cover image Walking Dead

Walking Dead

Gerald Seymour, . . Overlook, $24.95 (413pp) ISBN 978-1-59020-005-6

This chillingly believable thriller from British author Seymour (Rat Run ) charts the course of a shy young terrorist from Saudi Arabia, Ibrahim Hussein (known as a “walking dead” for the explosive vest he wears), as Hussein works his way closer and closer to detonating his bomb—in Luton, a town 30 miles north of London. Seymour shifts agilely between the terrorists, led by mastermind Muhammad Ajaq (known as the Scorpion), and those in the U.K. whose job it is to stop the oncoming carnage, in particular David Banks, a detective constable authorized to carry firearms. Much of the interest for readers will be trying to guess how the many characters, including assorted bystanders whose lives become enmeshed in the increasingly complex proceedings, will receive his or her moment on stage. Seymour handles all the elements like the professional he is as the twisting plot builds to a satisfying conclusion. (June)