The Foot Soldiers

Jonas Merrick #2

by Gerald Seymour

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.

Genres: Fiction, Espionage, Thriller

Hardcover

Published March 31, 2022

About the author

Gerald Seymour (born 25 November 1941 in Guildford, Surrey) is a British writer.

The son of two literary figures, he was educated at Kelly College at Tavistock in Devon and took a BA Hons degree in Modern History at University College London. Initially a journalist, he joined ITN in 1963, covering such topics as the Great Train Robbery, Vietnam, Ireland, the Munich Olympics massacre, Germany's Red Army, Italy's Red Brigades and Palestinian militant groups. His first book, Harry's Game, was published in 1975, and Seymour then became a full-time novelist, living in the West Country. In 1999, he featured in the Oscar-winning television film, One Day in September, which portrayed the Munich Olympics massacre.
Television adaptations have been made of his books Harry's Game, The Glory Boys, The Contract, Red Fox, Field Of Blood, A Line In The Sand and The Waiting Time.

Reviews

[Greville Waterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Elainedav · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Judy O'Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a good read any novel by Gerald Seymour. I read this book over several days and realised that is the best way with this author.
His style sets out several story lines that slowly combine and by reading good amounts each time, the plot unfolds steadily without forgetting who is who.
Yet another good read from an extremely knowledgeable author about traitors, the Secret Service and espionage.

[Amzon_Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Return to the best, what we like…

Simply put: This is vintage GS. I found the first book in the series somewhat ‘difficult’. I can’t clearly say ‘what’, but it wasn’t the usual, the way it’s liked best.

The plot, characters and arc of this story are most excellent. I read it in 3 sittings and it held my attention well. You find yourself rooting for some characters, despising others, and being frustrated at still more of them but; ultimately, they all play their parts perfectly. What you need, in a great tale.

JM is a cantankerous and sometimes banal old bug.ger. However, he’s crafted in such a way as to make the story brilliant. His genius is most pleasing, and the tom-foolery with making others believe him dumb, ha!

The cast of characters are all top grade. The smallest part to the big players - all walks of life and levels of genius, or not; you invest thought in them, think about what’s happening - brilliant stuff, yes?

GS has produced a book of quality, tenacity and cunning. The ‘hero’ is all manner and levels of many characteristics - too many to list. But, he’s believable, durable and, now, enjoyable.

I felt enjoyment at the annual instalment of ‘Gerald Seymour’, and he’s still got literary flexibility and quality flowing from his fingers. I look forward to the next JM instalment

Thank you, Mr Seymour. A pleasure, as always to read your work.

[Andy Blanche · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really outstanding stuff. I always enjoy Gerald’s books and Jonas Merrick is a splendid new character, appearing first in The Crocodile Hunter, which should be read before this book.

The denouement spanned almost the whole second half of the book and was played out gently and in a gripping style.

[Nigel Pinkus · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are no James Bond or Jason Bourne characters in a Gerald Seymour story. But rather, in this story itself, there is an elderly gentleman by the name of Mr. Jonas Merrick who didn't even shuffled around the fog and the rain (like John Le Carre's George Smiley character) but rather, he was 'hunched like a squat toad' over his laptop to setup a MI6 arrest team off shore in another country ~ and all completely deniable. It's a MI6 operation with a team from Denmark to help. You will find, a 'tethered goat', PONGO'S: the Poor Bloody Infantry, East German mice on the loose, guns for hire, caravaning, 'Sashcord' and a one awfully big pet cat! Whilst a bit slow in places, it had a complicated but a realistic storyline, with well-formed characters complete with a gripping and compulsive conclusion. 4 STARS.

Here are twenty-four Gerald Seymour novels ranked accordingly.
5 Stars: ‘A Line in the Sand’ and ‘Home Run’. (2).

4 Stars: ‘The Waiting Time’, ‘Holding the Zero’, ‘The Dealer and the Dead’, ‘’No Mortal Thing’, ‘The Outsiders’, ‘A Deniable Death’, ‘A Damn Serious Business’, ‘Archangel’, ‘The Crocodile Hunter', 'Foot Soldiers', 'The Collaborator’, ‘Killing Ground’, ’The Journeyman Tailor’, ’Tinker, Taylor, Soldier Spy’, ‘Field of Blood’, 'Traitor's Kiss' & ‘Harry’s Game’. (17).

3 Stars: ‘A Song in the Morning', 'In Honour Bound’ & ‘The Untouchable’. (3).
2 Stars: ‘The Corporal’s Wife’ & 'The Unknown Soldier’. (2)

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

A grey, boring civil servant with an almost cartoonishly bourgeois life, Jonas Merrick is somehow the man who knows everything there is to know about the current world of espionage. He gets pulled in when it becomes clear that someone - a mole, a traitor, a spy - is feeding the KGB information about the whereabouts of a recent defector who is being shuffled from safe house to safe house. He is tasked with figuring out which of the small group of people-in-the-know this might be. He does this by interviewing them and reviewing documents in a very bureaucratic manner. Of course he figures it out and is able to set a trap for the assassins.

For me this was a missed opportunity. I was looking forward to reading about the cleverness of an underestimated bureaucrat who can see patterns that others miss. A cubicle dweller, close to the age of retirement, whose main hobby is taking the caravan to remote islands so his wife can bird-watch, who carries a brownbag lunch to work every day, and who trudges home via the London subway every evening at the same time. This is the type of anti-hero I love to root for.

The book cycles between different narratives: the British intelligence team in Denmark that has to cope with a demanding defector and multiple assassination attempts, their colleagues in London, the KGB hit squad, a Russian spy in Moscow and his handler, and the life of Jonas Merrick. This becomes repetitive and tedious over the course of this book, especially since there are repeated descriptions of these characters' life and background. How many times do we have to hear that someone fought in Afghanistan? It all began to feel like filler, as if the author was tallying up the pages of his manuscript and kept on deciding that he needed to fatten it up a bit here and there.

More irritating was that the identity of the mole was totally clear from the beginning. This approach can work: the reader knows who the culprit is, and enjoys reading about how the main character figures it out. But that didn't happen here. We hear a lot about Merrick's daily journey to the building where he carries out his investigation, the cake that someone buys for him, and the way his suspects all try to patronize or bully him - but we don't really see how he gets to the correct suspect. Well, I should qualify that: a certain telephone call with a Danish hotel employee clarifies the situation - but it's not clear why he made that call.

Bottom line: too much filler and repetition, too many self-conscious ponderings in the Le Carre style, and not enough puzzle/mystery to keep the tension.

[Eyejaybee]

Jonas Merrick, the querulous MI5 counter-intelligence analyst, made his first appearance last year in The Crocodile Hunter, in which he dodged his imminent retirement by singlehandedly foiling an attempt to bomb the Houses of Parliament, and then coordinated the operation to foil a further Jihadi plot while scarcely venturing his office. Indeed, many of the officers who take on the active aspects of the operations that his research spawned slightingly referred to him as ‘The Eternal Flame’ because he never went out.

A year on and he is still in post, as surly and graceless as ever. A midranking Russian intelligence officer has approached British embassy officials in Denmark advising them that he wishes to defect, and hinting at considerable aounts of valuable intel that he could make available. Having assessed the likely value of his potential contraband information, MI6 are unconvinced, and also suspect that he may be a plant. While they continue to conduct initial assessment, two attempts are made on his life. This rings alarms bells because the attacks seem to have been driven by the leak of valuable information held within MI6 itself. An investigation is required to consdiere whether there is a mole, and to neutralise them before any further damage can be done. At this point, enter Merrick, delegated to conduct a series of interviews of all those MI6 officers at Vauxhall Cross who might have had access to the information in question.

After the greater part of a career being despised by his own colleagues, Merrick is unconcerned by the prospect of their MI6 counterparts also despising him, and he makes no attempt to make an awkward situation any more comfortable. Meanwhile, in an operation reminiscent of recent state-sponsored attacks overseas, two assassins are sent by the GRU to eliminate the would-be traitor as quickly as possible..

As with The Crocodile Hunter, I thought that the kernel of the story was very gripping. Unfortunately, once again I found the writer’s style difficult to penetrate. Having been brought up on the effortless purple prose of John le Carré, this proved less readily digestible fare, and I was tempted to jump ship at several points throughout. To be fair to the book, I should point out that the plot was sufficiently engrossing to keep me reading to the end, but it was a close-run thing.

[Jak60 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag for me. One could define The Foot Soldiers as deliciously complex and multilayered, someone else as annoyingly fragmented and disjointed; I found the line between the two a rather fine one. The story follows two very separate and parallel threads, and one presumes they will connect in so e way before the end; except they don't...

The story is about counter-intelligence and MI5, which is inherently duller than espionage and MI6 (catching spies is mmore boring than spying), but that was not the problem - the plot was good enough. What I had a hard time to bear with was the protagonist’s characterisation; with the aim of making him look smart and unconventional, the author stretches the protagonist’s habits, customs and idiosyncrasies to such an extreme that he becomes a caricature (almost an OCD type); except that making your dude look like a weirdo does not make him more interesting - to me, at least. By continuing to disguise himself as an idiot, he ends up looking like one.

But then again, all the characters of the book are mediocre people, bored, tired people just wanting out of whatever they are in; maybe that's the world the author wanted to paint. If so, so be it, but the effect for the reader is certainly not uplifting.

There is then the somewhat strange aspect that the Russia portrayed in the book (whose scene is set around d 2015) looks more like the old Soviet Russia than the one of the Putin era. The author mentions “escapes routes” from the Russia Federation looking like those of the cold war. Now, to my knowledge, Russia’s-borders were fully opened in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet bloc so such cloak&dagger escape methods would be unnecessary nowadays (a commercial flight ticket would do the trick). In the same way the author references people being brought into gulag camps, but again that belongs to the Soviet era, the camps were closed at the end of the 80's. I can’t believe these are oversights by the author (definitely expert and accurate), so I’m just a little puzzled by this aspect.

So, on the positive side of the mixed bag: the story is quite original and the prose is fluent and readble (not always the case with Seymour).In any case, this is the best by Mr G Seymour I read so far (to be fair, Home Run was pretty good); it might not sound very flattering but it is what it is.

[Philip Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonas Merrick is a perverse choice for our hero. He's elderly, dull, obstinate & mainly deskbound. The main jeopardy early on is the parlous state of his caravan's electrics. His wife Vera certainly has all our sympathy. That said, he's also razor sharp, brave and tenacious, all in all rather magnificent. Since the previous book he's moved to counter-intelligence, tracking Russian operatives. When a new defector is subject to an assassination attempt Jonas is brought in to identify the MI6 mole leaking info to the Russians.

This is a slow build, character-driven espionage tale. The author has a masterful knack of evoking the gritty, squalid world of spy craft. Putin's brutal regime in particular is laid bare with a scalpel honed over thirty thrillers and there's an interesting name check of murdered emigres and dissidents. The arrogant MI6 spies are uniformly nasty to Jonas who masks his shrewdness behind a humble bumbling facade. This makes their comeuppance all the more satisfying.

Despite the relative lack of action, I was drawn into the mole hunt and got that warm smug feeling of spotting the culprit. A parallel plot involving a brave young Russian passing info to his handler in Moscow was also intriguing. The downside to the detailed scene setting and characterisation was a somewhat stately pace. A sneaky peak at the next novel whet my appetite for more of Merrick's understated brilliance. If I can find room for it on my Seymour crowded bookshelf I will be back for more.

[Chris Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only picked up this book because I was at the library getting another book and the cover and title intrigued me, I was unfamiliar with the author. And what a thrilling book it has been. A tale of three groups (four if you count the Russians) that are intertwined and the hunt for a traitor. The emphasis of the book is on those at the bottom of the espionage pyramid, “the footsoldiers” who are it seems tasked with doing much the practical, in the field, ‘dirty work”, which is often deniable if caught and rarely seen. The pace zips along, although at about three quarters in there is a good indication of who the traitor probably is, and the emphasis shifts on how to expose them. The ending is predictable only in places and I feel relatively solid. The characters are all easily remembered and distinctive which helped me in following the plot.

I said that the author is unfamiliar to me. I hadn’t appreciated that he wrote Harry’s Game all the way back in 1975 which was serialised by the BBC on television in 1982 and which I avidly watched at the time. I shall be searching out more of his work.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

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*.

[rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seymour introduced a new central character, Jonas Merrick, in "The Crocodile Hunter". That was a good thriller but in "The Foot Soldiers" Seymour has developed the character further and produced a nail-biting suspense novel, one of his best IMHO.

Merrick, an unassuming and seemingly innocuous member of MI5, is assigned to investigate a security leak in MI6. That service regards itself as superior in all ways to MI5 and the 'sixers' most concerned in the investigation are outraged. The source of the leak is apparent to the reader very early in the novel and at first I thought this was a weakness in the story. As the plot unfolded, it was not.

Seymor builds suspense, layer on layer. There are several violent clashes betweeen British agents and Russian agents until, ultimately, Merrick is dragged by the suicidal leak to a watery grave. Or is he?

"The Foot Soldiers" starts slowly but builds to a nail-biting crescendo. It is one of Seymour's best and most exciting novels. A great read!!

[Karen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another triumph for Gerald Seymour, in the second of a series.

Reminiscent at times of John le Carré, the sentences are a treat. Simple premise. Our hero must identify the traitor: he - and I - worked this out early on, but the knowledge doesn't detract at all from what's happening on the page. Threads/sub plots all nicely tied up at the end. Particularly enjoyed the final 'twist' on the bridge (especially given the nod to the finest tradition of spy stories, where stuff always happens on bridges!)

Seymour is now 80 years old, so you have to fear there won't be many more stories coming from him. He remains underrated. His work in general is hugely recommended. Please do check it out.

[John Mccormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Oliver Dowson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I bought it after being prompted by an email from one of my own readers. I’d read some of Gerald Seymour’s books years ago, and had no idea he was still writing so prolifically. The Foot Soldiers is one of his latest.
The hero, Jonas Merrill, an avuncular character somewhat reminiscent of George Smiley, is seconded from MI5 to MI6 to root out a traitor in a present day resettlement team that bring Russian defectors to the UK. This is not an action thriller, but plods along beautifully, filled with entirely credible characters and more than its fair share of twists and turns. The three parallel stories are perfectly interwoven. The prose is a pleasure to read. Highly recommended!

[Big Bertha · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Aoife · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off reasonably well and picked up a good pace early on. The story was good and I felt the plot developed well. However, I reckon that the last 150-200 pages could have been edited down to a fraction of that. This last section was just too long, unnecessarily dragging out the ending in the most painful way.
From the start I was a little irritated with the annoying style of third person references and flashbacks repeated multiple times so that combined with the “are we not finished yet?” Feeling that sat with me for the last substantial part of the book means I won’t be reading any more books in this series. Could see this as a TV series mind you…

[Julie Wells]

A Russian agent presents himself to MI6 in Denmark. But is there a mole in MI6? Jonas Merrick (formerly MI5) is brought back to investigate.

Initially the writing takes some getting used to, with clipped sentences. But moving from one scenario to another (Denmark / London (MI6) / Russia is easy to navigate. And interesting. Who is watching who, and who can be trusted?

The walk across a London bridge with the 'traitor' (grey mouse) was a little protracted but otherwise, the pace was steady. And on the whole, enjoyable. (I did figure out the identity of the 'mole' quite early on, though ;-)

[Heather Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed

I have been a fan of Gerald Seymour from the beginning. Over the years, I found that he has been writing in an increasingly staccato style that sometimes bordered on irritating and repetitive. Always, however, the contents of his books made up for it. This book showed a welcome decrease in this manner of writing. As such, the story had a better flow of narrative and action sequences. It was very compelling, and rated hours' long attention at each sitting. I really enjoyed this book and found its storytelling and character development more reflective of Mr. Seymour's earlier books.

[Gareth Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read all the novels of Le Carre, I have been on the lookout for a novelist that delivers in a similar way. I’ve encountered a number of interesting and readable books, but not until this have I found something as engrossing. If I am giving the impression that Seymour is a Le Carre copyist, that’s not my intention, because he has his own style. It’s a slow, methodical, unflashy style, much like his lead character. This is a well-structured and throughly engrossing novel. And whilst I have no real basis on which to judge, gives a tang of authenticity. A fine read.

[Mary Licking · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paperback ISBN 978 1 529 34044 0 published 2022 is the edition I read. 422 pp. A great story about spies checking up on spies and the safeguarding of a Russian defector. Lots of bureaucratic machinations involved, punctuated by action. This author gets really involved with the writing and knows how to tease upcoming plot parts. The result is a good read. Once into it, the story compelled me to keep going. Some of this takes place on or about boat landings, vessels, and in water, which adds to the uniqueness of the tale.

[Margaret Stranks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book which I wouldn’t have picked up, but it was passed onto me by my husband. It took a while to get used to the rather staccato writing style, and to get a handle on the various characters and scenarios, but of course, it all came together after a while, and I was gripped by the stories of each of them. This was my first Gerald Seymour book, so I don’t know if it’s typical of his. It’s one in a series featuring the character Jonas Merrick, and I certainly wouldn’t be averse to trying another one.

[Warren C.Cooper]

The master continues to enthrall!

Another brilliant tale featuring the self depreciating Jonas Merrick, tasked with uncovering a mile in MI6's defector handlers squad. As ever, Seymour uses his experience to weave together fine characters, in a very believable tale of the people at the coal face of espionage. A very British spy story with an unlikely hero! No one can do it quite like Gerald Seymour, excellent read.

[Guy Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always the literary merits of Seymours books put me in mind of Le Carre, and in this book he has exceeded the best.It is a superb study of the old vs the young, attitudes both in the intelligence services and human beings.The gradual unmasking of a 'mole' within an MI6 unit is gently told and utterly believable.
This is not James Bond, this is very much George Smiley territory.For those who like wonderful writing, this is one for you.

[Nick Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerald Seymour annually surprises us with an excellent thriller, and this year as an added surprise that it's part two in apparently a new series around the unlikely hero Jonas Merrick who was introduced in The Crocodile Hunter.

A grey mouse of a civil servant nicknamed Eternal Flame because het never goes out. But Merrick surprises everyone with a brilliant and devious mind that works like a steel trap. I thoroughly enjoyed this second delivery, and I'm looking forward to number three.

[Bill McFadyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerald Seymour’s tales of spies and terrorists have been part of my life for over thirty years. I have enjoyed his stories set across the world, each giving an insight into the world we all live in.
This , his thirty eighth thriller is bang up to date , a novel that will keep you turning the page.
Enjoy.

[Jim Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent espionage thriller from a master. The characterisation of the main character is brilliantly conceived and masterfully developed. The narrative voice is idiosyncratic and distinctive. The authors omission of prepositions surprising but it works to create atmosphere, tension, pace. An excellent plot superbly imagined.

[Steve Meeus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who compares Gerald Seymour with John Le Carre needs a brain transplant.
I struggled through to the end, only because I had wasted my money already.
Occasional acceptable tradecraft interludes but mainly badly-crafted characters with the main protagonist a blatent amateurish rip-off of George Smiley.
Wish it was a paperback.... then I could have started my fire with it.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent plot

Gerald has a way of weaving several storylines together so the reader can follow them all as if they are all running simultaneously as life does!

Brilliant book, well researched and well written ty