The Collaborator by Gerald Seymour

I am going to review the book in a different way this time by giving you brief information on four out of several key players and what their roles are in this book:

Eddie Deacon:  Innocent and ignorant.  Happy go lucky.  Jack the lad.  English language teacher.  Picks up a pretty and clever Italian girl in a park, sleeps with her and when she stands him up at an Afghan restaurant, jacks in his job and went in search of her in Naples, not knowing what he is letting himself in for.  When he is in Naples, he is kidnapped by the Italian mob - will he be killed or live to tell the tale?

Immacolata Borelli:  Daughter of a ruthless Naples gangster.  Becomes an infame, a collaborator, a pentito to bring down her Mafia family when her best friend died of contracting a disease from swimming in streams, playing in long grass in fields and under trees in orchards which are all contaminated with toxic waste materials dumped by the Camorras.  The contaminated areas - Marigliano, Acerra and Nola - is called the Triangle of Death.  Mortality rates are high.  The question is will she be pressured to retract her statements or will she plough on to land her family in gaol and avenge her friend's senseless death?  How many innocent people will she wrong or be killed because of her decision?

Lukas:  He has no surname.  He is a hostage negotiatior.  He knows about hostage rescue.  His whole life is his work.  However, what he can never and will never know is the science of when or why or whether a gunman would pull the trigger.  Will he be able to save Eddie from the mob who are known to enjoy death?

Delta465/Foxtrot:  Ostensibly an old man who sits in an apartment, slumped in a chair, watching television.  Who is this?  What role does he play in the rescue and the whole hostage drama?  If you want to know his fate, read the book.

The plot is complex and intriguing.  Other characters are equally fascinating and adds plenty of drama and pace to the plot.  However, the book is long winded and is a slog to read.  You will surely and slowly get to the end but it will be a bloody long road.  It took me four days to finish it.  I did not expect it to end as it did but if you are a fan of corruption, betrayal, revenge and the Italian mafia, you will not be too disappointed with this book.

Gerald Seymour spent fifteen years as an international television news reporter with ITN covering Vietnam and the Middle East and specialising in the subject of terrorism across the world.  He was on the streets of Londonderry on the afternoon of Bloody Sunday and was a witness to the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.  Writing comes fourth in his list of priorities, after dog walking, float fishing and watching the local rugby team.  He has no official website. 

Rating: 2/5 (Read it or Leave it)