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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN num: 9781400079827
ISBN number: 1400079829
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: May 06, 2008
Publishing house: Vintage
Release Date: May 06, 2008
Sale Popularity Level: 22970
Studio: Vintage
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Liz Carlyle, the quick, passionate intelligence officer of Britain's MI5, returns to defuse a terrorist plot in this high-stakes, high-tension tale of international espionage.
When it appears a “secret asset”—a sleeper spy—has infiltrated British Intelligence, the Director of Counter-Terrorism assigns Liz Carlyle to dig up the mole. The spy, possibly a former IRA operative now working with British-born Al Qaeda sympathizers, has one thing on his (or her?) mind: total devastation. With a major attack looming, Liz must trust her instincts and move fast. But this assignment is deadly, and suddenly she feels like she has wandered into a wilderness of mirrors, where nothing is what is seems and no-one can be trusted.
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Rated by buyers -
Sad to say, I haven't yet read the very first book in this series, but this 2nd book and also the third make me anxious to read the first.This definitely will appeal more to the John Le Carre readers than to the James Bond fans. It gives the feeling of the workaday life of an agent. The key plot points are the uncovering of a mole and the investigation of a terrorist plot on an unknown target. The reader follows several well drawn characters and the requisite tension is slowly built by the author.Mystery buffs may be disappointed by the fact that the mole's identity is pretty obvious to the reader at an early point in the book. A group of five suspects is quickly reduced to three, then two fairly early in the book. The author seems to make little endeavor to keep the reader from then picking the right one out of those two. However, the guessing of the terrorist target is more skillfully obscured although the very alert reader may spot it well before the end.However the authenticity and the fascination in the details of such an investigation sure kept me engrossed throughout and I think it will do so for most readers.
Rated by buyers -
This is the second of the novels written by Ms Rimington to feature MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle. I've read them out of order and while this hasn't materially impacted upon my enjoyment of the novels, I would recommend new readers to start at the beginning.
In this novel, Liz is investigating a tip-off that a mole has been planted in one of the branches of British Intelligence. This is happening at the same time as Liz's colleagues are trying to encounter an impending terrorist strike and the juxtaposition of the two increases the tempo of the action considerably. Enter a world where perhaps no-one can be trusted and nothing is what it seems. Are there links between the possible mole and the impending terrorist strike? What is an effective balance between hard fact and intuition?
All three of the Liz Carlyle novels are enjoyable. While the character development is gradual, this seems appropriate for this series. Ms Rimington has succeeded in moving beyond the Cold War into a more contemporary world. She has done so in a way that is both entertaining but recognises that while old issues continue to age, they are never truly forgotten and in many ways never cease to be relevant.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Rated by buyers -
Shortly after returning from leave, MI5 agent Liz Carlyle learns that a terrorist cell is operating out of an Islamic bookstore in London and that an attack appears imminent. Before she can investigate, the Director of Counter-Terrorism reassigns her to a high-risk, secret mission: discover the IRA "secret asset" (sleeper spy) who's infiltrated one of the branches of British Intelligence and expose him/her before more of Britain's secrets are exposed. But more may be at stake than just secrets when it is revealed that the mole may have gone rogue, teaming up with British-born Al Qaeda sympathizers to plot a major strike intended to wreak total destruction. It's a race against time-but who can Liz trust?
Originally published in 2006 (reprinted in a new edition), Secret Asset, the second book in Stella Rimington's spy thriller series, continues the promise shown in At Risk. Rimington, the former Director General of Britain's MI5, knows of what she writes and that authenticity resonates in the procedural details of her novels. As most know, the "devil is in the details," and it is here that Rimington's insider knowledge shines. Her descriptions of functions such as "agent running," supervising undercover civilian informants, elevates her novels above the pack.
However, authenticity is not enough to make a must-read espionage thriller and, luckily for her readers, Secret Asset is built around a captivating plot of terrorist plots, double-dealings and hidden bombs. Peggy Kinsolving, the young research assistant assigned to work with Liz, is a great foil and allows Rimington to explore the rivalry between the branches of British Intelligence while delving into the psychological makeup and histories of the possible moles.
Secret Asset is a must read for anyone who has ever wondered what it takes to betray your country, what mixture of character traits or personality quirks a double agent must possess to carry out their task.
Armchair Interviews says: If you love thrillers, check out this author's work.
From our armchair to yours...
Rated by buyers 
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The plot centers around a mole in British Intelligence. That's not giving anything away -- the inside cover tells us so. In the end, all the plot machinations can be boiled down to one word: vetting.
Yet the discovery of a dastardly secret in the mole's past leads to one glaringly obvious question: how could British Intelligence have missed this very basic (i.e., immediate family) fact when the agent/mole entered their ranks 15 years earlier? This fatal flaw -- surprising given the author's strong background in intelligence (and where was her editor here? That person deserves some of the blame too) -- dooms the book and makes the whole story a disappointing waste of time.
In addition, the writing is pedestrian and the pacing is plodding. Back cover blurbs elevate her to the ranks of Graham Greene and John le Carre, but this book isn't even close to that rarified class. A "C-" would be generous.
Rated by buyers 
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If forgetting you are being read to is the sign of a good audiobook narrator, then performer Emma Fielding hits the mark. Her soft voice lets the listener lose themselves in MI5 intelligence officer Liz Carlyle's hunt for an illusive IRA mole inside British Intelligence's counter-terrorism division. Although her voice is lyrical, Fielding doesn't convey the necessary tension and suspense of action sequences such as a car bomb that threatens to detonate in the middle of an Oxford graduation ceremony. Fielding's Irish accents are as believable as her own British speaking voice, but she struggles to sound realistic as other nationalities. Nevertheless, Rimington's mole manages to be more than a one note villain and his enactments of revenge have surprising motivations and unexpected outcomes.
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