A Deniable Death

A Deniable Death once again proves that age cannot wither his nonpareil skills. Having tackled everything from the search for war criminals in.
Table of contents

We come to know him and his social-climbing German wife, as well as the businesslike Israeli assassin and his wife, who was blinded while fighting for her country in Lebanon. We know, too, the once-disgraced British intelligence officer who hopes that this secret, deniable mission will redeem his career. We endure what is possibly the most agonizing torture scene ever put on paper. Seymour even conveys the heartbreak in England when young IED victims are brought home for burial.

Can Abigail and her guardians hold off the growing mob of hostile Iranians that threatens them? We care deeply about these people and their fates. At a certain point, the novel rises to a mythic level, portraying courage and loyalty and sacrifice almost beyond understanding. I confess I resorted to speed reading after around pages. I just wanted the damn thing to conclude! Please excuse my expression. I guess th Many things went very wrong with this book.. I guess that the author wanted to build some emotional connect here, wanted the readers to feel for the poor loser team in this book, which seemed doomed from the beginning I have not taken Foxy or Badger with me after the last word was read.

The characters somehow, just do not 'linger' as the author, probably, wished them too. Personally, all that 'moral' or 'ethical' angle that was introduced here, as regards assassination, seemed so meaningless and out of place! It was a job given to people who are trained to follow orders. Plus, trying to drum up sympathy for supposed terrorists..? I for one, am not tormented with such conflicting thoughts! I sadly did not feel anything even for Naghmeh Too much pushed in.

The author has tried to fit in too much into one story. But, the problem is, unlike a movie or sharing of sweets among kids, equal amount of screen space or word space here Does Not amount to equal justice! Okay, I grant that we understand the characters pretty well here Somehow, I knew how it is going to end. Shrugs That added to the boredom quotient. I just wasn't surprised.

Review - A Deniable Death by Gerald Seymour

There was no need, truly, to stretch it so far this is the speed reading part. I simply switched off my mind. For a book a BIG negative. If it was added so that the readers start sympathising and respecting 'the old fool', well, it did neither in my case. Also, the mental disorientation at the end, of the Badger Well, not wanting to rip this book completely apart, I just wish to conclude by saying, this could have been a much better book.

Much shorter and crunchier. Although, the premise is quite slow, there could have been a better version. Give it a miss. Not a huge loss. Jan 04, Sid Nuncius rated it it was amazing. In the end I was utterly gripped by this extraordinary thriller. It has a slow, meticulously developed beginning which gradually reeled me in and left me quite unable to put it down for the last hundred pages or so. The story is of an intelligence operation to attempt discover where a key Iraqi bomb-maker is travelling to for medical help for his wife, and there to kill him.

Seymour's research is exceptionally detailed into all aspects of the operation, and he gives us the minutiae of the intelli In the end I was utterly gripped by this extraordinary thriller. Seymour's research is exceptionally detailed into all aspects of the operation, and he gives us the minutiae of the intelligence work and of the characters of those involved. I found myself thoroughly involved with many of the characters, even though many aren't all that likeable. Seymour really manages to put us in the position of the people involved and to help us understand their difficulties, fear and suffering, and the slow racking up of tension, particularly during the second half of the book, is quite masterly.

Do be aware that there are some shockingly grisly scenes. They are absolutely justified and an integral part of the narrative, but some readers may wish to be warned. The book does have its flaws. Generally the detail and character develoment is very successful, but I found the character stuff a little much at times: All this, plus the sheer weight of operational detail, began to drag the book down a bit around page , and I thought a bit of judicious editing would have helped. There is some rather heavy-handed moralising in places, too, and one speech in particular read less like spontaneous angry whisperings in a hideously uncomfortable observation hide and more like a carefully prepared address to a political rally.

Nevertheless, after finishing the book I was left with the sensation that I had been through something truly memorable, so in spite of some minor reservations this is highly recommended as an intelligent, absorbing read and, in the end, an exceptionally exciting and involving thriller. And try as I might, I can't quite put my finger on why, as there was much about the book that I did like.

It's very much a contemporary thriller, with a very strong idea as the central plot, delivered with pace and authority. I suspect what didn't quite work for me was the contrivance of the classic lone wolf - Badger - trudging through a very dangerous mission with a partner in tow that he can't stand.


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For some reason that didn't quite gel. Perhaps it's a device that seemed designed overtly to create a bit of tension. Whatever it was, the sniping and bitching got me flipping too many pages, and struggling to maintain focus at points. Which was annoying as the idea of C. I just couldn't get the whole scenario to make sense - even though it is perfectly feasible that at some point in your life, everybody is going to be stuck in some sort of boat with somebody you'd happily rather throw overboard.

On one level the whole thing seemed like a reasonable situation - yet at the same time it just refused to work for me in this book. Of course, it's also very very possible that this simply was the wrong book at the wrong time, and something about those two central characters just got up my nose for no particular reason. Aug 04, Monica rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is a truly gripping story of an unsanctioned covert operation on the Iran Iraq border.

Months of dangerous fieldwork have uncovered the identity and location of the senior bomb engineer in Iran - a man responsible for the deaths of countless soldiers and civilians and the deteriorating situation in Iraq as the Allied troops are withdrawing. A small team of British and Americans is sent to set up an assassination, with no official status and no back up beyond themselves - deniability is This book is a truly gripping story of an unsanctioned covert operation on the Iran Iraq border. A small team of British and Americans is sent to set up an assassination, with no official status and no back up beyond themselves - deniability is paramount.

The book is rich in characters - Foxy and Badger, the two British cops and covert surveillance experts who are sent over the Iranian border to listen till they can find out where and when the Engineer will be travelling, Abigail Jones, and her mercenary support team who identified and found the engineer, delivered the watchers and must wait to get them out when their mission is accomplished, the Engineer and his wife who runs a group that is disabling land mines, Gibbons the MI6 man seeking redemption and his American and Israeli counterparts, the Iranian surgeon living in Lubeck who is coerced by the Iranian government to operate on the wife of the Engineer.

Seymour brings each of them to life and makes the reader care about all of them, flaws and all; even the Engineer is understandable and in some measure sympathetic. The narrative moves back and forth between the watchers and the watched, and those who wait for the call to action. The descriptions of the covert side of modern war, the qualities of character it demands and the physical and psychological toll it takes are outstanding.

Feb 12, John Machata rated it it was ok. Probably very like the real thing. Modern espionage is more bureaucrat than James Bond. I gave not a hoot about any of the characters. Jul 04, Michael Martz rated it really liked it. I 'discovered' Gerald Seymour about a year ago and have cycled through several of his books. This is a pretty good effort, albeit a bit long. The plot is interesting and he seems to know a lot about clandestine activities, which I think is one of his strengths.

The story is basically about the surveillance preceding an unsanctioned government 'hit' on a bad guy who had been responsible for a lot of allied death and destruction during the war on terror. Most of it is pretty believable. The writing I 'discovered' Gerald Seymour about a year ago and have cycled through several of his books. The writing is strong, with his trademark narrative from several key players' perspectives.

KIRKUS REVIEW

I think that technique tends to make his books a bit longer than necessary, but also succeeds in really fleshing out the characters. Although fleshed out, the characters in this book weren't particularly likable and in some ways their actions didn't really pass the believe-ability test, meaning it's hard to believe some of what they did could actually happen. The conclusion was a bit too choreographed.

Without spoiling the story, it seemed like a 'written for Hollywood' ending. All-in-all, I enjoyed the book but it was a little long and several sections were a little unbelievable.

Questions?

If you like Seymour, you should enjoy it. Aug 21, Jeremy Hornik rated it liked it Shelves: A solid thriller about marginal players in the covert operations world. Lots of detail about the techniques of surveillance, and a great relationship between the experienced but whiny older guy and the ruthlessly efficient but naive younger guy. Mar 24, Doug rated it it was amazing. Jul 04, Alistair Edwards rated it liked it.

Whenever I wander around the library I generally cannot think what I am in the mood to read. I picked this one out because it was a contemporary thriller written by a journalist; I thought he might have some insight into the world of which he was writing. I think he did, at least judging by the technical details he seemed keen to include. It seems common in modern novels to describe them as 'filmic'. Don't get me started on Dan Brown. I would certainly apply that description to this book - fast Whenever I wander around the library I generally cannot think what I am in the mood to read.

I would certainly apply that description to this book - fast cuts between different scenes. At first I found the style a little annoying. The changes of context were not signposted 'Meanwhile in London I found that hard to follow at first, but then perhaps the author was crediting the reader with some intelligence, for which we should be grateful. I didn't read this book in one sitting - but I did find it hard to put down. I was driven to know what the ending would be. Perhaps I should say 'endings', plural because there were parallel, but connected stories in each of the locations and I was curious to know how each of them would be resolved.

As expected, they did all come together in the end. It is not a short book and the pace is generally slow, but that is appropriate given the plot of the central story.

MORE BY GERALD SEYMOUR

It was about men in a difficult environment who had to show impressive patience. It would have been a real cop-out to have had the written equivalent of a fade-down and fade-up in a film to signal the passage of several days. The last chapter, almost an epilogue, did link together well with the prologue. Feb 26, Nigel Pinkus rated it really liked it. He writes well researched, vivid accounts of war torn areas and characters and allows you to come along for the ride. In this episode, he takes you initially to Basra, Iraq and then highway 6 onto where you learn about forward operation bases FOP , marsh birds, golden hours, land mines, 'croppies', bund lines and berms, gillie suits and interdictions- all in the first pages or so.

But, what sets Seymour apart from other writers is that it's also a thriller and really sets a cracking pace in the last half of the story. As usual there are an array characters, all with a story to tell and Seymour keeps you guessing who will succeed, who won't and who will survive at the end. There aren't glamorous heroes like Bond and even really badass villains at least in this , but Seymour shows what it's like to live with war, corruption and regime violence seemingly on a daily basis.

A Deniable Death

He writes a story that is never black and white, predictable or foreseeable, rather it's all about shades of grey, if's and buts, murky decisions in war and, of course, it's all deniable! Jun 27, Barry Bridges rated it it was amazing. Another tense thriller from a master of the genre.

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As alliances shift, break, and re-form - and power is seized, lost, and reclaimed - every player is at risk in a game of conquest that could turn the Rising into a new Dark Age. Tasked with protecting a beleaguered prime minister, he's facing attack from all directions himself: Meanwhile, the country's being rocked by an apparently random string of terror attacks, and someone's trying to kill Roddy Ho. Over at Slough House, the crew are struggling with personal problems: But collectively, they're about to rediscover their greatest strength - that of making a bad situation much, much worse.

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They turn to Merc, an ex-soldier fighting in Iraq, a gun-for-hire who knows how to get out of a tight spot. From the moment Merc sets out to cross the River Narva things do not go to plan and when the hacker's sister becomes involved, his mission turns from tough to near impossible. The scene is set for a classic story of pursuit and evasion and an epic battle for survival. A Russian orphan, saved from the death penalty for the brutal revenge she took on her gangster father's killers.

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