No Mortal Thing

By: Gerald Seymour

Narrated by: Ben Allen

Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

Jago is a kid from a rough part of London who has worked hard to get a job in a bank. Marcantonio is a member of the 'Ndrangheta crime families from Southern Italy. He is in Germany to learn how to channel their illicit millions towards legitimate businesses.

When Jago witnesses Marcantonio commit a vicious assault, he is drawn into the middle of a delicate surveillance operation....

©2015 Gerald Seymour (P)2015 W F Howes Ltd

Critic Reviews

"Once again demonstrating his ability to probe the moral murkiness of the spy trade and create an absorbingly diverse ensemble, Seymour crafts a sophisticated, reader-teasing tale." ( Sunday Times on The Corporal’s Wife)

"When readers get to the nailbiting climax...they may be wondering why they should bother with any other thriller writer." ( Independent on The Corporal’s Wife)

One of the best Seymour novels

I love this novel even though it does not appear to be everyone's cup of tea. It is a typical mix of Seymour oddball characters rather like a Le Carre novel. It was absorbing and I could not stop listening. The ending was exquisite and I did not feel that the story was stretched out. If liked me, you are a Seymour fan, give it a go.

It's like deja vu all over again!

I normally really enjoy GS' books, in fact Vagabond was my favourite book of 2015, but this was a very poor follow on.
The plot was slow to get going, and the main characters felt familiar, as if they'd been recycled from his earlier work. The background information on the mafia immediately reminded me of " The Collaborator"
The weak story wasn't helped by a tendency to keep going back over earlier parts of the story and to regularly include some pointless lists of places which both combined to give the feeling of an author filling up a word count.
Finally the narration left a lot to be desired, some of the character voices were straight out of " Allo, Allo"
In the final major scene at the mafia boss's house, the police conduct a cursory search then just leave, which didn't feel credible, and gave an impression of hurried plot writing
This definitely isn't GS at the top of his game. Obviously he's getting on a bit now, but I hope he does write another book and gets some of his previous great form back, as this isn't a worthy book for him to bow out on.

Superb Again

One incredible, fascinating, nail biting thriller , Gerald Seymour has to be the best, find out for yourself.

An excellent Seymour book.

Would you consider the audio edition of No Mortal Thing to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version

Who was your favorite character and why?

Juliet - she was a strong understated powersource. In another setting she would have been a force for some other outcome.

Which character – as performed by Ben Allen – was your favourite?

Juliet - she was a strong understated powersource. In another setting she would have been a force for some other outcome.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

That she had her nose fixed

Any additional comments?

The ending was out of character. The banker was intelligent and meticulous and would not have made a basic error which would have allowed money to be traced which caused the downfall.

Good plot- waaay tooo looong!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not. While it was an intriguing plot with interesting characters, the book could have done with further editing- like cutting about 6 hours out. There was too much repetition and the storyline was very very slow moving. I don't know why I stayed with it, but I was extremely happy when the book ended.

What was one of the most memorable moments of No Mortal Thing?

The attack at the Berlin pizza restaurant set the stage for the rest of the book.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Probably the murder of the grandson (sounds strange, but I was just relieved by that point that something/anything had happened).

Did No Mortal Thing inspire you to do anything?

Rather not say.

Any additional comments?

Excellent narration was the best aspect of this book. Doubt I will sign up for any more Gerald Seymour books.

Captivating

Just as good second time around - excellent character portrayal, background information and fast moving story.

contrived

Well written as per usual, plot seemed a bit forced. Rather than flowing like usual with this author.