Killing Ground

Rating:
Summary: Credible & Chilling
Review: Cynical Seymour creates an atmosphere of duplicity & intrigue in which there are few heroes. He makes the baddies human and avoids romanticizing the goodies. Always worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, educational and plausible novel.
Review: This is a wonderful book for a summer vacation. I was reminded of John Le Carre's "The Little Drummer Girl" in terms of its plot. This is a very well researched book and I believe Seymour did a good job in telling us how awful is organized crime and what devastation the drug trade brings to society. At the same time we got a brief look at southwest England and Tavistock, where, incidentally, I was born. We got a better look at Sicily and this travelogue aspect to the book was done better than others, ie: Robert Ludlum; but who cares because after reading this book nobody will want to visit Palermo. The British investigators are protrayed as I suspect they really are: soppy at the lower ranks and machiavellian in the higher offices. I have two complaints. One: as a British writer, Seymour should have had an American assist him in making Alex Moen as a believable American. Americans don't think in terms of "windscreens", "petrol" and " lorries", among other things in the script. Two: Mario Ruggerio's ability to control millions of dollars worth of global investments with merely his mind and no business infrastructure is highly improbable. This was, on the whole, a plausible novel that read well, held the immagination, taught something, sparked the romantic notion and entertained during a summer vacation.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better!
Review: This is the second book I read of Seymour. To be honest I find his style a bit too repetitive and monotonous. The plot is good but has some gaping holes in it. It is hard to accept that a Mafia family would accept a foreigner in their midst without checking her out thoroughly. On the other habd the atmosphere of Palermo and the whole "Cosa Nostra" issue is very accurately depicted. It is an enjoyable and informative book, I recommend it.