A brilliant, suspenseful and contemporary thriller . . . A wonderfully complex and unputdownable tale of defectors, traitors, internal politics . . . and assassination' Long time readers of Seymour's fabulous secret service novels will remember early books that had sad and depressing endings. When the final chapters became more upbeat I thought somebody must have told Mr. Seymour that he could make the story as dreadfully depressing as he liked but the denouement was to be cheerful or his books would not be published. Is the information they bring worth the cost of protecting them for the rest of their lives? Is it even genuine? Might they be double agents?

A brilliant, suspenseful and contemporary thriller . . . A wonderfully complex and unputdownable tale of defectors, traitors, internal politics . . . and assassination’ The three British masters of suspense, Graham Greene, Eric Ambler, and John le Carre, have been joined by a fourth - Gerald Seymour * New York Times on The Outsiders * But while Jonas’s colleagues regard him as scratchy, fastidious, old, he is also ruthless, cunning and brutally pragmatic. And he has a man on the inside: a would-be money-launderer on that wild Spanish coast. A man who has been undercover for so long, he has almost forgotten who he really is.Gerald Seymour is one of my 'go to' thriller writers. You know the writing will be good and often there is a link to his previous career as a journalist. I persisted with my reading because memorable times spend together, etc. Also, I could see characters intersecting and the circumstances were intriguing, More so than the characters. But what the hot-shots fail to notice in Jonas is a steely concentration, a ruthless ability to find the enemy who hides in plain sight like a submerged crocodile, waiting for prey. A boon of Gerald’s novels is that he manages to thrill readers without being unrealistic. Though his fast-paced novels are full of suspense, they are down-to-earth. Gerald uses his experiences to make the ongoing military conflict in the places where he has worked real for his readers. It’s not necessary to read the previous book to enjoy this one (but I recommend you do as it is just as good), but, inevitably, there are spoilers for it in this book as Jonas’ story continues.

Seymour produces the most intelligent writing in the thriller genre * Financial Times on Beyond Recall * If he finds out who the mole is, perhaps Igor can be used as a tethered goat to lure the Russian assassins to make another attempt at a time and place of his choosing in Denmark. The cast of characters are all top grade. The smallest part to the big players - all walks of life and levels of genius, or not; you invest thought in them, think about what’s happening - brilliant stuff, yes? In Denmark a Russian GRU agent Igor approaches an MI6 officer stationed in the country and says he wants to defect. This is a headache for MI6 as they are not benefiting from any intelligence he would have gathered for them as a double agent. Instead there is suspicion as to if he is a genuine defector or not. Gerald Seymour has found a good formula for churning out novels almost, it seems, at will. This reader has read many of them over the years and has usually found them current, realistic and well researched. Each are different from one another and on this occasion, this reader thought that even though it was a bit slow in places, the novel itself felt authentic, quite believable with realistic characters and situations. This person thought that he was actually on the bus (in chapter 16) looking over at the park where Jonas and the surveillance team were stationed with Sadie Jilkes badgering the bus driver to stop. Quite an accomplishment by the author.I was completely gripped by the plot and interdepartmental jealousies and rivalries. I couldn’t put it down!’ Yorkshire Television turned Harry’s Game into a 3-part miniseries in 1982. Ray Lonnen, the lead actor in the cold-war spy drama series The Sandbaggers, portrayed Harry Brown. Singer-actor Derek Thompson played the elusive Billy Downes. The miniseries received warm reactions, with critics giving kudos to the actors for their credible performances. How he does it and maintains his forensic knowledge of tradecraft and the inner working of the murky world of spies and traitors I hate to think but it is hard to think of many other writers who can match his overall body of work. Gerald was not used to living a settled life without constantly boarding planes, but soon produced outstanding novels like Red Fox, The Contract, Kingfisher and Archangel. He has since garnered committed fans who love his spine-tingling thrillers.

The main storyline in this novel revolves around a Russian defector in the hands of MI6. They are trying to keep him safe and assess his worth but attempts are made on his life and it becomes clear that there is a leak within Mi6. Jonas is sent across the bridge to investigate and determine the source of the leak. Also, it was one of the rare times this reader has read a novel and finished it without really liking any of the characters in the story! Yet, even though it was a character driven story, this person still enjoyed the novel immensely. The author , this person thought, was trying to show the grim side of counter-intelligence work (MI5) and the cost it has on their lives. It was through Seymour's powerful writing that he could take a simple storyline and, even with a predictable conclusion, still give the reader a spellbinding story. 4 STARS. After the successful release of his second novel, The Glory Boys, Gerald moved to Dublin, Ireland, with his family. Sensing the need to slow down and let younger reporters have opportunities, he retired from television reporting in 1978 and became a full-time novelist. I have found a blurb for a new novel called the Foot Soldiers, due for publication on 31 March 2022.

As a sign of respect for the memorable times we spent together I promise to be understanding, I swear. But this wasn’t our best encounter. And, I’m afraid to say it’s all you, not me; I read in the same iPad, on the same armchair as I read all my other books. A British writer, Gerald Seymour is most famous for describing reality-based, war-time conflict. He is the best-selling author of over 30 thrillers. This is multi-layered spy-fi at its best, with Seymour showing that even after thirty-seven novels he has lost none of his talent for thrilling plots and creating credible and sympathetic characters, nor his journalist's eye for modern espionage tradecraft and techniques * Shots Magazine * I thoroughly enjoyed The Foot Soldiers. It’s probably my favourite since A Deniable Death. It is especially good on the rivalry between MI5 and MI6 employees. It happens to every reader that now and then one comes across a book best described as “un-put-down-able”. You’ve been there, I’m sure. My average for devouring one of those books is two days at most; “The Crocodile Hunter” took me two weeks. Most “Must-put-down-able”. Just like the crocodile I had to come up for air now and then.

He has never lost his journalist's eye for the stories behind the news * The Sunday Times on The Crocodile Hunter *This is a wonderfully complex and unputdownable tale of defectors, traitors, internal politics or "high jingo" as Michael Connelly would describe it and assassination both actual and character. These are some of the questions facing MI6 when a Russian agent hands himself in to them in Denmark.