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The Collaborator
Deadlier than the Mafia, the Camorra never forget, and never forgive. She is an Italian accountancy student in London, and her boyfriend Eddie teaches at a language school. But the prime reason Immacolata Borelli came to Britain was to look after her gangster brother, wanted for multiple murders back home in Naples. For the Borelli clan are major players in the Camorra, a crime network more close-knit and ruthless than the Sicilian Mafia. Mario Castrolami is a senior Carabinieri investigator of the Camorra, his career dedicated to destroying the corruption and violence of the clans. When Immacolata calls from London to say she is prepared to collaborate with justice - to betray her own family - he knows she is setting in motion a terrifying and unpredictable series of events. The Borellis will not lose their criminal empire without a vicious fight. They will use anything and anyone to prevent her from giving evidence against them. Even Eddie, and Eddie's life.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
40 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Seymour
127 books281 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 82 reviews
June 3, 2018
I am old enough to remember Gerald Seymour as a television news presenter four decades ago, but until now not read his books. I found this to be quite a compelling plot, but the frequent switching of narrative from one character to another disrupted the pace for me. However, the key characters - the hitherto arrogant daughter of a Naples crime family, a rather mediocre London language teacher, an experienced private sevtor hostage negotiator and a hard bitten and cynical police inspector in Naples - were all well drawn. I will read some of Seymour's earlier books.
November 4, 2010
A question for you:
There’s a young English man who meets a young Italian lady in London, they date a little but it stays casual (she never even gives him her phone number or tells him where she lives), but when she suddenly withdraws from his life he immediately jumps on a plane to Italy in pursuit of her; now, is that behaviour romantic or the actions of a possible stalker?
This novel strangely comes down more on the side of the latter (it certainly believes that young Eddie Deacon’s behaviour is imbecilic), and that makes it somewhat difficult to care about the plight of this poor, deluded young gentleman.
It doesn’t help that the girl in question is a grade A bitch.
This ‘innocent getting into trouble with the Mafia abroad’ tale has its moments, but hampers itself with a range of either not particularly likeable characters or cardboard standees. There are the ruthless gangsters, the harassed policemen (and prosecutors) and even a damaged special ops guy who – luckily – through a friend of a friend of the kidnap victim, gets involved.
That being said the worlds of Naples and of Dalston on East London are well captured. (Curiously, for the first time in my life, I had to go to Dalston this week. It was odd to be wandering around the exact same streets I’d just been reading about on the tube up.) In the end it’s an effective airport thriller with a good few moments of tension, even if the conclusion is just the wrong side of sentimental.
There’s a young English man who meets a young Italian lady in London, they date a little but it stays casual (she never even gives him her phone number or tells him where she lives), but when she suddenly withdraws from his life he immediately jumps on a plane to Italy in pursuit of her; now, is that behaviour romantic or the actions of a possible stalker?
This novel strangely comes down more on the side of the latter (it certainly believes that young Eddie Deacon’s behaviour is imbecilic), and that makes it somewhat difficult to care about the plight of this poor, deluded young gentleman.
It doesn’t help that the girl in question is a grade A bitch.
This ‘innocent getting into trouble with the Mafia abroad’ tale has its moments, but hampers itself with a range of either not particularly likeable characters or cardboard standees. There are the ruthless gangsters, the harassed policemen (and prosecutors) and even a damaged special ops guy who – luckily – through a friend of a friend of the kidnap victim, gets involved.
That being said the worlds of Naples and of Dalston on East London are well captured. (Curiously, for the first time in my life, I had to go to Dalston this week. It was odd to be wandering around the exact same streets I’d just been reading about on the tube up.) In the end it’s an effective airport thriller with a good few moments of tension, even if the conclusion is just the wrong side of sentimental.
January 15, 2012
Now this is a hard one to talk about. Gerald Seymour is a very popular author, but not to my taste. Too much information about....well everything and everyone in the story. I skipped about a third of the book and it didn't matter in the end. Immacolata is the daughter of a Camorra (Mafia) family in Naples. She turns against her family and gives evidence that leads to their arrests. In retaliation her one time lover is taken and held captive, to be sent back to her in pieces.
If you ever wanted to know anything at all about Naples and the Camorra, then this is the book for you
If you ever wanted to know anything at all about Naples and the Camorra, then this is the book for you
June 27, 2015
Disappointing on just about every level.
November 11, 2016
My little Mika is 4.5 years old. She was allocated 3 pound coins, carefully washed, to buy gifts at the school Christmas fair. And she knows daddy reads books. She sought advice from somebody at school and when she came back from the fair there was a ball for her mommy, an Octonauts video for her brother and….. “The Collaborator” for me. She had been assured it was a “mystery” book.
I don’t read fiction. And I sure don’t read trash. So I told her I would read it and hoped she forgets.
Mika does not forget.
Once every other day I’d be asked how far I’ve gotten in the book. At more than 500 pages this is a bit of a stout read, so that was an OK excuse: “I’m halfway done Mika.”
“And how about the book review daddy?”
Ah, there’s that too. I’ve set up my son on Amazon, where he reviews his school reading, and he’s very happy to do it because daddy reviews books. At 6.5, George still admires daddy (I’m told it ends soon) so reviewing books is cool. The corollary is Mika has been expecting this book review for a while.
Ski vacation happened last week (half term.) Mika and I flew out first, the rest of the family followed a day later. Made a point of bringing “The Collaborator” with me, so Mika would know I’m reading it. And now I’m done. The three stars I’ve given the book, dear reader, are there because my gorgeous Mika is not yet a very strong reader and will probably not get this far in the book review. One never knows, there may well be a book in this genre that merits three stars, but this is not it.
A friend of mine likes to say that there are two categories of people: those with spare time and those with spare things to do. 500-page airport thrillers / doorstoppers are decidedly for the first category. This is a book meant to be read in a coach, on a ferry boat or on the can. And at GBP 6.99 new (my girl got herself a bargain there) it’s priced to compete with a used DVD, compared to which it will give you many more hours of, well, not exactly sure what. A thrill, I guess, is the general idea.
So if you are too poor to buy one of those devices people seem to be staring at while they are sitting in the ferry or too scared you might drop it in the toilet (and you have a very slow moving gut) that’s where “the Collaborator” comes in. You really cannot read it in the Tube, mind: I had it with me the other day and from out of nowhere a gratuitous sex scene came up and I was overcome with the fear the guy next to me might think I’m a total loser. The words "inside" and “penetrate” come up a lot and for no reason, let's put it that way.
And the plot is outlandish: the daughter of a mafia boss goes to the funeral of a friend who died from leukemia caused by soil contamination her dad was responsible for. The parents of her friend spit on her and tear up her blouse (has that ever happened in the history of mankind? Has it happened at a funeral?) and she has the epiphany that she must collaborate with the police against her family. And her English boyfriend comes to look for her and becomes a pawn in the negotiation. And there’s an American loner who is a hostage negotiator and he’s introduced around page 100 of the book and isn’t put out of his misery till page 500. And you find out about how the mafia treats those who don’t pay for protection somewhere along the way, and wish you hadn’t, even if it’s true.
“And tell me Athan, did you finish the book?”
You got me there! I did. I’d love to say I needed to get past page 125 (that’s what the flight out to Munich got me to) to realize this is tripe of the worst order, the equivalent of watching Brazilian soap opera dubbed into Spanish, but I kind of knew that right away. And I also predicted fairly early on how all characters would develop (to the minuscule degree that they did) and I guessed all details of the plot except for the death of the negotiator (I thought the English loverboy would get it, instead) quite early too. And I do not ever read fiction. And yet I finished the book.
So I must admit, with some regret, that the author gripped me enough that I had to finish. With that said, I also once watched Mike Judge’s “Idiocracy” till the end. Make of that what you want!
I don’t read fiction. And I sure don’t read trash. So I told her I would read it and hoped she forgets.
Mika does not forget.
Once every other day I’d be asked how far I’ve gotten in the book. At more than 500 pages this is a bit of a stout read, so that was an OK excuse: “I’m halfway done Mika.”
“And how about the book review daddy?”
Ah, there’s that too. I’ve set up my son on Amazon, where he reviews his school reading, and he’s very happy to do it because daddy reviews books. At 6.5, George still admires daddy (I’m told it ends soon) so reviewing books is cool. The corollary is Mika has been expecting this book review for a while.
Ski vacation happened last week (half term.) Mika and I flew out first, the rest of the family followed a day later. Made a point of bringing “The Collaborator” with me, so Mika would know I’m reading it. And now I’m done. The three stars I’ve given the book, dear reader, are there because my gorgeous Mika is not yet a very strong reader and will probably not get this far in the book review. One never knows, there may well be a book in this genre that merits three stars, but this is not it.
A friend of mine likes to say that there are two categories of people: those with spare time and those with spare things to do. 500-page airport thrillers / doorstoppers are decidedly for the first category. This is a book meant to be read in a coach, on a ferry boat or on the can. And at GBP 6.99 new (my girl got herself a bargain there) it’s priced to compete with a used DVD, compared to which it will give you many more hours of, well, not exactly sure what. A thrill, I guess, is the general idea.
So if you are too poor to buy one of those devices people seem to be staring at while they are sitting in the ferry or too scared you might drop it in the toilet (and you have a very slow moving gut) that’s where “the Collaborator” comes in. You really cannot read it in the Tube, mind: I had it with me the other day and from out of nowhere a gratuitous sex scene came up and I was overcome with the fear the guy next to me might think I’m a total loser. The words "inside" and “penetrate” come up a lot and for no reason, let's put it that way.
And the plot is outlandish: the daughter of a mafia boss goes to the funeral of a friend who died from leukemia caused by soil contamination her dad was responsible for. The parents of her friend spit on her and tear up her blouse (has that ever happened in the history of mankind? Has it happened at a funeral?) and she has the epiphany that she must collaborate with the police against her family. And her English boyfriend comes to look for her and becomes a pawn in the negotiation. And there’s an American loner who is a hostage negotiator and he’s introduced around page 100 of the book and isn’t put out of his misery till page 500. And you find out about how the mafia treats those who don’t pay for protection somewhere along the way, and wish you hadn’t, even if it’s true.
“And tell me Athan, did you finish the book?”
You got me there! I did. I’d love to say I needed to get past page 125 (that’s what the flight out to Munich got me to) to realize this is tripe of the worst order, the equivalent of watching Brazilian soap opera dubbed into Spanish, but I kind of knew that right away. And I also predicted fairly early on how all characters would develop (to the minuscule degree that they did) and I guessed all details of the plot except for the death of the negotiator (I thought the English loverboy would get it, instead) quite early too. And I do not ever read fiction. And yet I finished the book.
So I must admit, with some regret, that the author gripped me enough that I had to finish. With that said, I also once watched Mike Judge’s “Idiocracy” till the end. Make of that what you want!
August 8, 2020
What a super story that might had been 500+ pages, but it was read in four sittings and the last 200 pages just flew by. Seymour not only writes thrillers, but his characters and settings were magnificent. You got to know not only about some Italian history, but some history of Naples too. You learnt splendidly how the Borelli family are a ruthless, savage and barbaric mob family. They are worse than animals because they would run over you, stop and back over you again. They would not only kill you, but would cut off your manly hood and then stuff it in your mouth! The pages felt gritty from violence, sleaze and the filth of the family, from the mob who controlled the streets, from the children who roam them and from the people who lived there. The people paid to live there or minders go around give you a warning. If you don't oblige then your supermarket or pharmacy is burnt up or some of your family is killed. It was a part of Naples that was firmly off the tourist map.
There is the Rossetti family, Mac and Eddie, Lukas, Mario Castrolami and his subs. The Borelli"s include, but aren't limited to: Silvio,17, a useless idiot, Giovanni whose on murder charges, Vincenzo who is a fugitive, Pasquale whose in jail, Gabriella who buys lots of clothes but never wears them and Carmine and Anna who were the founders many years ago. Then, there was Salvo who is the hired killer of the family.
A piece of paper is passed, a phone call is made, somebody watches from the window, a door is unlocked, a man dies and is discovered after a pack of dogs have chewed up the body. Then there are feet that fall backwards from a shot blast. They are all interconnected and it leads to a riveting end story! If you like mafia stories or clandestine operations by the para-military or brutal, but honest story telling about how the innocent literally run into the wrong people then read it! 4 Stars!
Gerald Seymour has been writing thrillers for more than thirty five years. Here are a few ranked accordingly:
5 Stars ~ ‘A Line in the Sand’ and ‘Home Run’.
4 Stars ~ ‘The Waiting Time’, ‘Holding the Zero’, ‘The Dealer and the Dead’, ‘’No Mortal Thing’, The Outsiders’, ‘A Deniable Death’, ‘A Damn Serious Business’, ‘Archangel’, ‘No Mortal Thing’, ‘The Collaborator’ and ‘Killing Ground’ ,’ The Journeyman Tailor’, ‘Field of Blood’ and ‘Harry’s Game’.
3 Stars ~ ‘A Song in the Morning', 'In Honour Bound’ & ‘The Untouchable’
2 Stars ~ ‘The Corporals Wife’ & 'The Unknown Soldier’.
Other similar authors that this person has read include: John le Carre, Len Deighton, Graham Greene, Alan Furst, Mick Herron, Ted Allbeury and Robert Ludlum who focused on spy novels, conflicts or on espionage.
There is the Rossetti family, Mac and Eddie, Lukas, Mario Castrolami and his subs. The Borelli"s include, but aren't limited to: Silvio,17, a useless idiot, Giovanni whose on murder charges, Vincenzo who is a fugitive, Pasquale whose in jail, Gabriella who buys lots of clothes but never wears them and Carmine and Anna who were the founders many years ago. Then, there was Salvo who is the hired killer of the family.
A piece of paper is passed, a phone call is made, somebody watches from the window, a door is unlocked, a man dies and is discovered after a pack of dogs have chewed up the body. Then there are feet that fall backwards from a shot blast. They are all interconnected and it leads to a riveting end story! If you like mafia stories or clandestine operations by the para-military or brutal, but honest story telling about how the innocent literally run into the wrong people then read it! 4 Stars!
Gerald Seymour has been writing thrillers for more than thirty five years. Here are a few ranked accordingly:
5 Stars ~ ‘A Line in the Sand’ and ‘Home Run’.
4 Stars ~ ‘The Waiting Time’, ‘Holding the Zero’, ‘The Dealer and the Dead’, ‘’No Mortal Thing’, The Outsiders’, ‘A Deniable Death’, ‘A Damn Serious Business’, ‘Archangel’, ‘No Mortal Thing’, ‘The Collaborator’ and ‘Killing Ground’ ,’ The Journeyman Tailor’, ‘Field of Blood’ and ‘Harry’s Game’.
3 Stars ~ ‘A Song in the Morning', 'In Honour Bound’ & ‘The Untouchable’
2 Stars ~ ‘The Corporals Wife’ & 'The Unknown Soldier’.
Other similar authors that this person has read include: John le Carre, Len Deighton, Graham Greene, Alan Furst, Mick Herron, Ted Allbeury and Robert Ludlum who focused on spy novels, conflicts or on espionage.
December 11, 2015
It's a while since I read a Gerald Seymour. He's good, really good!
One of the Camorra families, the Naples Mafia, is ruled by a woman - the Godmother! - since her husband was jailed. Their sons already have roles in the family business: protection, construction deals, toxic waste disposal. Immacolata, their daughter studying in England, turns against the family after a humiliation at a friend's funeral. The Carabinieri whisk her into witness protection and arrest her mother and brothers.
Ima's English boyfriend Eddie, unaware of her family's gangland connection, ill-advisedly goes to Naples to find her. Then a freelance security guy, Lukas, has to go looking for Eddy. Seymour's 'formula', best seen in his stunning novels set in the Middle East's war zones, is to follow several strands of a story and then slowly and suspensefully pull them together towards an excruciatingly tense confontation. He does this here, brilliantly.
There's a chilling scene towards the end when Immocalata's minders take her to visit her parish priest in Naples. Far from granting her absolution he denounces her betrayal of her family: "the majority of Neapolitans take pleasure and pride from the reputation of their home as the centre of the western world's most successful criminal conspiracy."
This multi-stranded story is told from perhaps too many viewpoints (including not only the Godmother but the clan's Founding grandmother and grandfather), but Seymour brilliantly evokes not just the sights and smells of Naples' slums but also the culture of deference and fear that stalks every one of the city's streets; the Camorra families rule the city totally and ruthlessly. Like John Le Carre, Gerald Seymour elevates the thriller to the level of serious literature. This is up there with The Godfather in the annals of crime fiction.
One of the Camorra families, the Naples Mafia, is ruled by a woman - the Godmother! - since her husband was jailed. Their sons already have roles in the family business: protection, construction deals, toxic waste disposal. Immacolata, their daughter studying in England, turns against the family after a humiliation at a friend's funeral. The Carabinieri whisk her into witness protection and arrest her mother and brothers.
Ima's English boyfriend Eddie, unaware of her family's gangland connection, ill-advisedly goes to Naples to find her. Then a freelance security guy, Lukas, has to go looking for Eddy. Seymour's 'formula', best seen in his stunning novels set in the Middle East's war zones, is to follow several strands of a story and then slowly and suspensefully pull them together towards an excruciatingly tense confontation. He does this here, brilliantly.
There's a chilling scene towards the end when Immocalata's minders take her to visit her parish priest in Naples. Far from granting her absolution he denounces her betrayal of her family: "the majority of Neapolitans take pleasure and pride from the reputation of their home as the centre of the western world's most successful criminal conspiracy."
This multi-stranded story is told from perhaps too many viewpoints (including not only the Godmother but the clan's Founding grandmother and grandfather), but Seymour brilliantly evokes not just the sights and smells of Naples' slums but also the culture of deference and fear that stalks every one of the city's streets; the Camorra families rule the city totally and ruthlessly. Like John Le Carre, Gerald Seymour elevates the thriller to the level of serious literature. This is up there with The Godfather in the annals of crime fiction.
August 21, 2010
Not sure if I can give this five stars or not. But this really was a great read. It was amazing in some ways... but it's not a book that makes you feel fluffy and lovely inside. This is about hostage situations, containing violence and torture. It's smelly, bloody and grim. The author really put you in Eddie's place and it read like hell (poor Eddie).
To me, it was grim in places, as this is about an Italian clan (mafia), and gets a bit graphic in how they punish people, torture etc. I think it was quite graphic early on, and I was worried it was going to get worse, considering poor Eddie and what he's got himself into (and that's not a spoiler because it's on the blurb on the back) but actually it didn't... well, it was bearable or readable depending on how you look at it. (I think I can read vampire blood and gore, and not really be affected because in my mind vampires aren't real. But this comes across as very real... I'm wary of going to Naples!).
It's just edge of seat reading, whether Eddie will survive or not. And I can't say any more than that otherwise it will spoil it.
It's told in third person, from many character perspectives, but enough to build the story and their characters and the tension.
And I actually liked the ending. A lot. Not how I expected it some sense, but the author did a good job in satisfying my mind. It's left open, yet there is some finality to it. I was satisfied.
I can't stand it when there really isn't an ending and it's left open for the reader to decide.
To me, it was grim in places, as this is about an Italian clan (mafia), and gets a bit graphic in how they punish people, torture etc. I think it was quite graphic early on, and I was worried it was going to get worse, considering poor Eddie and what he's got himself into (and that's not a spoiler because it's on the blurb on the back) but actually it didn't... well, it was bearable or readable depending on how you look at it. (I think I can read vampire blood and gore, and not really be affected because in my mind vampires aren't real. But this comes across as very real... I'm wary of going to Naples!).
It's just edge of seat reading, whether Eddie will survive or not. And I can't say any more than that otherwise it will spoil it.
It's told in third person, from many character perspectives, but enough to build the story and their characters and the tension.
And I actually liked the ending. A lot. Not how I expected it some sense, but the author did a good job in satisfying my mind. It's left open, yet there is some finality to it. I was satisfied.
I can't stand it when there really isn't an ending and it's left open for the reader to decide.
Want to read
October 29, 2012‘innocent getting into trouble with the Mafia abroad’ tale has its moments,but hampers itself with a range of either not part likeable characters/cardboard standees. There are the ruthless gangsters, the harassed policemen(and prosecutors)and even a dmgd spcl ops guy who –luckily– through a friend of a friend of the kidnap victim, gets involved.Tht being said the worlds of Naples and of Dalston on East London are well captured.(Curiously, for the 1sttime in my life, I had tgt Dalston this week.It was odd to be wandering around the exact same streets I’d just been reading about on the tube up)In the end it’s an effective airport thriller w/a good few moments of tension,even if the conclusion is just the wrong side of sentimental.
December 13, 2009
Seymour has returned to usual quality within the genre of The Loner as a a form of reluctant or anti hero. If one wanted to sample Seymour as an author I would recommend Harry's Game - His first and still one of his best, Holding the Zero and his latest - the Collaborator. Seymour uses a staccato style, developing his characters , then developing the story by switching quickly from character to character. Easy to read and I have always found the story enjoyable despite the continuing use of the same model.
April 6, 2011
A young guy living in London meets a mysterious Italian beauty. When she apparently goes missing, he decides to look for her. This is despite hardly knowing her and having no idea where she may have gone or why. Inevitably, his course of action leads him into trouble. This crime/mafia/thriller novel is a well written and entertaining read. However, the "as if he'd do that" factor did lead to it getting a good 3 stars rather than reaching for 4.
July 26, 2015
This was really really boring and made zero sense to me... I have shamelessly skipped pages and many times asked myself, why? Why am I bothering even???
I don't think I need say more. Please read at your own risk.
I don't think I need say more. Please read at your own risk.
March 14, 2011
I really enjoyed this book, raced through it, didn't manage to predict how it would go - a meaty, well written, satisfying thriller.
February 6, 2022
It's a long time since I've read a Gerald Seymour novel and I picked this one up on a whim when browsing in my local supermarket. What a terrific decision that was, whilst this is a hefty read at over 500 pages I flew through it.
Eddie Deacon, a language teacher and an ordinary sort of guy has met and fallen in love with a girl. Can't believe his luck that a girl like Immacolata Borelli would even look twice at him. She's beautiful, Italian and she cooks a mean pasta. Then suddenly she's gone, back to her native Naples. But Eddie isn't going to give up that easily and he sets off to find her. What Eddie doesn't know about Immacolata is that the Borelli's are a powerful Camorra clan who rule their territory with violence and terror. Immacolata has committed the ultimate sin and turned informant against her family and is in hiding under the protection of the Palace of Justice. Eddie has no protection at all.
The tension builds well and the clan controlled areas of Naples are well depicted bringing the atmosphere and menace of the streets to life. I found myself totally absorbed and horrified as Eddie roamed the streets of Naples asking questions of the locals completely oblivious of what he was walking into. I sympathised with the protection team given the task of looking after the stubborn and troublesome Immacolata. Throughout I found the characters realistic and well drawn, the pace good and the ending worth every page it took to get there.
A great read, unconditionally recommended
Eddie Deacon, a language teacher and an ordinary sort of guy has met and fallen in love with a girl. Can't believe his luck that a girl like Immacolata Borelli would even look twice at him. She's beautiful, Italian and she cooks a mean pasta. Then suddenly she's gone, back to her native Naples. But Eddie isn't going to give up that easily and he sets off to find her. What Eddie doesn't know about Immacolata is that the Borelli's are a powerful Camorra clan who rule their territory with violence and terror. Immacolata has committed the ultimate sin and turned informant against her family and is in hiding under the protection of the Palace of Justice. Eddie has no protection at all.
The tension builds well and the clan controlled areas of Naples are well depicted bringing the atmosphere and menace of the streets to life. I found myself totally absorbed and horrified as Eddie roamed the streets of Naples asking questions of the locals completely oblivious of what he was walking into. I sympathised with the protection team given the task of looking after the stubborn and troublesome Immacolata. Throughout I found the characters realistic and well drawn, the pace good and the ending worth every page it took to get there.
A great read, unconditionally recommended
May 5, 2021
To be honest, reading this book was more of a slog than it needed to be. The detail and descriptive effort is impressive - I finished the book feeling reasonably well educated about Naples, about the Camorra and about those who dedicated their lives to frustrating them. But it is almost as if Seymour set out to overlay the novel with a full screenplay. Judicious editing could easily have shaved 100 pages from the book without losing plot or characterisation and that would have kept it moving at a faster pace.
You are left asking some questions - would Immacolata not have had at least some doubt or soul searching or lack of resolve after what seemed like a snap decision to collaborate? Would Eddie really have uprooted himself so comprehensively to travel to Italy? What made Lukas think that stripping to boxer shorts could be the tipping point in tense negotiations with several lives at risk?
It was difficult to identify closely with any of the main characters with the possible exception of the dogged Castrolami. All that said, this is a novel which in terms of plot and narrative captures the imagination and opens up a world and a lifestyle which hopefully very, very few of us will ever experience.
You are left asking some questions - would Immacolata not have had at least some doubt or soul searching or lack of resolve after what seemed like a snap decision to collaborate? Would Eddie really have uprooted himself so comprehensively to travel to Italy? What made Lukas think that stripping to boxer shorts could be the tipping point in tense negotiations with several lives at risk?
It was difficult to identify closely with any of the main characters with the possible exception of the dogged Castrolami. All that said, this is a novel which in terms of plot and narrative captures the imagination and opens up a world and a lifestyle which hopefully very, very few of us will ever experience.
January 14, 2018
By many measures this was a very good if somewhat boilerplate and predictable thriller. A young British man falls for a pretty young Italian woman, who suddenly disappears. He tracks her to her hometown of Naples, not realizing she is collaborating with the authorities to bring down her crime family. The family's hit men kidnap him and hold him hostage, hoping that will deter the young woman from going forward with her plan. The tension builds steadily as the Italian police and an American hostage expert close in on the bad guys.
The cold, almost clinical writing style fit the subject matter perhaps, but it turned me off a little. All of the characters, with perhaps the exception of Eddie (the young man taken hostage) seem detached and almost soullessly focused on their specific tasks. This made it hard to warm up to the story, which would have been helpful, even as grim and as relentlessly nihilistic as it was. Still, a mostly effective tale.
The cold, almost clinical writing style fit the subject matter perhaps, but it turned me off a little. All of the characters, with perhaps the exception of Eddie (the young man taken hostage) seem detached and almost soullessly focused on their specific tasks. This made it hard to warm up to the story, which would have been helpful, even as grim and as relentlessly nihilistic as it was. Still, a mostly effective tale.
April 2, 2023
What an amazing book. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, it's an immersive read, and it offers new perspectives on the issues it deals with.
This is a fictional book that's built on solid research. The insights into crime families and the way they operate are thought-provoking. So is the portrayal of law enforcement individuals as they face the many challenges working to bring crime families to justice.
The story follows the daughter of a Mafia family who decides to turn police informer and collaborates with the Police. A young English man she has had an affair with becomes embroiled in the family's attempts to stop her.
This book kept me guessing and reading. The events unfold slowly and there is a lot of descriptive detail but Gerald Seymour kept ratcheting up the tension and suspense. I enjoyed Gerald Seymour's writing style and the way he uses the POVs of different characters to weave together a deep and layered story.
A great suspenseful read.
This is a fictional book that's built on solid research. The insights into crime families and the way they operate are thought-provoking. So is the portrayal of law enforcement individuals as they face the many challenges working to bring crime families to justice.
The story follows the daughter of a Mafia family who decides to turn police informer and collaborates with the Police. A young English man she has had an affair with becomes embroiled in the family's attempts to stop her.
This book kept me guessing and reading. The events unfold slowly and there is a lot of descriptive detail but Gerald Seymour kept ratcheting up the tension and suspense. I enjoyed Gerald Seymour's writing style and the way he uses the POVs of different characters to weave together a deep and layered story.
A great suspenseful read.
April 9, 2025
At last. An international thriller which thrills me. Gerald Seymour's book 'The Collaborator' is the first book read during 2024/25 which is so well written, that it holds my attention until the final page, and most of all it is a cracking good story.
Over the course of many years I have read 16 of Gerald Seymour's books but I cannot remember being as enthralled with any of his books which quite match 'The Collaborator'. Usually war stories, or international intrigue, this time the author tackles the lethal workings of the American Mafia families, and a daughter deeply involved in criminal activities who turns against her family.
Immacolata Borelli and her brother are living in London - partly because the brother needs to be temporarily out of Naples, and partly to extend the family business into London. When Immacolata
accidently meets an English schoolteacher called Eddie she becomes emotionally involved with him, and at the same time discovers that the death of her friend is largely due to the activities of her own Mafia family.
That's the turning point. With a story so well constructed with a sequence of consequential events
that I give Gerald Seymour a 10/10 for a real winner. One can easily criticize how the author jumps unexpectedly from event to event, and this can make for complicated reading on Kindle.
What matters to me is a really superb story which glues me to the book page by page. Over the past few years I have read any amount of 'well written disappointments'. Full marks to 'The Collaborator
- a real sizzler. Read it - but not just before bedtime.
Over the course of many years I have read 16 of Gerald Seymour's books but I cannot remember being as enthralled with any of his books which quite match 'The Collaborator'. Usually war stories, or international intrigue, this time the author tackles the lethal workings of the American Mafia families, and a daughter deeply involved in criminal activities who turns against her family.
Immacolata Borelli and her brother are living in London - partly because the brother needs to be temporarily out of Naples, and partly to extend the family business into London. When Immacolata
accidently meets an English schoolteacher called Eddie she becomes emotionally involved with him, and at the same time discovers that the death of her friend is largely due to the activities of her own Mafia family.
That's the turning point. With a story so well constructed with a sequence of consequential events
that I give Gerald Seymour a 10/10 for a real winner. One can easily criticize how the author jumps unexpectedly from event to event, and this can make for complicated reading on Kindle.
What matters to me is a really superb story which glues me to the book page by page. Over the past few years I have read any amount of 'well written disappointments'. Full marks to 'The Collaborator
- a real sizzler. Read it - but not just before bedtime.
April 3, 2023
This very informative book reeks of authenticity. The premiss is good but the plot and the characters stink. The closest thing to a protagonist is Eddie. Up to the midpoint he's a weakling and it's impossible to relate to him. What's the tagline and why on earth should we want to see him achieve his pathetically nebulous goal? In fact you want him to fail. Immacolata has no personality at all. The inciting incident fell completely flat. I found the supposedly clever hopping between characters tedious, as well as evidence of poor plotting. It would have worked if it had been written from Lukas's point of view. Nevertheless a very interesting read, provoking of thought.
February 2, 2025
I believe the book suffers from two flaws: one is that, at the very beginning, the conversion of the daughter of the Camorra boss's, Immacolata Borelli, into state evidence is a weak scene. Too quick, its motives rather superficial, almost a whim, without the struggles typical of such a dramatic step. It just does not sou d real.
The second is that the plot is not complex enough to sustain the length of the book; so after the fist half the storytelling slows down and drags and meanders losing its focus.
Like in his other book about the mafia, the author indulges in the whim of using plenty of words in Ialian just to misspell most of them; editor wanted...
The second is that the plot is not complex enough to sustain the length of the book; so after the fist half the storytelling slows down and drags and meanders losing its focus.
Like in his other book about the mafia, the author indulges in the whim of using plenty of words in Ialian just to misspell most of them; editor wanted...
August 22, 2018
Fantastic. The story and the characters really drew me in and the pace was quick. Can’t wait to read more in the series.
One stylistic point that I found annoying was that I had to scan each section to determine the subject since the author did not typically identify the subject in the first line of each section.
One stylistic point that I found annoying was that I had to scan each section to determine the subject since the author did not typically identify the subject in the first line of each section.
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May 5, 2024The Collaborater
There was far too much padding in the book. Baldacci may have thought he was building up tension with long meandering passages, but they were actually annoying and deviating from the rather simple plot. The book was a long way from his best.
There was far too much padding in the book. Baldacci may have thought he was building up tension with long meandering passages, but they were actually annoying and deviating from the rather simple plot. The book was a long way from his best.
May 30, 2018
Very good
January 8, 2019
Solid thriller. Kind of glad I did not read it before going to Naples with the family.
June 22, 2019
Missing a level of suspense that I felt it needed.
October 15, 2019
One of the 11 best mysteries I read in 2011.
December 19, 2020
Would make a good tv programme but over long
May 7, 2021
Gripping story!
June 15, 2021
Great story, plenty of detail and good characterisation.
July 15, 2021
Mafia family in Naples
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