The Untouchable

By: Gerald Seymour

Narrated by: Gerard Doyle

Called “the finest thriller writer in the world today” by the Daily Telegraph, Gerald Seymour is the author of several acclaimed best-sellers. A novel of riveting suspense, The Untouchable is the tale of Mister, the supreme crimelord of London, and his scheme to expand his illicit enterprises into the Balkans. Only one man stands in his way - British customs officer Joey Cann. With a flawless reading by narrator Gerard Doyle, The Untouchable is truly an enthralling listen.

©2001 Gerald Seymour (P)2003 Recorded Books, LLC

Really, really good

This is my second Gerald Seymour book. The characters and location are fascinating.
But the high point of the story is the ending. Unforgivable.

Liked the realistic ending

This is a fairly good listen, original material for sure but a little hard to follow. Three different directions with completely different characters.

Gerard Doyle is becoming one of my favorite narrators.

well spent

A well written novel, skillfully narrated, and ultimately mind numbingly sad. I will have to wait a while before I listen to it again.

Not worth the money

What disappointed you about The Untouchable?

This book is very slow. Bad triumphs over evil at every turn. Seemed like the author was just trying to fill pages with words.

Any additional comments?

Will not buy from this author again.

Unless you like the style of Ayn Rand, avoid this

What disappointed you about The Untouchable?

Hardly any dialogue. Written in 3rd person, past tense...reads like a report. Very short choppy sentences written to create "drama". As my headline said, unless you like Ayn Rand style avoid this one. We were required to read Rand either in high school or college but we can choose to avoid pseudo literature now.

Would you ever listen to anything by Gerald Seymour again?

Probably not

Would you listen to another book narrated by Gerard Doyle?

Love him and that was my main reason for choosing this book.

What character would you cut from The Untouchable?

All of them

Too slow for my taste

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone with more patience than I have, who is willing to wait longer than I am for a story to take off, might well find plenty to like in this well-written but plodding book.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt is next on my listening queue.

What about Gerard Doyle’s performance did you like?

I love Doyle, but he's at his best when he's narrating Irish noir (he's born to read the Adrian McKinty and Stuart Neville books). Somehow his pacing, which works beautifully when he's speaking with an Irish brogue, seems less effective when he's speaking as a Londoner. It tended to reinforce this book's sluggishness.

Any additional comments?

I could not finish the book. I gave up when I realized, about a third of the way through, that the story was not holding my attention. Perhaps I would have had a more positive reaction had I stuck it out to the end.