war.

For me, this book was a gut punch - difficult to read, especially given the devastation in Gaza now. But that makes it all the more timely. However, I really did not care for the backstory on Sara and the flashbacks to her time in an affair. It took me out of the story, removed me from the urgency of what was going on in Gaza.

(oh boy, I don't want to be the first one to review this book... or any book! But I guess that's the danger with Netgalley)

An excellent insider's view of the complicated, dangerous, dirty, dark world of the Gaza conflict from someone who was actually there (I looked her up around the midpoint; she seemed way too spot-on to just be going off secondhand stories). The opening felt like more of a nonfiction book, but it quickly settled into a fiction groove that didn't let up for the rest of the story. Well-written and puts you right into the action.