Secret Service

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But largely—and this is maybe the book’s biggest weakness—she is wrestling with the struggle of ‘being a woman’ and ‘having it all.’ Along with her job, Kate also juggles taking care of her two kids, her aging mother, and, for good measure, an ailing dog. There are various family problems, as well as Kate’s contentious relationship with her mother, who cheated Kate’s father with a family friend and upended their family. None of the family drama is particularly urgent or, really, dramatic, and even though Kate should have enough going on with unmasking Russian spies and saving democracy, she still comes down on herself: But honestly, that's your plot, Mr Bradby? Really, you CANNOT be serious with such a blatantly predictable villain. Everything you had that man do was suspicious Mach 5 and everything out of his mouth sounded like Grade A bullshit. 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.

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.” Best Spy Novels Ranked 1. Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews Red Sparrow is a bestselling spy novel and was adapted into a major motion picture Secret Service is a rather timely spy thriller/political intrigue story that puts Russia’s desire for influence in other country’s political elections front and center. Set in the U.K., Kate Henderson and her team are listening to a conversation when they learn that not only is the current minister resigning soon, but that Russia has a very good foothold into who the next prime minister will be. If that wasn’t enough, the team also learns there is a mole amongst the British ranks, code-named Viper, that can assist Russia and help ensure their candidate’s success. Author Tom Bradby is a highly respected British journalist, screenwriter, and anchorman on ITV news here in the UK. It’s a long time since his last novel, but boy was ‘Secret Service’ worth waiting for!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. 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 Kate is a good spy but as the investigation proceeds you feel she can not be a loyal wife, supportive parent and faithful agent of the government.

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 am GMT 23. At Risk by Stella Rimington At Risk is a heart-pounding story about terrorism and counterintelligence It's a fast-paced, easy read which plays perfectly on the fears of both the political establishment and the general population. Moving between rich, vivid locations we follow protagonist Kate who begins a covert investigation into corruption in the top-levels of the UK government but her conflicting loyalties creep into her head rather a lot. It's certainly a high-octane, high-stakes story full of palpable tension which builds and builds beautifully. There are some parallels that can be drawn between some of the cast here and those currently in the real-world political spotlight. I suspect that was intentional on Bradby's part. Bradby’s protagonist Kate Henderson is head of MI6’s Russia Desk and an experienced operative. She has a small team of trusted subordinates, a colleague perpetually trying to undermine he, and a boss whose private thoughts are as secret as they come. Kate’s loving and very patient spouse covers for her when she suddenly flies somewhere, and she has two teenagers who think they should be the centre of her attention and a mother full of resentments who lives in a nearby London care home.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. On the plus side, the writing is not bad and the action, although slow in parts, does keep you reading. The characters themselves, esp Kates superiors, Sir Alan and Ian, are well done. Even the walk on characters are fully rounded and easily recognisable types. Kate’s boss, Ian Granger is sceptical about what she’s discovered, he’s not a fan of hers, and he prefers to see it as ‘her paranoia’, but Head of MI6, Sir Alan Brabazon also known as (C) decides to allow Kate to follow up on her suspicions and gather evidence, and that doesn’t go down well with Granger. The problem though, is whether the intel she’s receiving is actually genuine, or is it just another game of cat and mouse and interference in the democratic process that the Russians appear to enjoy so much. What does that say about your hero, Kate Henderson, if we can see that at first glance and she...uh...is she playing along? Or something? Well, pretty much that she's an incompetent idiot. She suspected to the point of being sure, and never told her superiors. Rav died because of her. LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS, KATE! Ah, but women are such dunces when it comes to love, aren't they. So easy to fool them. Emotions, you see! Women and their feelings....sigh...

Overall, it was sufficiently involving to keep me interested until the end. It’s nothing that special but it’s not bad by any means and I’ll try the next one because there’s promise here. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. 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. Riveting...with style and energy, evocative scene-setting and strong characterisation' Financial TimesThe identity of Russian mole "Viper" was revealed and The Teder Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ came on with sirens blaring...and I sent the novel sailing across the room to splat against the far wall and tumble into the waste bin. am GMT 25. The Ipcress File by Len Deighton The Ipcress File is a classic spy novel set during the Cold War A book that you can whizz through and enjoy; great escapism but routed in the trends and realities of modern espionage. A clever piece and full of insight and the occasional lighter moment. I particularly liked the quip of calling out one of the team as thinking he was the embodiment of George Smilely. With the stakes this high, can the truth ever come out? Or is the cost of uncovering it a price that no one, least of all Kate, can afford to pay?

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.TOM BRADBY is a novelist, screenwriter and journalist. He has written nine previous novels, including top-ten bestselling Secret Service, and its two sequels , Double Agent and Triple Cross. The Master of Rain was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Steel Dagger for Thriller of the Year, and both The White Russian and The God of Chaos for the CWA Historical Crime Novel of the Year. He adapted his first novel, Shadow Dancer, into a film, the script for which was nominated for Screenplay of the Year in the Evening Standard Film Awards. A special operation seems to good to be true when MI6 hear information around the PM’s health and the possible general election where one of the candidates has strong leanings toward the Kremlin. Furthermore in intel implies the agency is compromised with a mole ready and willing to ensure the result is in Russia’s favour. Secret Service is an espionage novel featuring Kate, an MI6 agent working the Russia Desk while also trying to manage her marriage and raise her two kids. While her team is working surveilance on the son of an Oligarch, Kate and the team discover that the PM is going to step down, which is something no one at MI6 knew. How did the Russians know this and who told them? Could there be a mole in the British government? In Red Sparrow, Jason Matthews tells the story of what happens when an injured ballerina becomes a top-secret Russian spy school member. She learns to use her beauty and grace to seduce her targets and get information from them. After training, she is sent to seduce a CIA handler, Nathan Nash. However, he sees her as a threat, and the book becomes the story of their pursuit of each other. This 2013 book is the first novel in a trilogy, and it is considered one of the best spy books to show what real-life espionage is like. I loved all the characters from spies to Govt officials and Kate, the main character, was ruthless when needed but also had a gentle, human side