Product Description

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 MI6. But as their shadowy journey across Europe begins, it becomes clear to a top psychiatrist at MI6, that their man may be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and the whole operation is very likely to be thrown into jeopardy ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9497 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

Synopsis
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 MI6. But as their shadowy journey across Europe begins, it becomes clear to a top psychiatrist at MI6, that their man may be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and the whole operation is very likely to be thrown into jeopardy ...

From the Inside Flap
Fired from a top-secret Soviet nuclear base in the chaotic last days of the communist regime, a KGB security man steals a suitcase bomb, smuggles it out and buries it in his backyard. Sixteen years later he’s going to put it on the market. It’s as lethal as on the day it was manufactured – capable of effectively wiping out a major city.

Discarded, abandoned, resentful, the Russian will sell to the highest bidder – in this case, a Mafia gangster who has no conscience for the consequences. The exchange will take place in a remote sector of the Polish–Belarus frontier. The chance of it being intercepted will depend on the skill, and luck, of a small MI6 team, who have only the sketchiest idea of what’s going on – and on the nerve of an undercover police officer who has infiltrated the criminal gang.

But can that officer be trusted to deliver? He is under the control of a hugely charismatic gang leader, isolated and in great danger. An MI6 psychologist predicts the risk of him switching allegiance mid-operation. If he does, and the bomb gets through, the damage would be incalculable. With the clock ticking down to the handover, the MI6 team must find their man and protect him from himself – at all costs…

Timebomb is a thriller of this moment when the world has never been more under threat and the authorities never less sure of who they are fighting. Both an edge-of-the-seat race against time and a long, cold look at where we are now, it takes the reader out into the real world and shows who is really running the show …

From the Back Cover
The past will always haunt you…

Fired from a top secret Soviet nuclear base in the chaotic last days of the communist regime, a KGB security man steals a suitcase bomb, smuggles it out and buries it in his backyard. Sixteen years later he’s going to put it on the market. It’s as lethal as the day it was manufactured – capable of wiping out a major city.

Discarded, abandoned, resentful, the Russian will sell to the highest bidder – in this case, a Mafia gangster with no conscience for the consequences. The exchange will take place in a remote sector of the Polish-Belarus frontier. The chance of it being intercepted will depend on the skill, and luck, of a small MI6 team, who have only the sketchiest idea of what’s going on - and on the nerve of an undercover police officer who has infiltrated the criminal gang.

But can that officer be trusted to deliver? He is under the control of a hugely charismatic gang leader, isolated and in great danger. An MI6 psychologist predicts the risk of him switching allegiance mid-operation. If he does, and the bomb gets through, the damage would be incalculable. With the clock ticking down to the handover, the MI6 team must find their man and protect him from himself – at all costs…

SEYMOUR is

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Customer Reviews

Distinctively Seymour - the best in the world
Seymour writes serious and highly compelling thrillers which illuminate important parts of modern life that are often ignored or hidden. Here he deals with the terrifying potential interactions among organised crime, fundamentalism Islamic terrorism, and disaffected ex-Soviet military officers with access to nuclear weapons.

It has the usual Seymour hallmarks. He constructs several different threads which are woven into a powerful climax; here the use of retrospective narratives are unusual for him, but they fit well. Several different perspectives are provided, and though Seymour shies away from direct comment on moral issues there is, as is normal in his books, a strong sense of right and wrong. The writing is vivid and powerful, with several scenes and characters lingering in the memory long after the book is finished. The dialogue is sparse and stylised, sometimes slightly too much so for my liking, but I think this does add to the relentless toughness of the writing.

Timebomb also has the extreme unputdownable quality which all Seymour books have - just about the most addictive writer out there. Lee Child and Frederick Forsyth share this quality but few others have it to this degree.

Strongly recommended for those who like books at the heavyweight end of the thriller spectrum. Seymour has all the qualities a reader wants here and for me he remains at the no. 1 position in the world.

Rubbish
I have enjoyed a number of this author's book but this one was very disappointing. I struggled to finish the book - Weak plot and extremely boring

biggest load of rubbish ever
Sorry I forked out money for this. Total lack of continuity. No real plot and very badly written. So disappointing.