The Perfect Soldier

by Graham Hurley

Features anti-personnel mines, Africa, and the journey one woman makes to find the person responsible for the death of her son in Angola. This book is both an examination of what bereavement means to one character and an indictment of the arms trade.

Genres: Thriller

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Graham Hurley was born November, 1946 in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. His seaside childhood was punctuated by football, swimming, afternoons on the dodgems, run-ins with the police, multiple raids on the local library - plus near-total immersion in English post-war movies.

Directed and produced documentaries for ITV through two decades, winning a number of national and international awards. Launched a writing career on the back of a six-part drama commission for ITV: "Rules of Engagement". Left TV and became full time writer in 1991.

Authored nine stand-alone thrillers plus "Airshow", a fly-on-the-wall novel-length piece of reportage, before accepting Orion invitation to become a crime writer. Drew gleefully on home-town Portsmouth (“Pompey”) as the basis for an on-going series featuring D/I Joe Faraday and D/C Paul Winter.

Contributed five years of personal columns to the Portsmouth News, penned a number of plays and dramatic monologues for local production (including the city’s millenium celebration, "Willoughby and Son"), then decamped to Devon for a more considered take on Pompey low-life.

The Faraday series came to an end after 12 books. Healthy sales at home and abroad, plus mega-successful French TV adaptations, tempted Orion to commission a spin-off series, set in the West Country, featuring D/S Jimmy Suttle.

Launch title - "Western Approaches" - published 2012. "Touching Distance" to hit the bookstores next month (21st November).

Has recently self-published a number of titles on Kindle including "Strictly No Flowers" (a dark take on crime fiction), "Estuary" (a deeply personal memoir) and "Backstory" (how and why he came to write the Faraday series).

Married to the delectable Lin. Three grown-up sons (Tom, Jack and Woody). Plus corking grandson Dylan.

You're very welcome to contact Graham through his website: www.grahamhurley.co.uk

Or direct on seasidepictures@btinternet.com.


Series:
* D.I. Joe Faraday

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is about land mines in Angola. Soldiers and aid agencies are the only visitors to this trouble spot. A derelict cinema has many families camping inside it for want of housing. A woman flies in to see where her son died. I would not recommend it. On the road, people are smashing in faces with the stocks of rifles and other people have holes shot in their thighs. While someone is advising on how to conduct a televised interview.
Graham Hurley has written great police procedurals about Portsmouth but his books are often very dark and depressing. The bad guys often have a substantial win. I can't read right through this one, but anyone interested in development or the harm caused by arms industries may be keen to check it out and learn.

[Brendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kept me turning the pages. Originally I thought it was going to be about a soldiers journey, instead it was the journey of a soldiers sister to find the truth about her brother.

It's full of intrigues and plot turns and suspense. It takes you into Angola and some historical legends.
It creates a glimmering image of Africa and the hidden dangers that lurk since the end of the birder war.

If you enjoy military history and know some of the border war history, this book will also create a "visual" story on your mind.

[Lysergius · Rating 3 out of 5]

The "perfect soldier" of the title is the anti-personnel mine. It waits until it is disturbed and then reacts - with deadly consequences. Difficult to imagine the vast quantities of these things spreads across the world's trouble spots.

[Mikkel Baltzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A brutal story. It's frightening to think that this is the reality for some people!