Secret Service

Product Information

The two primary candidates for prime minister, James Ryan and Imogen Conrad, present their own complications. Ryan is a long-time establishment conservative who also happens to be a former school chum of Kate’s boss, the head of MI6. And Conrad’s right-hand man is Kate’s husband, Stuart, who finds his loyalties torn between his wife and his boss. I recognised the authors name but wasn’t till looked him up realised who he was and saw he has had published quite a few books

Tom Bradby has created Kate Henderson, family woman and chief of the Russia section at MI6. A tip-off leads her and her team to begin a hazardous operation which reveals both possible Russian interference in the appointment of a new Prime Minister, that there may be a Russian agent among the candidates and that someone is leaking secrets to the Russians. The plot moves along quite nicely, the who-can-I-trust stuff is nicely done and Tom Bradby writes pretty well much of the time. It does get a bit clunky in places, and although the dialogue is generally convincing, characters do tend to lapse into pretty stilted speeches rather regularly. Bradby is also no stranger to a cliché, which gets a bit much at times with sentences like, “I’d like to bury my head in the sand, but I need to go home and face the music.” Ihre eigentliche Mission ist noch viel gefährlicher als es scheint, denn der Premierminister ist an Krebs erkrankt und muss sein Amt aufgeben. Doch einer der Kandidaten für dieses Amt schein ein russischer Spion zu sein. Kate gerät in einen Sumpf aus Lügen, Intrigen und brutalen Machenschaften… I have a theory which I suspect is rather immoral,’ Smiley went on, more lightly. ‘Each of us has only a quantum of compassion. That if we lavish our concern on every stray cat, we never get to the centre of things.” John Le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy am GMT 25. The Ipcress File by Len Deighton The Ipcress File is a classic spy novel set during the Cold War

Complete this captcha to connect to Foyles

The book is rooted in relationships; secrets and lies and that shady area of spies and departmental ambition. People’s motives and associations are placed under the microscope as the spies investigate themselves while trying to protect the country at large. Das Ende ist der einzige Kritikpunkt, den ich habe. Denn dieses hat mich persönlich leider nicht wirklich vollends zufriedengestellt. Der Fall ist zwar abgeschlossen, aber trotzdem bleibt eine offene Frage und Handlung, wodurch ich hoffe, dass es einen weiteren Teil geben wird. Bradby does a good job controlling his narrative and, without ever becoming tedious or heavy-handed, he subtly helps you remember who knows what, who trusts whom and with what information, and how much each person knows. None of the characters, including the PM candidates, is totally candid, nor can MI6 tip its hand by revealing its investigation of them. Not to mention the bureaucratic difficulty that they’ve concealed this investigation from MI5, which by rights should be conducting it. The title, Secret Service, turns out to have multiple meanings. am GMT 23. At Risk by Stella Rimington At Risk is a heart-pounding story about terrorism and counterintelligence

am GMT 16. The Quiet American by Graham Greene The Quiet American is narrated in first person, creating a gripping narrative I think maybe, it’s an excellent book for a man to read or anyone au fait with the political systems of these countries. I think perhaps I’m a not quite so well versed, and I did get a bit lost along the way.

Ein Politthriller mit vielen Irrungen und Wirrungen, der mit ordentlich Spannung auffährt. Ich persönlich fand es wirklich ein grandioses Buch – wenn auch das Ende nicht befriedigend war. Für mich ein bisschen zu viel Raum für Spekulationen, falls kein zweiter Teil kommen sollte (worauf ich persönlich sehr hoffe). Ich würde die Laufbahn der Agentin sehr gerne weiterverfolgen. Ebenfalls interessiert mich, wie es nach diesem Ende mit ihr weitergeht. All in all, a story to get lost in that may make you raise an eyebrow when next you hear about some major Western politician’s unaccountable behaviour. No naming names here.

What ensues is a twist filled, fast paced thrill ride. There are many misdirections in discovering who Viper is and it really keeps you guessing. I found this book really hard to put down and read it in less than 24 hours. I highly recommend!. At first, I wasn't too sure I liked that there was so much emphasis on Kate's family life, but in the end, it was for the best, as it gives Kate more depth, more dimension, more challenges than a typical lone wolf agent. In the beginning, I also wondered if the book was part of a series, as some information seemed to be missing. It was not the case, we are told everything in due time, and in fact, it prevented info dumping. Kate is unlike any other spy I had ever seen, yet SECRET SERVICE is very much like the glorious spy stories of old. I write this on the day after John le Carré died. He was the undisputed master of the spy genre and it's unfair to compare this book with say, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy but unavoidable when Smiley is so much on my mind. The Ipcress File is a riveting spy novel that was published in 1962, with themes of war, adversity and betrayal. When a high-ranking scientist is kidnapped, a secret British intelligence agency is tasked with discovering why. The protagonist, Harry Palmer, becomes entangled in the dangerous mission where he uncovers bizarre brain-washing techniques and Cold War secrets that create sharp twists and turns in this complex plot. Their relationship has never recovered since Harry's wife's suicide, for which Sean holds his father responsible. And Harry, with his career on the verge of disintegration, needs to find him and put things right.Kate Henderson is a senior intelligence officer based at the London headquarters of the Special Intelligence Service, otherwise known as MI6. When the Prime Minister suddenly announces his resignation due to ill health, Kate believes she has discovered a plot to infiltrate British politics, and place a Prime Minister with pro Putin leanings, right at the heart of British Government. The secret agent trying to bring about this major coup is codenamed ‘Viper ‘.