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Timebomb
In 1992, after being fired from a top secret nuclear facility, a top KGB man buried a nuclear suitcase. Sixteen years later he has found a buyer for it.
An exchange point in Eastern Europe is agreed upon. Travelling with the buyer is an undercover policeman, working for M16. But as their shadowy journey across Europe begins, it becomes clear to a top psychiatrist at M16, that their man may be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and the whole operation is very likely to be thrown into jeopardy.
An exchange point in Eastern Europe is agreed upon. Travelling with the buyer is an undercover policeman, working for M16. But as their shadowy journey across Europe begins, it becomes clear to a top psychiatrist at M16, that their man may be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and the whole operation is very likely to be thrown into jeopardy.
576 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 5, 2008
82 people are currently reading
194 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Seymour
98 books287 followersGerald Seymour (born 25 November 1941 in Guildford, Surrey) is a British writer.
The son of two literary figures, he was educated at Kelly College at Tavistock in Devon and took a BA Hons degree in Modern History at University College London. Initially a journalist, he joined ITN in 1963, covering such topics as the Great Train Robbery, Vietnam, Ireland, the Munich Olympics massacre, Germany's Red Army, Italy's Red Brigades and Palestinian militant groups. His first book, Harry's Game, was published in 1975, and Seymour then became a full-time novelist, living in the West Country. In 1999, he featured in the Oscar-winning television film, One Day in September, which portrayed the Munich Olympics massacre.
Television adaptations have been made of his books Harry's Game, The Glory Boys, The Contract, Red Fox, Field Of Blood, A Line In The Sand and The Waiting Time.
The son of two literary figures, he was educated at Kelly College at Tavistock in Devon and took a BA Hons degree in Modern History at University College London. Initially a journalist, he joined ITN in 1963, covering such topics as the Great Train Robbery, Vietnam, Ireland, the Munich Olympics massacre, Germany's Red Army, Italy's Red Brigades and Palestinian militant groups. His first book, Harry's Game, was published in 1975, and Seymour then became a full-time novelist, living in the West Country. In 1999, he featured in the Oscar-winning television film, One Day in September, which portrayed the Munich Olympics massacre.
Television adaptations have been made of his books Harry's Game, The Glory Boys, The Contract, Red Fox, Field Of Blood, A Line In The Sand and The Waiting Time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
November 3, 2021
This is another of Gerald Seymour’s excellent espionage thrillers, and it lives up to expectations. This novel involves an undercover police officer who is keeping an eye (from the inside) on a Russian money launderer living the high life in London. When MI6 discover he may be involved in a much more serious matter, the police officer’s role changes, putting him in harm’s way and having to trust on MI6 to get him out of any trouble in which he may find himself.
Another major character is a gangster and grandson of a Holocaust survivor, whose influence on him was enormous when he was a child. He narrates her story to himself in sections throughout the book because he knows it off by heart, so we get to hear it, too.
The main story builds slowly but surely, and we are treated to good characterisations of all the major players, of whom there are several. These include two elderly and cynical Russians who are sick of being exploited by their own government and decide to do something to line their own nests – something dangerous.
These and other strands gradually come together and the action moves to the forests of the Polish/Russian/Belorussian border for the climax. I found one element of the ending disappointing and a bit unrealistic or, rather, out of character for that person, though certainly not unbelievably so, so maybe it is just me.
The book is certainly an exciting page-turner, as well as being very well written and well worth a read. Recommended.
Another major character is a gangster and grandson of a Holocaust survivor, whose influence on him was enormous when he was a child. He narrates her story to himself in sections throughout the book because he knows it off by heart, so we get to hear it, too.
The main story builds slowly but surely, and we are treated to good characterisations of all the major players, of whom there are several. These include two elderly and cynical Russians who are sick of being exploited by their own government and decide to do something to line their own nests – something dangerous.
These and other strands gradually come together and the action moves to the forests of the Polish/Russian/Belorussian border for the climax. I found one element of the ending disappointing and a bit unrealistic or, rather, out of character for that person, though certainly not unbelievably so, so maybe it is just me.
The book is certainly an exciting page-turner, as well as being very well written and well worth a read. Recommended.
January 18, 2025
This is the story of the smuggling of an old dirty bomb from the former Soviet arsenal out of Russia as much the story of two old men on the opposite fronts.
The hunter, Christopher Lawson, old timer MI6, a cold warrior with nostalgia for the ways of a long gone past; the prey, Reuven Weissberg, an old, ascetic Russian-Jewish mafia honcho, completely devoted to his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who raised as a child.
In the background, a generational clash with a bunch of young officers, hypocritical bleeding hearts, looking at the old timers as pathetic relics busy with just keeping the past alive - but without showing as many values or beliefs.
And in the middle, dancing with the Stockholm Syndrome, Jonathan Carrick, an undercover police officer embedded as driver of a mafia money launderer at the service of the mafia man.
Gerald Seymour is renowned for being a character-driven writer of high intensity espionage thrillers and he confirms here such reputation: the cast of characters, primary and secondary, is outstanding, their psychological exploration deep and immersive.
The story is about the sale of a small old nuclear device (a dirty bomb) by a couple of old disgruntled former Soviet officers. This a complex, two-stage transaction, involving multiple actors (middle-men, money launderers, body guards, etc) and from this the authors springs a pleasantly complex, multilayered plot.
The ending - not easy to find a credible one for such multifaceted story - felt bitterly appropriate.
All in all a highly satisfying read this one.
The hunter, Christopher Lawson, old timer MI6, a cold warrior with nostalgia for the ways of a long gone past; the prey, Reuven Weissberg, an old, ascetic Russian-Jewish mafia honcho, completely devoted to his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who raised as a child.
In the background, a generational clash with a bunch of young officers, hypocritical bleeding hearts, looking at the old timers as pathetic relics busy with just keeping the past alive - but without showing as many values or beliefs.
And in the middle, dancing with the Stockholm Syndrome, Jonathan Carrick, an undercover police officer embedded as driver of a mafia money launderer at the service of the mafia man.
Gerald Seymour is renowned for being a character-driven writer of high intensity espionage thrillers and he confirms here such reputation: the cast of characters, primary and secondary, is outstanding, their psychological exploration deep and immersive.
The story is about the sale of a small old nuclear device (a dirty bomb) by a couple of old disgruntled former Soviet officers. This a complex, two-stage transaction, involving multiple actors (middle-men, money launderers, body guards, etc) and from this the authors springs a pleasantly complex, multilayered plot.
The ending - not easy to find a credible one for such multifaceted story - felt bitterly appropriate.
All in all a highly satisfying read this one.
October 22, 2017
Gerald Seymour isn't described as "the world's greatest thriller writer" (Daily Telegraph)without good reason. This has the classic set up of a British undercover police officer infiltrating Russian money launderers in London. This leads to a bigger plot involving a nuclear device being transported across Eastern Europe by two disgruntled ex Soviet officers. The villain of the piece is Jewish criminal Reuven Weissberg, a wholly convincing thug who makes Bill Sykes look warm & cuddly.
Seymour's books aren't the fast food thrillers popular nowadays. There's not a lot of action and the emphasis is on character, plot and a terrific sense of place, born from extensive research (despite knocking on now, the ex ITN journalist sure "puts in the hard yards" when it comes to authentic detail). The two old Soviet officers bicker their way across bleak Ukraine & Belarus in a style straight out of Samuel Beckett. The book builds tension to a bitter sweet finale that wraps up matters satisfactorily, if a tad disappointing for me.
What adds another dimension to this story is the account of Reuven's grandmother's wartime experiences. The author often uses history as a counterpoint to his contemporary tales via diaries or journals. This is v. effective here as the focus is on the SS death camp at Sobibor with scenes that will live long in this reader's memory.
I stopped following Gerald Seymour after "The Unknown Soldier" as I thought they were getting a bit slow & samey. A ten year break has led me to appreciate the author's work afresh. Carry on Gerald, "you da man"!
PS. The original UK edition has a cover of an exploding car and a man running away. This doesn't feature in the book at all, so is a bit of a con. An attempt to "sex up" the book? Covers matter, so come on publishers, don't shortchange your readers and give us an accurate picture of the novel. Rant over, carry on men, as you were.
Seymour's books aren't the fast food thrillers popular nowadays. There's not a lot of action and the emphasis is on character, plot and a terrific sense of place, born from extensive research (despite knocking on now, the ex ITN journalist sure "puts in the hard yards" when it comes to authentic detail). The two old Soviet officers bicker their way across bleak Ukraine & Belarus in a style straight out of Samuel Beckett. The book builds tension to a bitter sweet finale that wraps up matters satisfactorily, if a tad disappointing for me.
What adds another dimension to this story is the account of Reuven's grandmother's wartime experiences. The author often uses history as a counterpoint to his contemporary tales via diaries or journals. This is v. effective here as the focus is on the SS death camp at Sobibor with scenes that will live long in this reader's memory.
I stopped following Gerald Seymour after "The Unknown Soldier" as I thought they were getting a bit slow & samey. A ten year break has led me to appreciate the author's work afresh. Carry on Gerald, "you da man"!
PS. The original UK edition has a cover of an exploding car and a man running away. This doesn't feature in the book at all, so is a bit of a con. An attempt to "sex up" the book? Covers matter, so come on publishers, don't shortchange your readers and give us an accurate picture of the novel. Rant over, carry on men, as you were.
June 15, 2025
Building suspense
Although the book starts off a bit slow, the suspense soon starts building. Johnny Carrick, an undercover policeman, works for a Russian-Jewish moneyman for a Russian mobster. Carrick saves the moneyman from a hitman in London and becomes his confidant. Soon he goes with the moneyman to Berlin to meet the head mobster, Weissberg . At first, Carrick is greeted with a great deal of suspicion, and undergoes a many tests in order to prove he is not an agent. He successfully passes them all, and comes under the protection of Weissberg. Carrick gradually falls under the spell of the charismatic mobster and accompanies him through Poland, following in the footsteps of Weissberg’s grandmother, a Polish Jew captured by Germans and taken to the death camp of Sobibor. Along the way Carrick begins to feel abandoned by his MI5 team and becomes more attached to Weissberg and more and more moved by the story of his grandmother’s sufferings. Carrick is also threatened by the other Russian underlings and increasingly regards Weissberg as his only protector. As well as being on a quest to retrace his grandmother’s steps, Weissberg is on his way to buy a stolen Russian portable dirty bomb. By this time the MI5 team starts worrying about whether their man is succumbing to Stockholm syndrome, with good reason. The tension is psychological: has Carrick turned and become Weissberg’s accomplice? I won’t disclose the outcome. This is a very good read. Highly recommended.
Although the book starts off a bit slow, the suspense soon starts building. Johnny Carrick, an undercover policeman, works for a Russian-Jewish moneyman for a Russian mobster. Carrick saves the moneyman from a hitman in London and becomes his confidant. Soon he goes with the moneyman to Berlin to meet the head mobster, Weissberg . At first, Carrick is greeted with a great deal of suspicion, and undergoes a many tests in order to prove he is not an agent. He successfully passes them all, and comes under the protection of Weissberg. Carrick gradually falls under the spell of the charismatic mobster and accompanies him through Poland, following in the footsteps of Weissberg’s grandmother, a Polish Jew captured by Germans and taken to the death camp of Sobibor. Along the way Carrick begins to feel abandoned by his MI5 team and becomes more attached to Weissberg and more and more moved by the story of his grandmother’s sufferings. Carrick is also threatened by the other Russian underlings and increasingly regards Weissberg as his only protector. As well as being on a quest to retrace his grandmother’s steps, Weissberg is on his way to buy a stolen Russian portable dirty bomb. By this time the MI5 team starts worrying about whether their man is succumbing to Stockholm syndrome, with good reason. The tension is psychological: has Carrick turned and become Weissberg’s accomplice? I won’t disclose the outcome. This is a very good read. Highly recommended.
November 9, 2022
Not often I get a DNF, but I couldn't manage this one and I really wanted to like it. It's just so desperately plodding, contains at least one incredibly unlikeable character I think we're supposed to admire anyway, has lashings of unnecessary detail yet leaves other things unexplained, and doesn't grip at all. The most interesting part, the story of the girl in the concentration camp, doesn't really have anything to do with the main plot.
I've read other reviews that say it's confusing but I'd have to disagree there. It's far too slow to be confusing
I've read other reviews that say it's confusing but I'd have to disagree there. It's far too slow to be confusing
March 24, 2016
I've not delved into this genre before, but I was pleased to be entertained most of the time. However I was left frustrated and disappointed. Characters who displayed development, ended up not changing, while those who showed no change made drastic, unexpected and irrational change in order to achieve a rather quick and dull ending. An easy read to be read once.
May 20, 2009
In the world of spy fiction one of the leading writers in the english language A good read recommended
August 12, 2016
Rich, historical, complex, and I think among his best, up there with Harry's Game.
August 18, 2020
Have not read a Gerald Seymour story in a while and had forgotten sometimes how much concentration you need to grab all the various strings. However once you have them all following the various strings becomes non stop. Ex army hero turned "Secret Squirrel" is pushed into an escapade to track an ex Russian Nuclear weapon being sold on the black market. Four main threads take you along the trail with different viewpoints. Ending seems to sum it up superbly. Good read
April 6, 2022
The Cold War genre is a bit old, but the characters here are well portrayed and detailed, as is typical for the author. The background of eastern European countries is unexpectedly renewed, what with Putin's outrageous attacks in Ukraine; one can picture the countries and their borders, the landscapes and the people clearly, given the news reports every day.
March 20, 2018
Difficult to read because of the writing style and obtuse foreign references.
May 16, 2019
The most interesting part of this book was the history of the Sobidhor extermination camp. I'm afraid the spy/terrorism/organised crime part didn't engage me as much as I thought it was.
August 30, 2020
Very haphazard story jumping around all over the place. In the end not much of a story.
March 28, 2024
I appreciate the emotional attachment of the author nevertheless, the story within the story went on for a tad too long. Hence 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2025
Amazing book. One of my favourite authors, don’t know why I don’t read more of his work.
January 31, 2009
In the chaos of the end of the Soviet Union, a disgruntled officer at a nuclear weapons decommissioning facility steals a small tactical weapon and buries it in his garden under a sheet of lead. Fifteen years later he digs it up and arranges to sell it to a Russian Mafia boss for the sum of ... one million dollars (try not saying that in a Doctor Evil voice!). An intercepted mobile phone call from a certain town in Russia to a Russian 'businessman' in London rings alarm bells in the headquarters of the British secret service and Christopher Lawson, an old school cold war spy, takes control of an unrelated undercover operation being run by the fraud squad of Scotland Yard on the businessman. He engineers events to force the undercover policeman deeper into the confidence of the Russian gangsters to find out exactly what is being planned.
This is a bit of an odd book - for about 90% of its length it flies along at a cracking pace, with secret agents, elderly Russian soldiers, brutal gangsters and Islamic terrorists all converging on a rendezvous at the site of a former concentration camp in a Polish forest, with the nuclear weapon being the maguffin that draws them there. At the end though, it all falls apart with some highly improbable coincidences and deus ex machinas and an oddly abrupt conclusion. I get the feeling that the author really wanted to write about the true history of a mass revolt and escape by prisoners at the Sobibor camp, but for some reason he shoe horned the story into an otherwise fairly run of the mill spy thriller.
I won this book in a free draw at My Favorite Books so I was not quite as disappointed as if I'd paid cash money for it. Only recommended if you see it cheap at an airport bookshop and have a long journey to kill.
Oh, and the cover is highly misleading as well!
This is a bit of an odd book - for about 90% of its length it flies along at a cracking pace, with secret agents, elderly Russian soldiers, brutal gangsters and Islamic terrorists all converging on a rendezvous at the site of a former concentration camp in a Polish forest, with the nuclear weapon being the maguffin that draws them there. At the end though, it all falls apart with some highly improbable coincidences and deus ex machinas and an oddly abrupt conclusion. I get the feeling that the author really wanted to write about the true history of a mass revolt and escape by prisoners at the Sobibor camp, but for some reason he shoe horned the story into an otherwise fairly run of the mill spy thriller.
I won this book in a free draw at My Favorite Books so I was not quite as disappointed as if I'd paid cash money for it. Only recommended if you see it cheap at an airport bookshop and have a long journey to kill.
Oh, and the cover is highly misleading as well!
February 2, 2013
A disgruntled KGB ex-operative steals a devastatingly powerful dirty bomb from a top-secret nuclear facility. After escaping the facility he buries the bomb deep in his backyard with no immediate plans for it. Sixteen years later he finds a potential client willing to purchase the nuclear suitcase with a large sum of money. The buyer happens to be the ruthless Reuven Weissberg, head of the infamous Russian mafiya. There is a slim chance that a newly trained undercover agent ,Johhny Carrick, can uncover various criminal activities, however according to a MI6 psychiatrist his ability to maintain his legend maybe slipping away quickly due to Stockholm Syndrome . The team that supports him can do very little to assist him due to the sensitive situation. Johhny Carrick's handler is Christopher Lawson who is an experienced handler in charge of high risk proliferation cases. He is downright cruel and demanding to his agents .It is possible that he is responsible for compromising the mission by breaking the agent down . Meanwhile the KGB ex-operative must make a treacherous journey to the Bug River to rendezvous with Weissberg. The only man who can stop the deal is Carrick, but will he remain loyal to the agency or became sympathic toward Reuven Weissberg?
August 27, 2014
Gerald Seymour has been described as the world's "finest thriller writer". I have read two of Seymour's books previously. No, I lie; I have read one and couldn't be bothered to finish the second. I've avoided his books for several years because I don't like his style of writing. I dislike chopped sentences that have no grammatical sense and would fail an English Literature exam. But that's his style, and he gets way with it. I struggled with Timebomb: really struggled. I wanted something to happen. I wanted the characters to look real, not people who failed to the share the same characteristics most of us are used to or expect. Or maybe they are the kind of people Seymour has come across in his journalistic career. He is certainly a fine and clever writer; probably more in the John Le Carré class than Andy Macnab, say. But I want thrillers to rip along and keep me engaged and wanting not to have to put the book down. Most of the time I wanted not to have to pick the book up. But I tried, I really did. So, well done Gerald Seymour for being hailed as the world's finest, but only a true fan of yours could enjoy this book. Three stars is all I can award it, even though I feel it merits less. I don't recommend it unless you are a Seymour fan.
February 5, 2011
Gerald Seymour is one of my favourite authors. In this novel a KGB major, summarily dismissed from his base steals a nuclear bomb. 16 years later with a pension which does not amount to much he decides to sell it to some terrorist organisation, using a criminal organisation to broker the deal. Back in London an old style spymaster reads the signals and has a junior undercover policeman infiltrating the gang as a bodyguard. MI6 agents will back-up the agent and hopefully intercept and capture the bomb and the criminals. As with most of Seymour's books, human emotions feature strongly - the modern MI6 distrusts 'Smiley-type' agents and intuition - the undercover policeman behaves irrationally etc.
This is not the best of his thrillers, but is very readable.
This is not the best of his thrillers, but is very readable.
February 15, 2011
A supposed "thriller" where nothing actually happens. Too many pointless characters, that are the same as each other. Too many diversions into history to give depth to characters you don't really care about. No action or events. Just pages and pages of setup for a finale that never happens. This book is garbage.
July 28, 2012
Wanted to give 3.5 stars. This book reads something like LeCarre. It builds up suspense rather than having firefight after firefight. It gives us a view into the characters minds, rather than just showing us action heroes stop the bad guy and get the girl. Or at least it tries. The execution falters in some places, but I think overall it is a good book. Definitely worth reading.
October 1, 2012
Listened to the audiobook as I have ben driving the last few weeks. Very good book. Good, strong story and characters. Not as good as some of his more recent books but a thrilling ride all the same.
March 23, 2015
Slow reading for me. Lots of characters to follow and lots of sub-plots to try keeping straight. Somehow it all comes together and works. Provokes some thinking about pretty important subjects that are not so much fun to think about.
July 21, 2016
Reasonably good
This was a long winded story with many parts that only came together at the end. A number of times I thought of giving up but hoping it would get better. The final result was not very satisfactory
This was a long winded story with many parts that only came together at the end. A number of times I thought of giving up but hoping it would get better. The final result was not very satisfactory
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May 15, 2009its gud...
March 17, 2010
Excellent crafted thriller.
July 24, 2011
Gerald's typical mix of pace and twists. Just getting to the crunch part. Unfortunately this one takes a simple way out and doesn't deliver the usual punch at the end.
March 17, 2012
Good thriller, but too much interrupted by the shoehorned historical reflection and not enough Le Carré detail.
May 27, 2012
Wow....even at the end of the book it is really clear how nothing really happened, and nothing really mattered. It was pointless.
January 10, 2013
This book picked up steam as it went along! great plot and characters, although I find Seymour's writing a little clunky.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews