No Mortal Thing
Deadlier than the Mafia: the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta
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3.9 • 12 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Two young men - Jago and Marcantonio - both studying business and finance:
Jago is a kid from a rough part of London who has worked hard to get a job in a bank and is now on a fast-track secondment to the Berlin office.
Marcantonio is one of the new generation in the 'Ndrangheta crime families from Calabria, Southern Italy. He is in Germany to learn how to channel their illicit millions towards legitimate businesses all over Europe.
When Jago witnesses Marcantonio commit a vicious assault and the police seem uninterested, the Englishman refuses to let the matter drop.
But by pursuing the gangster to his grandfather's mountain lair, Jago is stepping into the middle of a delicate surveillance operation, which sets alarm bells ringing in Rome, London and Berlin.
It also leads him to Consolata, a young woman who sees in Jago the chance to turn her non-violent protest campaign against the crime families into something altogether more lethal...
NO MORTAL THING is novel of relentless power and mounting suspense, a brilliant portrayal of organised crime in Europe and the under-resourced men and women who fight it.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We have adored former war reporter Gerald Seymour’s writing since his 1975 breakthrough Harry’s Game. He's a master of deft, concise and impeccably researched thrillers, and his 32nd novel sees him again explore the world of organised crime. The 'Ndrangheta of Calabria, Italy, are one of the world’s oldest cartels. After he gets tangled up with a brutal and prominent member of the “family,” Jago Browne—a high-flying British investment banker with a murky backstory—turns undercover vigilante to take them down. Seymour masterfully draws us into the wicked, rapid-fire drama.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bernardo Cancello, the 74-year-old mob boss at the center of this labyrinthine thriller from Edgar-finalist Seymour (Vagabond), rules a clan that's part of the 'Ndrangheta crime association in Calabria. Bernardo is worth more than 400 million, but to escape detection from the authorities he has to sleep in an underground shipping container in his backyard. The opposite of Marlon Brando's noble godfather of film fame, the violent, ruthless Bernardo is grooming his grandson, Marcantonio, to take over the family business. After Marcantonio commits several brutal murders, he goes to Berlin to escape any ensuing investigation. In an upscale Berlin neighborhood, Marcantonio beats up a defiant teenage girl, an employee of a pizzeria he was trying to shake down. Watching is Jago Browne, a 26-year-old merchant banker from London. Jago's impulsive decision to devote himself to avenging the assault leads to more trouble. Seymour successfully juggles the large cast and many subplots, though a confusing ending comes as a letdown to this otherwise engrossing saga.
Customer Reviews
Breathtaking suspense!
I’m a big fan of Seymours but don’t remember any of his previous books being THIS exciting. I was devouring every page but begging it to not end. An extraordinary story of one ordinary mans expression of “enough’s enough”. Brilliant.