An enjoyable, chunky, classic spy thriller, perfect for long journeys or holidays. Even even more interesting to read in light of current events.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
Absolute quality characters and writing you would expect from this excellent author.
Completely engaging and gripping from first to last page. This is the second book in the series and while there are numerous references to the previous story it would work as a standalone novel.
The brilliant character of ''George Smiley ' is almost reincarnated in the form of Jonas Merrick brilliant clever fearless underestimated, and overlooked as past it by colleagues and those he investigates. This is an intelligent intriguing story with moments of heart in mouth tension and others that are laugh out loud funny.
Completely recommended.

When a Russian agent hands himself into MI6 in Denmark a team is assembled to assess his value, his former employees create a plan to ensure that no defector will ever be safe. Jonas Merrick must find the mole in MI6 that leaked this information but must also hit back at Russia too.

The Foot Soldiers is an excellent espionage novel; Seymour weaves several plot lines together at once and the pacing and characters combined made this a gripping novel that I couldn't put down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

The foot soldiers by Gerald Seymour.
Jonas Merrick series book 2.
Defectors are not always welcome.
Is the information they bring worth the cost of protecting them for the rest of their lives? Is it even genuine? Might they be double agents?These are some of the questions facing MI6 when a Russian agent hands himself in to them in Denmark.As a team begins to assess his value, his former employers in the Kremlin develop a brutal plan to show that no defector will ever be safe.And they know where to find him. Which means there must be a mole in MI6.So it is that the cavaliers of Six find themselves being interrogated by nondescript Jonas Merrick of Five - the man called back from retirement and his beloved caravan, the man the young guns call the Eternal Flame because 'he never goes out.'But while he may be grey, Jonas is also ruthless. As he quietly works through the suspects in London, and violent mayhem breaks out in Denmark, Jonas plans not just to unmask a traitor, but to hit back at the Russians with deadly force.
An ok read with good characters. Little slow for me. 3*.

An excellent espionage thriller by an expert story teller who intricately weaves the plots . The portrayal of the characters is clear and distinct

Brilliant of Gerald Seymour to bring back Jonas Merrick the MI5 veteran who on his retirement in the previous tale stopped a suicide bomber and captured an ISIS fighter intent on an attack in this country. This time a Russian defector is targeted for assassination by his previous paymasters who know his whereabouts so there must be a mole in MI6 and Jonas is sent to ferret him/her out. His seemingly inoffensive manner is taken as an insult by the 6 agents who regard themselves as an elite force. There is a parallel story of an undercover agent in Russia giving information and his fear of impending arrest. Lots of good characters all contribute to the story and the high standard of previous tales is impeccably maintained. Hope there’s more of Jonas to come as he’s a worthy George Smiley replacement!

This is the second book in the Jonas Merrick series and I really, really like this character! He is a somewhat grumpy old man, past retirement age but still working for MI5 in Thames House, catching the same train to and from work every day, with his packed lunch in his briefcase locked to his wrist, preferring to work alone, on paper, in his small office. The character building of Jonas, across just two books, is great. You can picture him - he seems quite unassuming but uses this to great effect.

The main storyline in this novel revolves around a Russian defector in the hands of MI6. They are trying to keep him safe and assess his worth but attempts are made on his life and it becomes clear that there is a leak within Mi6. Jonas is sent across the bridge to investigate and determine the source of the leak.

I've made this sound quite simple, but of course it is much more complex and with a second storyline running alongside. At the end of the first chapter, I was a little confused and struggling with all the characters and who everyone was but I know that if I keep reading it will all slot into place. Gerald Seymour is a master storyteller in my opinion and I love the fact that finally, after many years of writing, he has started a series. Keep them coming please!

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Seymour at his best. The characterisation is what makes this novel, each of the many characters is perfectly drawn and whilst I didn’t find it the easiest book to get into, when I closed the final pages it was with the satisfaction that only comes from reading a really good book.

An espionage type thriller, this book has the Russian defector looking to leave, those that are assisting him and those that want to stop him.

The shifting viewpoint of the storyline made for enthralling reading as Seymour like a master chess player manoeuvred all of the parties involved bringing them together for a gripping conclusion.

The Foot Soldiers is another outstanding espionage novel from Gerald Seymour with the added bonus of the return of Jonas Merrick who first appeared a couple of books ago.

The pacing and storytelling is superb and this is another book not to be missed.

Gerald Seymour is one of those writers who can tell a good story but at times you have to wade through alot to find and follow it. It can be quite dense writing at times but usually worth the effort. It is worth the effort here as long as you are committed to following through. If you already know Seymour you know what you're getting. If you haven't read him and like spy stories and are looking for a successor to John le Carre then you could do alot worse than Seymour and there's a big back catalogue as well.

Having read all of Gerald Seymour's books in the past, I was looking forward to this latest one. However, this one did not grab me like the others, as I felt it took a bit of getting into, with the opening quite boring to be honest, making it difficult to settle into.
In the end it was a decent read, but far from his best in my opinion.

My first Gerald Seymour book for some time. I just struggled to get engaged with it. Not the best book he has written.

I never repeat the blurb. For some reason, I hadn't read anything By Gerald Seymour for a while. Once I'd got to grip with the various characters (numerous) I was completely gripped by the plot and interdepartmental jealousies and rivalries. I couldn't put it down! I was fascintated by the twists and turns and feel sure of the debt we owe to so many prepared to put their lives on the line to protect what they hold dear or fight against. READ IT!!

The Foot Soldiers by Gerald Seymour is the very welcome sequel to "The Crocodile Hunter", which introduced veteran spook Jonas Merrick.
Working past pension age because of his skills Jonas is an intriguing character. Leading a quiet homelife with his beloved wife and taking caravan holidays Merrick is no cuddly old man, his work with MI5 brings out the steely and often cold-blooded side.

The book begins with a Russian Defector handing himself over to MI6 in Denmark and it soon become obvious that the Russians are not only coming for their man but know exactly where he is, with a "Mole" within MI6 being the only explanation.
With the exfiltration team still on the ground and in danger Merrick is sent "over the river" to try to discover who the Mole is. With the suspects mostly falling for Merrick's doddery old duffer persona he uses his skills to not only find the informant but use them to strike back at the Russians and a great part of the book is the chess game between Merrick and the Russian puppet master with human pieces and everything at stake.

This is a book that fans of the George Smiley series will love. It's not essential to have read "The Crocodile Hunter" to enjoy it but I'd strongly recommend doing so . Merrick is a complex character, he's not perfect and in this book almost makes a fatal mistake.

A great read.

I couldn't get into this book it was a bit confusing frustrating and boring in places. when it did show a bit more of an oomph the action fell an anticlimax.

Gerald Seymour continues to carry the flame for the espionage genre, and his sublime creation, Jonas Merrick, a 21st-century George Smiley, returns in his second outing, “The Foot Soldiers”, the follow-up to “The Crocodile Hunter”.
Written in the grand tradition of spy novels by Len Deighton and John Le Carre, this story is a slow burn which rewards careful, measured reading. Like Jonas Merrick himself, Seymour eschews gung-ho theatrics in favour of depicting dogged hard work and icy intelligence. Don’t expect a James Patterson-style novel - this is the spy game in all its grubby, secretive and often boring unforgiving.
Seymour’s writing is clinical and concise, and often quite dense, which won’t be to everyone’s taste, but I really like it as an antidote to modern thrillers.
It’s not necessary to read the previous book to enjoy this one (but I recommend you do as it is just as good), but, inevitably, there are spoilers for it in this book as Jonas’ story continues.
Jonas Merrick is slowly but surely becoming a classic literary creation, and I’m looking forward to finding out where Gerald Seymour takes the character next.

Regular as clockwork Gerald Seymour, as he has done for over 40 years now, annually comes up with a brilliant, suspenseful and contemporary thriller.

How he does it and maintains his forensic knowledge of tradecraft and the inner working of the murky world of spies and traitors I hate to think but it is hard to think of many other writers who can match his overall body of work.

What has changed is that Seymour has, I believe for the first time moved away from standalone books and now started a series featuring the beautifully drawn and depicted antihero Jonas Merrick, the elderly, underrated bespectacled backroom boy of M15 - the "Eternal Flame" who never goes out on missions but in reality is steely, organised and devi0us with a rat trap of a mind and is indeed far braver than he himself thinks he is.

First introduced in "The Crocodile Hunter" he makes a triumphant return in "The Foot Soldiers" which has as its heroes the unheralded men who simply follow orders and make tings happen at the sharp end with out complaint or recrimination.

This is a wonderfully complex and unputdownable tale of defectors, traitors, internal politics or "high jingo" as Michael Connelly would describe it and assassination both actual and character.

Highly and totally recommended.