A Deniable Death

Starred review from November 26, 2012
Veteran thriller writer Seymour’s outstanding 26th novel chronicles a British “interdiction” mission in contemporary Iraq and Iran. MI6 agent Len Gibbons assembles a team charged with the “deniable” assassination of “the Engineer,” an Iranian bomb maker whose handiwork (“improvised explosive devices” and “explosive force devices”) is killing U.S. and British soldiers on the Iraqi border. That team includes covert operatives Joe “Foxy” Foulkes and Danny “Badger” Baxter, who undergo an excruciating ordeal in a covert hideout near the Engineer’s home. Seymour (Harry’s Game) is strong on the details of surveillance and spycraft, but on even surer ground with his characters as he focuses on Gibbons’s stoic dedication, Badger’s ruthless single-mindedness, and Foxy’s prideful professionalism. Even the Engineer comes across as a human being, thanks to a complex subplot about getting his wife to the West for cancer treatment. Once the narrative gains momentum, it’s hard to put this one down. Agent: Jason Bartholomew, Hodder & Stoughton.

Veteran agent Joe "Foxy" Foulkes is partnered with young police officer Danny "Badger" Baxter to carry out a covert mission in the Middle East, a mission that can have no official sanction. For the two men, it's hate at first sight. They're charged with "removing" the Engineer, a dangerous bomb-maker in Iraq. At first, narrator Ralph Cosham's funereal tone is appropriate to the opening of the story. However, his reading remains dark and heavy, even as the tension mounts. The author's precise attention to detail and insights into characters' motives are extraordinary, yet as the complex plot intensifies, Cosham's matter-of-fact interpretation proves a curious choice, one likely to turn off all but the most serious devotees of spy stories. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine