This book was a decent read but at times it did waiver as the convoluted plot came to its conclusion; this was a promised second part of a four part series. At the conclusion there is the hope that a third one will bring results and yet the double-crossing is all more important than actual care to narrative.

I've enjoyed other books by Alex Gerlis from his Richard Price and Order of the Wold Pack Series but this Double Agent series is new to me. Wish I'd read No 1 first as there are so many characters, not helped by many of them having several names depending upon which country's agent they are at the time. Each chapter is from the point of view of one person but it takes time to realise the specific time-frame or country! The main plot is relates to the threat of Hitler's forces invading Great Britain after the fall of France - set over all in 1939-1940. There are British spies spying on Russia and Germany, Russian spies spying on Britain and Germany and anyone else around, German spies spying on Russia and Britain. Several are German agents. There are also a lot of shenanigans between MI5, MI6, the newly formed Invasion Warning Sub-Committee, The Group and so on. Obviously the author has researched the period events thoroughly. It's a shame that they are so well camouflaged by the fictional characters. It is a book that needs a decent chunk of time to digest, certainly not one to dip into for half an hour at bed-time. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I have not read book 1 and was immediately thrown into an intricate, weaved story involving numerous characters introduced one after the other. I found this somewhat confusing with perhaps too many plot lines. Perhaps I should have read the author's first book beforehand?
My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for this arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for this advance copy in return for my honest review.

This book is supposedly the second in the "Double Agent" Series, the first of which I admittedly haven't read. I assume that the reader is introduced to "Archie", the Russian mole in MI6 in this first installment, as there seems to be a mole hunt already underway when we are immediately thrust into an interrogation involving a German spy and The newly formed Invasion Warning Sub-Committee.

Most of this confusing story takes place in the lead up to and the infancy of World War II and involves a multitude of characters including members of the aforementioned sub-committee, MI5, MI6, Russian Spies from the NKVD, the IRA, Nazi sympathizers in an organization known as "The Group," as well as their handlers in the Abwher, and the Nazi Navy known as the Kriegsmarine.

The fact that Gerlis had to include a lengthy list of "Main Characters" totaling well over 65 "characters" should've been my hint that I wouldn't be able to keep up and follow all of these different plot lines.

The main focus of the "plot" is the threat of a Nazi invasion of Great Britain after the fall of France in the summer of 1940. The planning of "Operation Sea Lion" and ultimate foiling of the plot would probably make a very interesting story, but this telling of it is not it. There were just too many characters and too many moving parts without any character development and cohesion to the telling of the story.

Although not a WWII historian by any stretch of the imagination, I am fascinated by Britain's ability to single handedly hold off the Nazis while waiting for the US to enter the War, as well as Russian Moles in MI6 such as Philby and Burgess, but this book did not hold my interest.

After all that was going on, not only do we not know who "Archie" is but a second traitor is introduced and likewise not "found." I will not be reading books 3 and 4 as I doubt Gerlis could tell a coherent enough story to warrant it.

A great spy thriller involving M15, the Nazi's and the Russians. Reading the book, it brings the story of Russian spies such to life and gave me an idea of how it all worked. I honestly do not know how spies and double agents kept their cool and were able to function in normal life.

The Second Traitor by Alex Gerlis is the second book in The Double Agent series and the follow up to Every Spy a Traitor which I thoroughly enjoyed.

This book read more like a staging post between books 1 & 3 and in hindsight was preparing the stage for more twists and double agents further down the line. It definitely benefitted from me having read the previous book.

Overall it was a good read but maybe not as good as book 1

This is the second of four books in the Double Agents series. I always look forward to reading an Alex Gerlis book and this one was just as riveting as the previous books. Set in 1939 and 1940, the story follows the planned invasion of Great Britain by Hitler's armed forces. As it follows on closely from the first book in the series, I would recommend reading that before embarking on this one. The plot is quite complex with a very large cast of characters, so it's good to have the list of characters at the beginning of the book to help clarify who's who. The book is extremely well written and very easy to read. The pace is good and there is plenty of action with the ending leading on to the books to follow. I'm looking forward to continuing with this excellent series.

I am a fan of Mr. Gerlis, and have read all of his "espionage" books. I found The Second Traitor to be quite different (mostly in construction). Rather than one story, this book introduces mulitple characters. Each chapter is an introductio, or further detail and progress of a character. The common thread is early Worls War II and it's impact on the decision-making of each. The book is centered on various apects of espionage, competing loyalties, and their results. Initially, I found the book, and the constuction, to be interesting and entertaining; however, though the book is not necesarily long, it began to seem tediuos and became a labor to finish. It is well-written, and the author certainly knows his history and WW II geography. One I had finished, I could only conclude that it is recommended for the hardened fan of competing espionage during that era.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was overwhelmed by the amount of information and names I needed to keep track of. I kept forgetting who was who and I had to focus so much it made the reading not as fun. I could not finish the book.

Alex Gerlis' best series yet is hotting up nicely.

"The Second Traitor" opens in September 1940, some twelve months after the events of the first book in Alex Gerlis' Double Agent series. The search for the traitor in MI6, known as Archie, continues. But news of Hitler's planned invasion of Great Britain is now being taken seriously, and the newly-formed Invasion Warning Sub-Committee is working flat out to uncover the exact date it will take place. Furthermore, the organisation known as The Group – a collection of British and Irish Nazi collaborators – is working to pave the way for the takeover. However, The Annexe has been shut down, and ironically, Charles Cooper has been recruited to help capture the fifth-columnists.

These and several other threads from the first book all combine to make "The Second Traitor" a complex, but fast-moving story. As usual the author cleverly takes real-life events and people and weaves them into the narrative. Characters we met previously are slowly filling out, and new characters are introduced to add further layers of deception and confusion. The backdrop to "Second Traitor" is the real-life Operation Sea Lion which Hitler formulated having decided Britain offered a bigger threat than the Soviet Union. The story nicely questions just how taken with this plan Hitler's commanders were, while other intriguing subplots include the methods employed by the Nazis to embed spies throughout England and the IRA's plans to assist with the invasion in order to hasten the reunification of Ireland.

The story also takes a big leap forward, as MI6 begins to suspect the existence of a second traitor, Bertie. This promises more intrigue and deception in book three.

This four-book series clearly expects the reader to be invested in the long term - you can't read this book without having read the first one. Plots and subplots are still being laid; characters and motives are still being teased (and there's a large cast of characters to keep track of) and flashbacks, while offering insights into how current events came to be, invite further speculation into the identity of Archie. Clearly some characters will come and go quickly across the books, but others will span the series, as their lives as double, even triple, agents become more dangerous and complex.

Fans of Alex Gerlis' books are going to be equally fascinated and frustrated by "The Second Traitor" but either way will be further drawn in to this complex and engaging book. Highly recommended.