Gerald Seymour

I have to admit that the character of Jonas Merrick, aged, quiet, a little bit grumpy, man of routine, is the nearest to Smiley that I have read. Here, he is scheming to take down the networks the Chinese have established in the UK, a necessary task that the government and its security branches seem reluctant to undertake. All culminating whilst he is on holiday in south Devon.

There is of course, a lot more to the story than this. There is a Russian plot to kill Merrick, all of which he is oblivious to, where a convict escapes in the place of someone else and is then tasked with getting the head, or at least the ears, of Merrick. Merrick's cat, Olaf, to the rescue here.

Much of the repetitious nature of Merrick's life is recorded, he is the quiet, grey man who everyone leaves alone and that did grate a bit eventually. I wanted to jump ahead but forced myself to slow down and read it all. I did read the end once I was about two thirds through but it didn't make much sense so had to go back and continue reading. If you want action and adventure, this is not the book for you. If you like a quiet man plotting in the background with a remarkably boring home life and a magnificent cat, then this is the book for you.… (mais)

A GRU defector who has no real value is now the problem of MI6. The Russians want to kill him to send a message to other potential turncoats – they will never be safe. After an attempt is made on his life Jonas Merrick of MI5 is brought in to find out who on the MI6 resettlement team has leaked the defector’s location.

Merrick is also simultaneously running the operation of keeping the Russian alive and using him as a “tethered goat” to take out the team sent to kill him. Merrick is an anti-hero. An odd, aged, fussy, brilliant man, he is unliked by many and underestimated by most. Even his bosses who believe in him aren’t sure he’s able to pull this off.

As always, tightly plotted, suspenseful and balancing the humane with the inhumane. Second book in the Jonas Merrick series.… (mais)

Very interesting thriller showing that it takes a special type of person to fight with criminals using their own methods.
Story is slightly slower at the middle, pace could be faster (a lot of things looked like a filler) but overall this was one of the "faster" novels by the author (not that other books suffered because of the "slow" developments).

Ending was a little bit surprising but it shows that you cannot trust people fighting your enemies to be fully (or at all) on your side.

Recommended to all thriller fans.… (mais)