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Harry Tate #3
Deception
The explosive new Harry Tate thriller - Former MI5 officer Harry Tate's skill at tracking down runaways is second to none - and the Security Services need his help. When MI6 ask him to trace Vanessa Tan, a lieutenant with the Royal Logistics Corps who failed to report for her return flight to Afghanistan, Harry instinctively feels it's a mission to avoid. But when he learns of the involvement of his former boss, Henry Paulton - the man who tried to have him killed - he agrees to take the job, and events soon take an unexpected turn . . .
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 24, 2011
About the author
Adrian Magson
44 books107 followersAdrian Magson is a British crime-writer, his books often involve conspiracies, and have two repeating main characters - Riley Gavin, a young female investigative reporter, and Frank Palmer, a former RMP (British Royal Military Policeman) now a private investigator.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 13, 2012
Another good spy thriller, the third outing for Harry Tate. The premise of an agency mopping up disillusioned solders/deserters who may need help and could pay with a few military secrets is an excellent framework for this story. Plenty of twists and turns, with action and suspense.
September 26, 2015
Having recently discovered the author, I am having great pleasure working my way through his books.
Harry Tate is back here, working as a tracker for the intelligence services. Soldiers are going AWOL and those with military information are being sought by an organisation of ex-soldiers in order to sell that intelligence. Harry is brought in to track down a female officer who may have had access to the biggest secrets of them all, can he find her before the bad guys do?
Nothing is what it seems and old friends and foes make an appearence to complicate things...
It is all very well having a good set of characters but you need clever plots to work around them, and this one is very clever and I am surprised nobody has done it before. Mr Magson continues to impress, as does Harry Tate.
Harry Tate is back here, working as a tracker for the intelligence services. Soldiers are going AWOL and those with military information are being sought by an organisation of ex-soldiers in order to sell that intelligence. Harry is brought in to track down a female officer who may have had access to the biggest secrets of them all, can he find her before the bad guys do?
Nothing is what it seems and old friends and foes make an appearence to complicate things...
It is all very well having a good set of characters but you need clever plots to work around them, and this one is very clever and I am surprised nobody has done it before. Mr Magson continues to impress, as does Harry Tate.
September 12, 2020
A solid procedural
Harrry Tate is on the hunt for the principals of the Protectory a shadowy group offering aid and remuneration to military deserters with specialized knowledge. Not surprisingly the traitor Henry Paulson has a piece of the illicit action. Tate and his IT guy Rik Ferris, doggedly pursue the faintest of leads and are also sent off in wild goose chases by their masters. They do get a timely if grudging assist from blade fancier Clare Jardine, a former colleague who also despises Paulson.The author adroitly manages the plot twists and even gets the reader to believe that two thugs could almost successfully attack a police station. The prose is leavened by a droll sense of humor that compares scavenging crows to black frocked priests.
Harrry Tate is on the hunt for the principals of the Protectory a shadowy group offering aid and remuneration to military deserters with specialized knowledge. Not surprisingly the traitor Henry Paulson has a piece of the illicit action. Tate and his IT guy Rik Ferris, doggedly pursue the faintest of leads and are also sent off in wild goose chases by their masters. They do get a timely if grudging assist from blade fancier Clare Jardine, a former colleague who also despises Paulson.The author adroitly manages the plot twists and even gets the reader to believe that two thugs could almost successfully attack a police station. The prose is leavened by a droll sense of humor that compares scavenging crows to black frocked priests.
November 18, 2018
Former MI5 officer Harry Tate’s skill at tracking down runaways is second to none – and the Security Services need his help. When MI6 ask him to trace Vanessa Tan, a lieutenant with the Royal Logistics Corps who failed to report for her return flight to Afghanistan, Harry instinctively feels it’s a mission to avoid. But when he learns of the involvement of his former boss, Henry Paulton – the man who tried to have him killed – he agrees to take the job, and events soon take an unexpected turn .
September 21, 2026
Much better paced book in the series
This is more like the the first book, from the get go. With lots of action and scenarios throughout the course of the book than the 2nd book. This is a much more enjoyable ride with shootouts, raids on Police stations and a twisting plot that goes right to the end. Great book. Onto no.4!
This is more like the the first book, from the get go. With lots of action and scenarios throughout the course of the book than the 2nd book. This is a much more enjoyable ride with shootouts, raids on Police stations and a twisting plot that goes right to the end. Great book. Onto no.4!
August 17, 2026
Great spy thriller!
Fantastic, realistic spycraft. Danger, lies, deception, traitors, assasins, abound. Plot twists keep you on your toes. Unable to stop reading. I want more Harry Tate.
Fantastic, realistic spycraft. Danger, lies, deception, traitors, assasins, abound. Plot twists keep you on your toes. Unable to stop reading. I want more Harry Tate.
July 2, 2018
Suspenseful
Good Brit spy story that wraps up most of the threads by the end but leaves enough open for the next installment.
Good Brit spy story that wraps up most of the threads by the end but leaves enough open for the next installment.
May 14, 2020
The series is getting a bit formulaic. I love Harry Tate but his sidekick, Rik, continues to be underwhelming and is a bit of a whiner. Anyway, carrying on to book #4.
February 24, 2021
Another Harry Tate and Adrian Magson is turning into one of my favorite authors.
July 23, 2022
Didn’t live up to the first book in the series. Too padded out with unnecessary details, not enough action
February 6, 2024
Very good page-turner. Read these novels in sequence; they are all part of the same story.
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June 3, 2026AKA Silent Kill
August 31, 2012
‘Deception’ by Adrian Magson
Published by Severn House, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-7278-8130-4
Harry Tate is a former MI5 officer who still has a ‘loose’ attachment to the Security Services. So he was not unduly surprised to be contacted by an MI6 officer, one Richard Ballatyne, who wants him to do a job and in return he will return the favour. The favour being the whereabouts of one Henry Paulton, former Operations Director of MI5, the man who had posted Harry to Georgia and nearly succeeded in having him eliminated – Harry hasn’t forgotten and is still keen to catch up with Paulton. But Ballatyne has another job for Harry – locating missing Military personnel, but not your average squaddies who are AWOL, these are personnel who carry important information that could be damaging if it falls into the wrong hands. He gives Harry a short list of six, the most important being one Vanessa Tan who has failed to report for her return flight to Afghanistan.
Locating missing people is one of Harry’s skills, but he discovers that he is tasked with locating people who have been taken, or are in the process of being taken by a professional group called ‘The Protectory’. Not, as he later learns, a group to be crossed. But the sweetener is that Ballatyne says that Paulton is connected to the group.
As Harry tackles the list of missing military personnel he comes to the attention of the group and runs into their disposal personnel.
In tracking people down Harry has the assistance of his friend Rik Ferris, who still has his arm in a sling following a shooting. But even Rik cannot seem to get a handle on the whereabouts of Vanessa Tan. Soon matters escalate and Harry receives help from an unlikely source, one that Harry doesn’t trust but one for which is nevertheless grateful.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s I was a great fan of spy books, particularly those by Palma Harcourt – I still have them all. In latter years they seemed to go out of vogue but just recently seem to be having a revival and this is one of the best.
Fast paced with some great dialogue this is one of those unputdownable books – the ones that keep you reading into the night. I loved it. Highly recommended.
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Lizzie Hayes
Published by Severn House, 2011. ISBN: 978-0-7278-8130-4
Harry Tate is a former MI5 officer who still has a ‘loose’ attachment to the Security Services. So he was not unduly surprised to be contacted by an MI6 officer, one Richard Ballatyne, who wants him to do a job and in return he will return the favour. The favour being the whereabouts of one Henry Paulton, former Operations Director of MI5, the man who had posted Harry to Georgia and nearly succeeded in having him eliminated – Harry hasn’t forgotten and is still keen to catch up with Paulton. But Ballatyne has another job for Harry – locating missing Military personnel, but not your average squaddies who are AWOL, these are personnel who carry important information that could be damaging if it falls into the wrong hands. He gives Harry a short list of six, the most important being one Vanessa Tan who has failed to report for her return flight to Afghanistan.
Locating missing people is one of Harry’s skills, but he discovers that he is tasked with locating people who have been taken, or are in the process of being taken by a professional group called ‘The Protectory’. Not, as he later learns, a group to be crossed. But the sweetener is that Ballatyne says that Paulton is connected to the group.
As Harry tackles the list of missing military personnel he comes to the attention of the group and runs into their disposal personnel.
In tracking people down Harry has the assistance of his friend Rik Ferris, who still has his arm in a sling following a shooting. But even Rik cannot seem to get a handle on the whereabouts of Vanessa Tan. Soon matters escalate and Harry receives help from an unlikely source, one that Harry doesn’t trust but one for which is nevertheless grateful.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s I was a great fan of spy books, particularly those by Palma Harcourt – I still have them all. In latter years they seemed to go out of vogue but just recently seem to be having a revival and this is one of the best.
Fast paced with some great dialogue this is one of those unputdownable books – the ones that keep you reading into the night. I loved it. Highly recommended.
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Lizzie Hayes
August 25, 2012
Over the last year or so I’ve been meaning to read an Adrian Magson novel but for one reason or another – work, training and volume of books to be read to name but a few – I’ve not had chance to read anything by the author. I put that right this week when I moved the latest Harry Tate novel to the front of the pile – and boy am I glad I did!
The third Harry Tate novel – a frenetic British spy thriller – is a terrific read. Picking it up I was immediately drawn into a storyline, a storyline I don’t think I’ve come across before – but unfortunately I can’t really talk about it without spoiling the foundation of the book! Let’s just say a group known as The Protectory cause Harry and Rik a few headaches along the way.
Although – as previously stated - I’ve not had chance to read Harry Tate’s two previous adventures I still wasted little time getting to know our protagonist. It’s fairly obvious Tate has gone through a lot in the last year or so and Magson adds more than enough back story and information from his past to satisfy any newcomers to his novels. It’s always a tricky balance but the author does a magnificent job in giving just enough history to make new readers feel part of Tate’s past without regurgitating too much.
Full review on my blog ... http://www.milorambles.com/2012/08/25...
The third Harry Tate novel – a frenetic British spy thriller – is a terrific read. Picking it up I was immediately drawn into a storyline, a storyline I don’t think I’ve come across before – but unfortunately I can’t really talk about it without spoiling the foundation of the book! Let’s just say a group known as The Protectory cause Harry and Rik a few headaches along the way.
Although – as previously stated - I’ve not had chance to read Harry Tate’s two previous adventures I still wasted little time getting to know our protagonist. It’s fairly obvious Tate has gone through a lot in the last year or so and Magson adds more than enough back story and information from his past to satisfy any newcomers to his novels. It’s always a tricky balance but the author does a magnificent job in giving just enough history to make new readers feel part of Tate’s past without regurgitating too much.
Full review on my blog ... http://www.milorambles.com/2012/08/25...
April 30, 2012
This is a new author to me. He is British and writes using a great number of British slang/terms. Most are deciferable, but not all. The story was OK and it had a bogus ending which leads into the next book. Don't think I will be reading any more of his author's books.
March 16, 2016
A fresh romp for a spy novel (my first read by this author). Interesting twists and turns.
Refreshing to have some female secondary characters who aren't just caricatures; hopefully Magson will make progress on this for future novels.
Refreshing to have some female secondary characters who aren't just caricatures; hopefully Magson will make progress on this for future novels.
January 10, 2016
A Great Mystery Thriller
From the beginning, Magson puts the reader on the edge of the seat and doesn't let up until the end!
From the beginning, Magson puts the reader on the edge of the seat and doesn't let up until the end!
May 10, 2016
I like the Harry Tate series quite a bit. The writer has a good sense of place and the plots are believable.
June 17, 2016
Good read
Good author, well defined characters and a tight plot line. Moves well at a rapid pace and for a "thriller" is semi-believable.
Good author, well defined characters and a tight plot line. Moves well at a rapid pace and for a "thriller" is semi-believable.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews