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. 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. 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. This was a mixed bag for me. One could define The Foot Soldiers as deliciously complex and multilayered, someone else as annoyingly fragmented and disjointed; I found the line between the two a rather fine one. The story follows two very separate and parallel threads, and one presumes they will connect in so e way before the end; except they don't... 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.

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.But then again, all the characters of the book are mediocre people, bored, tired people just wanting out of whatever they are in; maybe that's the world the author wanted to paint. If so, so be it, but the effect for the reader is certainly not uplifting. If le Carre had written about spies on the front line . . . Seymour makes more than le Carre of treachery's potential impact on frontline personnel. [A] masterly novel - The Sunday Times

The book begins with a Russian Defector handing himself over to MI6 in Denmark and it soon become obvious that the Russians are not only coming for their man but know exactly where he is, with a "Mole" within MI6 being the only explanation. When he is not writing, Gerald fishes, watches sports on TV and walks his dogs. He often grumbles, in jest, that he has little time for these hobbies. Gerald Seymour’s books Harry’s Game An alcoholic, former British Intelligence agent, Jimmy, comes out of retirement to hunt the two of them down and protect the scientist. Lethal, but drunk, he tries to contain inevitable bloodshed. Review

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I was completely gripped by the plot and interdepartmental jealousies and rivalries. I couldn’t put it down!’ 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. Initially a journalist, Gerald joined the Independent Television Network (ITN) in 1963, and forged a successful career. He covered controversial situations such as the Munich Olympics Massacre and Palestinian Militant Groups.