Betrayal (The Englishman Book Two) by David Gilman

 

Betrayal (The Englishman Book 2) by David Gilman.

Published 6th January 2022 by Head of Zeus.

From the cover of the book:

Dan Raglan, former Foreign Legion fighter, alias The Englishman, returns. The new high-octane international thriller from David Gilman.

Someone's trying to start a war. And Raglan's just walked into the kill zone.

It has been many years since Dan Raglan served in the French Foreign Legion, but the bonds forged in adversity are unbreakable and when one of his comrades calls for help, Raglan is duty-bound to answer.

An ex-legionnaire, now an intelligence officer at the Pentagon, disappears. He leaves only this message: should he ever go missing, contact Raglan. But Raglan's not the only one looking for the missing man. From the backstreets of Marseilles, Raglan finds himself following a trail of death that will lead him to Florida, to the camaraderie of a Vietnam vet in Washington D.C., and into the heart of a bitter battle in the upper echelons of the US intelligence community.

Pursued by both the CIA and a rogue female FBI agent, Raglan's search will place him in the cross hairs of an altogether more lethal organisation. Tracking his old comrade, he finds himself in the midst of deadly conspiracy, and on a journey to a fatal confrontation deep in the Honduran rainforest.

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It may be more than a few years since Dan Raglan said goodbye to the French Foreign Legion, but the motto that binds those who have served, “Legio patria nostra” (“The Legion is our country”), takes precedence over all. So when Raglan is contacted through the network of Legionnaires to say that he is needed to locate a former colleague who has gone missing, he knows he must step away from his current role as an off-the-books intelligence asset to answer the call.

This is a mission that takes Raglan from the slums of Marseilles all the way to the jungle in Honduras, via Florida and Washington D.C., as he follows the clues to locate the old friend who was investigating corruption at The Pentagon. And what Raglan uncovers has far-reaching consequences that go right to the top of American politics and deep into the intelligence community.

Someone is trying to start a war and it is going to take all Raglan's considerable skills, and the help of a few friends, to save the day - if only he can shake the attentions of the CIA and a rogue FBI agent who is determined to save her career.

Betrayal is the second book in the thrilling series that began with The Englishman, featuring former Legionnaire Dan Raglan. I had not read the first book, but this one can easily be read as a stand-alone as the story is self-contained.

Raglan is a really interesting character: part Jack Reacher, more than a little Jason Bourne, and with a bit of Jack Ryan thrown in for good measure, he is a complex and compelling protagonist with depth. He is tough, smart and loyal, and the code of The Legion means he must stick to his mission to the bitter end, which brings in lashings of high-octane action and a bevy of intriguing players in the game - of the male and female variety - but he is also capable of a decency that makes you really warm to him.

There are multiple intricate threads to this story that twist delicious plot-lines covering corruption within the intelligence services and the corridors of political power, back-stabbing machinations on a worldwide stage, arms and drugs smuggling operations, and war-mongering on a staggering scale. I very much enjoyed how the complexity of the tale grows as Raglan follows the trail of breadcrumbs left behind, opening up engrossing avenues to explore, and there is an engaging 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' theme throughout.

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book. It has everything I look for in an international spy yarn - pace, shocks and intrigue, with a cracking story and captivating characters, but it also has plenty of heart too. I will most certainly be going back to read The Englishman very soon. I cannot wait for whatever Gilman has in store for Raglan next! 

Betrayal is available to buy now in hardback and ebook from your favourite book retailer. 

Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Ransom PR for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

David Gilman has had an impressive variety of jobs - from firefighter to professional photographer, from soldier in the Parachute Regiment's Reconnaissance Platoon to a Marketing Manager for an international publisher. He has countless radio, television and film credits before turning to novels. From 2000 until 2009 he was a principal writer on A Touch Of Frost and nominated for a BAFTA.

The Englishman is a new thriller series introducing Dan Raglan, a contemporary knight errant who served in French Foreign Legion. Betrayal is the second book in the series.

Gilman is also the author of the Master of War series that follows the fortunes of Thomas Blackstone, a village stonemason in England sent to fight with King Edward’s army as an archer against the French in the Hundred Years War; two standalone novels for adults, The Last Horseman, shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award set during the Boer War and Night Flight to Paris, a WW11 novel that pits a reluctant hero against the Nazi forces in Paris in 1943; and Monkey and Me which is written for younger children. In addition, he has penned the Danger Zone YA adventure series featuring plucky hero Max Gordon.

He has lived and travelled the world gathering inspiration for his exotic adventure series along the way. Now, David is based in Devonshire, where he lives with his wife, Suzy Chiazzari.