The structure is typical of Seymour novels. The story bounces around frequently between the main characters, as does the POVs. However all the threads draw together inexorably. Also typical is that Seymour does not do happy endings. There is always some tragedy involved and this novel is no different in that regard. These are some of the questions facing MI6 when a Russian agent hands himself in to them in Denmark. I liked the writing style, which conveyed a real sense of brooding atmosphere throughout. The pace is perfectly measured - rather than the somewhat frenetic "throwaway" action of some espionage novels I've read. Seymour has produced a tingling and compulsive story, as compelling a tale as I have read in a long time. As expected, there are brutal parts, which do need to be there to highlight the full terror of the perpetrators, but which are nevertheless unpleasant. He likes innocents caught up in worlds they don’t quite understand. Harry never really gets to grips with the multi-layered game being played in Northern Ireland, and as a result loses. In No Mortal Thing, a witness to an assault in Berlin finds himself drawn into the ’Ndrangheta’s net. Seymour is fascinated by how people respond when faced with great challenges. “I work on the principle that you get up in the morning and don’t know where you will be by the end of the day. I love that sort of story where something comes out of a clear blue sky.”

Stars ~ 'The Crocodile Hunter', 'In at the Kill', ‘A Song in the Morning', 'In Honour Bound’ & ‘The Untouchable’ This is the first book I've read by Gerald Seymour, but I intend to remedy that as I enjoyed it so much.Seymour wrote Harry’s Game at the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and says he was accused by some of “dancing on graves”. I don’t have a favourite book. Each one was the centre of my life, and each one has seemed the most important one For No Mortal Thing he went to the towns and villages of Calabria to sniff out the story – he always talks about writing stories rather than novels. He didn’t, perhaps fortunately, encounter any members of the ’Ndrangheta (in the book, one of the clan’s rivals is fed alive to ravenous pigs). But he filled his notebook with material from other people he met while there. “I go to court, which is always a good place to start. I also met a prosecutor, a judge, a senior carabinieri officer, and a chap from the anti-mafia organisation.” The story takes the form of several different narratives, each following different characters. I found this initially offered an interesting perspective on the developing plot, although it gradually became rather irritating. Still, the story itself is engrossing, and in many ways almost frighteningly plausible. It’s not Harry because I think a better Northern Ireland story is The Journeyman Tailor. Each one was the centre of my life, and each one has seemed the most important one. My agent finds it extraordinary that I am highly nervous each time I send the typescript to the publisher.”

He makes no great literary claim for his books – he demurs when I say some critics have said he should be talked about in the same breath as John le Carré – but he does stand by their factual accuracy and seriousness of intent. They have to entertain – otherwise he has no audience – but he also wants them to inform. 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. 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. I understand that this is the third book in a series - although I haven't read the earlier novels, I felt that this book worked just fine as a standalone.

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Defectors are not always welcome. 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? I have found a blurb for a new novel called the Foot Soldiers, due for publication on 31 March 2022.