Product Description

Two men, one an ex-IRA man and the other a reluctant British Lieutenant, become pawns in a deadly political game of cat-and-mouse.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #103513 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 461 pages

From the Publisher
A modern classic from one of the great thriller writers of our era.

From the Back Cover
Sean McNally had sworn his oath to the IRA. But then he'd turned his back on the violence and the hatred, and gone south to the Republic. Life was good, until they came for him to do one last job. But in its aftermath, McNally is captured and is facing a lifetime's imprisonment. Unless he dares think the unthinkable... and become a tout.

Lieutenant David Ferris hadn't wanted to join the army, but found himself in it anyway. In a cruel twist of fate, his path crosses that of Sean McNally's and he quickly becomes a pawn on the frontline of a brutally tense war of nerves. As McNally prepares to give evidence, Ferris must confront his own destiny. Not only is his own life at stake, but also that of the future of the entire command structure of the IRA...

About the Author
Once a reporter for Independent Television News, Gerald Seymour has lived in the West Country for several years. His bestselling novels include Harry’s Game, The Glory Boys, Field of Blood, Killing Ground, A Line in the Sand, Holding the Zero, The Untouchable, Traitor’s Kiss, The Unknown Soldier, and Rat Run.

Customer Reviews

A wonderful book
This is quite simply one of the best books I have ever read. As an American, I do not find it easy to relate to the "Troubles" of Northern Ireland. But in Field of Blood Gerald Seymour has presented a very human story of the personal, day-to-day issues of the mind and the heart with which the everyday men and women must struggle. This is an intense, compelling book. It contains no sermons; Seymour does not preach. But he is a master at presenting the human condition and showing how the human heart and mind can transcend those problems.

Seymour uses and interesting device: there are generally two main characters working toward the same end. The focus shifts from one to the other, but they are entwined in the story. In Field of Blood they are Sean Pius "Gingy" McAnally, a Belfast Catholic and PIRA man, and Lt. David Ferris, a British soldier. They are believably human and the reader is compelled to sympathy as they deal with the central plot which has drawn them together. Gingy's wife, Roisin, is another well drawn character, perhaps not so sympathetic. Det. Rennie, introduced in Harry's Game, Seymour's first book, makes another appearance and plays his part well as a sort of "bridge" between the two main characters.

Mr. Seymour uses his characters to develop the story; the intensity of his stories derives from them without reliance on gratuitous violence, although violence is an unavoidable part of the lives and times in his books.

I recommend this book without reservation. I applaud the publisher for reprinting it.