What do you think?
Rate this book
Liz Carlyle #1
At Risk
A terrorist is targeting Britain. And to make matters worse it’s an “invisible”-- Mi5-speak for someone traveling under a British passport. Virtually impossible to find before it’s too late.
The job falls to Liz Carlyle, the most resourceful counter terror agent in British intelligence. Tracking down this invisible is a challenge like none she has faced before. It will require all her hard-won experience, to say nothing of her intelligence and courage. Drawing on her own years as Britain's highest-ranking spy, Stella Rimington gives us a story that is smart, tautly drawn, and suspenseful from first to last.
The job falls to Liz Carlyle, the most resourceful counter terror agent in British intelligence. Tracking down this invisible is a challenge like none she has faced before. It will require all her hard-won experience, to say nothing of her intelligence and courage. Drawing on her own years as Britain's highest-ranking spy, Stella Rimington gives us a story that is smart, tautly drawn, and suspenseful from first to last.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2004
About the author
Stella Rimington
26 books532 followersDame Stella Rimington was a British author and Director General of MI5, a position she held from 1992 to 1996. She was the first female DG of MI5, and the first DG whose name was publicised on appointment. In 1993, Rimington became the first DG of MI5 to pose openly for cameras at the launch of a brochure outlining the organisation's activities.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 529 reviews
November 30, 2016
Ex-spooks with a modicum of writing ability sometimes turn to writing spy thrillers once they’ve left the world of espionage. Rarely, though, do we see fictional treatments of the game come from anyone who retired at the very top of the game. Dame Stella Rimington is one of what must be only a handful of examples. She retired in 1996 as Director General of MI5, Britain’s counter-intelligence service, the only woman ever to have served in the post. Her first novel, At Risk, appeared in 2004, introducing her alter ego, MI5 officer Liz Carlyle. That first book has been followed to date by nine others, one every year or two. It turns out that not only does Rimington know how the counterespionage business works, she’s able to describe it with great skill — and create a great deal of suspense in the process. At Risk is an espionage thriller that fulfills its promise.
Liz Carlyle, now 34 years of age, is a ten-year veteran of MI5. She is in a relationship with a married man whom she’s on the verge of dumping, as she has so many of his predecessors. Her mother wants her to move home and find a marriageable man, settle down, and give her grandchildren. Predictably, Liz has no intention of complying.
At MI5, Carlyle “runs agents” and serves on the Joint Counter-Terrorist group along with representatives of MI6, the police Special Branch, GCHQ (Britain’s NSA), and, sometimes, the Home Office and the Foreign Office. At a meeting of this inter-agency group, MI6 discloses that a terrorist is about to enter the country — an “invisible” capable of blending perfectly into English society. The terrorist’s identity, and his or her intentions, are unknown.
No sooner has Liz begun work on the case than she hears disturbing news from an informant who had reported to her when she was involved in investigating organized crime. Apparently, a crime boss engaged in smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants into the country is expecting a very big shipment; the boss is nervous, and the informant is terrified. Is there a connection to the terrorist on the way? This being fiction, we surmise that that is the case. But how the connection is revealed is fascinating.
At Risk is a superior example of espionage fiction. It’s tense almost from the very beginning, the suspense builds steadily throughout, and the ending is shocking in more ways than one. Highly recommended.
Liz Carlyle, now 34 years of age, is a ten-year veteran of MI5. She is in a relationship with a married man whom she’s on the verge of dumping, as she has so many of his predecessors. Her mother wants her to move home and find a marriageable man, settle down, and give her grandchildren. Predictably, Liz has no intention of complying.
At MI5, Carlyle “runs agents” and serves on the Joint Counter-Terrorist group along with representatives of MI6, the police Special Branch, GCHQ (Britain’s NSA), and, sometimes, the Home Office and the Foreign Office. At a meeting of this inter-agency group, MI6 discloses that a terrorist is about to enter the country — an “invisible” capable of blending perfectly into English society. The terrorist’s identity, and his or her intentions, are unknown.
No sooner has Liz begun work on the case than she hears disturbing news from an informant who had reported to her when she was involved in investigating organized crime. Apparently, a crime boss engaged in smuggling drugs and illegal immigrants into the country is expecting a very big shipment; the boss is nervous, and the informant is terrified. Is there a connection to the terrorist on the way? This being fiction, we surmise that that is the case. But how the connection is revealed is fascinating.
At Risk is a superior example of espionage fiction. It’s tense almost from the very beginning, the suspense builds steadily throughout, and the ending is shocking in more ways than one. Highly recommended.
August 5, 2025
On August 3rd, 2025, according to what I read on the BBC news online - "Dame Stella Rimington, MI5's first female director general, has died [...] Dame Stella, headed the security service from 1992 to 1996, was widely credited as being the model for Dame Judi Dench's M in the James Bond films." Her service at MI5 began in 1969, that's a total of 27 years. I discovered that she'd written the 'Liz Carlyle' series and thought I'd give it a go.
The blurb on the front cover states, "A cracking good thriller," and I couldn't put it better myself. This first volume in the series introduces us to Liz Carlyle member of the Joint Counter-Terrorist group at “Thames House, the headquarters of MI5” in London, UK. The group meets each Monday morning and is “made up of MI5 investigators and agent runners and liaison officers from MI6, GCHQ and Metropolitan Police Special Branch, with Home Office and Foreign Office attending as required.”
From the first page I detected the author’s love of colour – from Liz Carlyle’s plum-coloured shoes to her unwillingness to submit to a dress code that would render her “somewhere between sombre and invisible.” Her choice of outfits selected from “the antique clothing stalls in Camden Market,” raise a few eyebrows even though they don’t flout Service rules.
Rimington creates the outline and fills in the details very cleverly, including clues here and there. In chapter five, we learn that Liz is an ‘agent-runner’ and “anxiety was her constant companion, an ever-present shadow.” It’s her job to place agents in danger, at risk of discovery to illicit information.
We learn that her mother’s “unspoken hope was that she should return to the country and ‘settle down,’ before spinsterhood and the City of Dreadful Night [London] claimed her for ever.” Liz is hopeful of “Extricating herself from the maternal web.”
I wasn't too familiar with some of the details of public school (private boarding schools in the UK) life and was bemused by “The story of the woman who walks into a room where there are three former public schoolboys. The Etonian asks her if she’d like to sit down, the Wykehamist pulls up a chair, and the Harrovian sits on it.” I was aware of the prestigious boarding schools of Eton and Harrow, but had to look up which school a 'Wykehamist' is from - the answer is Winchester College, an exclusive boarding school in Winchester, Hampshire.
The following quote refers to MI6 (Military Intelligence, section Six) - “That was so Six, the suggestion that the day – and the business of counter-terrorism – was really one long cocktail party.”
I loved this wander down the memory lane of childhood sweet shops:
‘Flying saucers!’ Liz heard Mackay exclaim in reverent disbelief. ‘I haven’t seen these since … And Love Hearts!’ Further on, Mackay says, ‘At least let me stand you a liquorice bootlace. They make your tongue go black.’
My own favorite afterschool indulgence was a sherbet dab – a small cardboard tube with tangy lemon powdered sherbet complete with a stick of liquorice to access the sherbet once you’d wet the liquorice with your saliva.
Finally, Mackay describes how he made money from the flying saucers:
‘At school, I used to empty the powder out of these and sell it for a fiver a line. No finer sight than a group of well-heeled public schoolboys snorting lemon sherbet and then trying to persuade themselves that they’re completely off their heads.’ I truly had no idea of this!
A paragraph that gave me pause: “These are the British we’re dealing with, and they are a vengeful people. They are quite happy to see their elderly starve to death on council estates or die of neglect in filthy hospital corridors, but harm the least of them – the fisherman, the old woman – and they will pursue you to the ends of the earth. They will never, ever give up.”
And, I got goose bumps when I read this: “They’ve sent a woman. I can feel her shadow.”
Overall, it was an enthralling read, which I truly got swept up in each time I picked it back up, however I wasn't fully convinced by the reasoning at the conclusion. Still, I am excited to continue on with the series and have already put the next volume on hold via the Herefordshire library system.
A reference is made to the “headbangers from Hereford” – This refers to the SAS (Special Air Service). I found this definition online from the BBC: “The SAS are based in Hereford, and are the best-known elite fighting force in the world. The hand-picked troops who serve in "The Regiment" have had to pass a selection process that is legendarily tough.”
From the acknowledgments: “She [Liz Carlyle] is obviously in large part autobiographical but she also draws on a number of other female intelligence officers I have met during my professional career.”
The blurb on the front cover states, "A cracking good thriller," and I couldn't put it better myself. This first volume in the series introduces us to Liz Carlyle member of the Joint Counter-Terrorist group at “Thames House, the headquarters of MI5” in London, UK. The group meets each Monday morning and is “made up of MI5 investigators and agent runners and liaison officers from MI6, GCHQ and Metropolitan Police Special Branch, with Home Office and Foreign Office attending as required.”
From the first page I detected the author’s love of colour – from Liz Carlyle’s plum-coloured shoes to her unwillingness to submit to a dress code that would render her “somewhere between sombre and invisible.” Her choice of outfits selected from “the antique clothing stalls in Camden Market,” raise a few eyebrows even though they don’t flout Service rules.
Rimington creates the outline and fills in the details very cleverly, including clues here and there. In chapter five, we learn that Liz is an ‘agent-runner’ and “anxiety was her constant companion, an ever-present shadow.” It’s her job to place agents in danger, at risk of discovery to illicit information.
We learn that her mother’s “unspoken hope was that she should return to the country and ‘settle down,’ before spinsterhood and the City of Dreadful Night [London] claimed her for ever.” Liz is hopeful of “Extricating herself from the maternal web.”
I wasn't too familiar with some of the details of public school (private boarding schools in the UK) life and was bemused by “The story of the woman who walks into a room where there are three former public schoolboys. The Etonian asks her if she’d like to sit down, the Wykehamist pulls up a chair, and the Harrovian sits on it.” I was aware of the prestigious boarding schools of Eton and Harrow, but had to look up which school a 'Wykehamist' is from - the answer is Winchester College, an exclusive boarding school in Winchester, Hampshire.
The following quote refers to MI6 (Military Intelligence, section Six) - “That was so Six, the suggestion that the day – and the business of counter-terrorism – was really one long cocktail party.”
I loved this wander down the memory lane of childhood sweet shops:
‘Flying saucers!’ Liz heard Mackay exclaim in reverent disbelief. ‘I haven’t seen these since … And Love Hearts!’ Further on, Mackay says, ‘At least let me stand you a liquorice bootlace. They make your tongue go black.’
My own favorite afterschool indulgence was a sherbet dab – a small cardboard tube with tangy lemon powdered sherbet complete with a stick of liquorice to access the sherbet once you’d wet the liquorice with your saliva.
Finally, Mackay describes how he made money from the flying saucers:
‘At school, I used to empty the powder out of these and sell it for a fiver a line. No finer sight than a group of well-heeled public schoolboys snorting lemon sherbet and then trying to persuade themselves that they’re completely off their heads.’ I truly had no idea of this!
A paragraph that gave me pause: “These are the British we’re dealing with, and they are a vengeful people. They are quite happy to see their elderly starve to death on council estates or die of neglect in filthy hospital corridors, but harm the least of them – the fisherman, the old woman – and they will pursue you to the ends of the earth. They will never, ever give up.”
And, I got goose bumps when I read this: “They’ve sent a woman. I can feel her shadow.”
Overall, it was an enthralling read, which I truly got swept up in each time I picked it back up, however I wasn't fully convinced by the reasoning at the conclusion. Still, I am excited to continue on with the series and have already put the next volume on hold via the Herefordshire library system.
A reference is made to the “headbangers from Hereford” – This refers to the SAS (Special Air Service). I found this definition online from the BBC: “The SAS are based in Hereford, and are the best-known elite fighting force in the world. The hand-picked troops who serve in "The Regiment" have had to pass a selection process that is legendarily tough.”
From the acknowledgments: “She [Liz Carlyle] is obviously in large part autobiographical but she also draws on a number of other female intelligence officers I have met during my professional career.”
June 16, 2009
If you enjoy spy intrigue stories you will love this book. The plot is captivating and of course extremely realistic considering the author's previous career with MI5. My only complaint was that I needed a "British-English / American-English" dictionary to help me with a lot of the lingo. Also, there are some assumptions made by the author with regards to British culture that not all her non-British readers will be familiar with.
September 20, 2019
With excellent writing, perfect plotting and several twists, this has a feeling of authenticity - as it should, given the author's background. The only complaints I have about this are minor: there are a few threads of story which don't seem to go anywhere (I wonder if they come to something later in the series?) and the pacing is sometimes a little bit spotty (which I can forgive, this being a debut novel). A solid 4* from me; I'm looking forward to picking up the second in the series.
March 22, 2018
The only reason this book could have been a bestseller was because the author being a Former Operative of MI5.
A Director General at that.
And the first woman Director General.
That's it.
No, I'll admit, I bought this book for exactly those reasons. I wanted to read some "inside stuff" , from the other side that up until now is always been used as more or less a seductress or defector, but never the Protagonist. Or at very few successful occasions. A genre dominated by men. But let me further clear it up a bit. IT'S NOT AN ESPIONAGE NOVEL. If you were thinking a lady John Le carre, pack your expectations right now.
Plot :
Liz Carlyle works in MI5 in a joint task force which tracks terrorist movements (her desk job is being an 'Agent Runner'). She gets a tip from one of her guys that there is an "invisible" on the move, (a person who can perfectly blend in a particular country's surroundings and culture.) originated somewhere in Pakistan. There is another guy accompanying this invisible. His landing goes sideways. A bunch of murders follows. The confusion regarding possible targets ensues, with American Airbases in England having top-possibility. The end comes with one or two hastily thought-out twists.
For a novel which gets a two star, it starts off surprisingly well. We get to know the life of a woman working in intelligence business. Her mother is an archetypical worrier. She wants her daughter to marry one of those English gentlemen, take over her garden and herbs and settle down in general. Liz, of-course, scoffs at the whole fantasy. She's having an illicit affair with one of those newspaper guys (name's Mark) and is wondering whether its wise to let that continue. While mark is getting ready to leave everything behind,including his wife. Her apartment is a mess, laundry of Saturday still wet and smelling out of washing machine on Tuesday,and the like. But for such a disorganized woman, she has great sense of fashion. She doesn't wear those 'Formal Wear' inside office. But rather fashionable attires that raise appreciative to leery stares.
All this is fine, endearing even. But as soon as crisis starts, all that goes to dustbin. Her mother gets almost no mention. Her fashion sense gets no mention. Her dis-organization skills get no mention. Mark gets nothing but her voice-mail or "I'll call you later"s.
You maybe wondering, 'If there's nothing about it later than why has this guy been talking about it for a whole paragraph?'
Exactly my point.
This novel could have started exactly when Liz receives her briefing about the "Invisible" and wouldn't have lost anything of significance. Above mentioned things could've well affected our protagonist's hunting of the terrorists, (for example, her dis-organized style could be a hindrance to 'organizing' the hunt.) but she turns out to be the master-organizer, on the contrary, when it comes to business. Its contradiction to her character. Mark gets a very rude treatment. Terrorists on the loose or not, if a guy has talked to his wife about leaving her for a woman,who, won't even pick-up his phone calls even after being apprised of the fact; I'm bound to feel a little sympathy for him there.
There's a drug dealer angle and a Special Branch Officer possibly being on his payroll. Sadly this possibility neither affects the plot, nor is explored. Considering the Special branch officer is now handling one of Liz's former snitchs, and this snitch provides vital clues about first murder. (also,what happened to the dope dealer himself?)
There are other problems apart from unnecessary loose ends. Some of the back-stories does not blend in, feels more like stamped up. There is nothing relating to cleverness here, (deliberate subversion, suspecting wrong guys, laying traps, avoiding them. etc.) except once in the middle of the novel when the identity of Invisible is still a mystery. That too is rather...meh. The whole system is supremely in-efficient. To start off- in the beginning we get told that after 9/11, the inter-agency rivalries have been put to stop, yet the rest of novel wholly ignores the notion. (especially given the end.). MI-6's guy is a tanned chap named Bruno Mackay, who served in Pakistan, is all James bond, for all intents and purposes, including chasing women. And Liz hates him. Despite us being told otherwise. It takes a whole lot of resources to track two terrorist individuals, the cost of it could have well been the aim of those troublemakers. After-all isn't that what osama did? bringing down the whole American Economy in 2008 since the 'war on terror' started? We are also told that Liz 'can get into enemy's head'. And in a ret-conned way, the 'Invisible' also feels 'her breathing down their necks'. Sorry, I don't buy that. With these much resources involved, its hard to believe this whole 'getting in enemy's head' thing. In-fact the whole research for Liz is done by another woman named Judith Pratt, who's always on the other side of an electronic curtain. Messaging,phoning and emailing Liz.
But the biggest problem with the Novel is Stella's prose.
Maybe it's her intelligence and high-office background at that; which made her write reports in such difficult language that house oversight committees would approve of them without bothering to read it through. It's very hard to hold attention to her style. There's a thing Stephan King used to say : "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." and I'm no stickler (maybe even opposer) of such rules to creative freedom; but writings like these remind me why there has to be some. Coupled with not even marginally interesting plot and above mentioned loop-holes, it makes for a very disappointing read.
Maybe Stella Rimington should take some creative writing courses first.
If I could, I would've rated it a 1.5 star.
A Director General at that.
And the first woman Director General.
That's it.
No, I'll admit, I bought this book for exactly those reasons. I wanted to read some "inside stuff" , from the other side that up until now is always been used as more or less a seductress or defector, but never the Protagonist. Or at very few successful occasions. A genre dominated by men. But let me further clear it up a bit. IT'S NOT AN ESPIONAGE NOVEL. If you were thinking a lady John Le carre, pack your expectations right now.
Plot :
Liz Carlyle works in MI5 in a joint task force which tracks terrorist movements (her desk job is being an 'Agent Runner'). She gets a tip from one of her guys that there is an "invisible" on the move, (a person who can perfectly blend in a particular country's surroundings and culture.) originated somewhere in Pakistan. There is another guy accompanying this invisible. His landing goes sideways. A bunch of murders follows. The confusion regarding possible targets ensues, with American Airbases in England having top-possibility. The end comes with one or two hastily thought-out twists.
For a novel which gets a two star, it starts off surprisingly well. We get to know the life of a woman working in intelligence business. Her mother is an archetypical worrier. She wants her daughter to marry one of those English gentlemen, take over her garden and herbs and settle down in general. Liz, of-course, scoffs at the whole fantasy. She's having an illicit affair with one of those newspaper guys (name's Mark) and is wondering whether its wise to let that continue. While mark is getting ready to leave everything behind,including his wife. Her apartment is a mess, laundry of Saturday still wet and smelling out of washing machine on Tuesday,and the like. But for such a disorganized woman, she has great sense of fashion. She doesn't wear those 'Formal Wear' inside office. But rather fashionable attires that raise appreciative to leery stares.
All this is fine, endearing even. But as soon as crisis starts, all that goes to dustbin. Her mother gets almost no mention. Her fashion sense gets no mention. Her dis-organization skills get no mention. Mark gets nothing but her voice-mail or "I'll call you later"s.
You maybe wondering, 'If there's nothing about it later than why has this guy been talking about it for a whole paragraph?'
Exactly my point.
This novel could have started exactly when Liz receives her briefing about the "Invisible" and wouldn't have lost anything of significance. Above mentioned things could've well affected our protagonist's hunting of the terrorists, (for example, her dis-organized style could be a hindrance to 'organizing' the hunt.) but she turns out to be the master-organizer, on the contrary, when it comes to business. Its contradiction to her character. Mark gets a very rude treatment. Terrorists on the loose or not, if a guy has talked to his wife about leaving her for a woman,who, won't even pick-up his phone calls even after being apprised of the fact; I'm bound to feel a little sympathy for him there.
There's a drug dealer angle and a Special Branch Officer possibly being on his payroll. Sadly this possibility neither affects the plot, nor is explored. Considering the Special branch officer is now handling one of Liz's former snitchs, and this snitch provides vital clues about first murder. (also,what happened to the dope dealer himself?)
There are other problems apart from unnecessary loose ends. Some of the back-stories does not blend in, feels more like stamped up. There is nothing relating to cleverness here, (deliberate subversion, suspecting wrong guys, laying traps, avoiding them. etc.) except once in the middle of the novel when the identity of Invisible is still a mystery. That too is rather...meh. The whole system is supremely in-efficient. To start off- in the beginning we get told that after 9/11, the inter-agency rivalries have been put to stop, yet the rest of novel wholly ignores the notion. (especially given the end.). MI-6's guy is a tanned chap named Bruno Mackay, who served in Pakistan, is all James bond, for all intents and purposes, including chasing women. And Liz hates him. Despite us being told otherwise. It takes a whole lot of resources to track two terrorist individuals, the cost of it could have well been the aim of those troublemakers. After-all isn't that what osama did? bringing down the whole American Economy in 2008 since the 'war on terror' started? We are also told that Liz 'can get into enemy's head'. And in a ret-conned way, the 'Invisible' also feels 'her breathing down their necks'. Sorry, I don't buy that. With these much resources involved, its hard to believe this whole 'getting in enemy's head' thing. In-fact the whole research for Liz is done by another woman named Judith Pratt, who's always on the other side of an electronic curtain. Messaging,phoning and emailing Liz.
But the biggest problem with the Novel is Stella's prose.
Maybe it's her intelligence and high-office background at that; which made her write reports in such difficult language that house oversight committees would approve of them without bothering to read it through. It's very hard to hold attention to her style. There's a thing Stephan King used to say : "The road to hell is paved with adverbs." and I'm no stickler (maybe even opposer) of such rules to creative freedom; but writings like these remind me why there has to be some. Coupled with not even marginally interesting plot and above mentioned loop-holes, it makes for a very disappointing read.
Maybe Stella Rimington should take some creative writing courses first.
If I could, I would've rated it a 1.5 star.
July 26, 2012
"In any campaign, the first stronghold that you have to occupy is your enemy's consciousness" - Feliks Dzerzhinsky KGB founder p 424.
"They make a wilderness, and call it peace" - Tacitus, Roman Empire p 554.
Quotations show the breadth of heroine Liz (and author Stella's) education.
I may continue series, but I more admire than like: heroine Liz, her deceptive frightening world, traitors - novice Jean or jaded Mansoor. The Western good guys stumble always a footstep behind the Islamic terrorists, in slow reveal. Clues dribble tediously, sought, (mis)interpreted. The suspense builds fact by fact.
Author, retired MI6 director, knew her job, and tells us expertly, teasingly, so 5* for series debut, started after actress mentioned on extras for http://aneyespy.blogspot.ca/2012/06/s... Anecdotes have ring of truth, like "well-heeled public schoolboys snorting lemon sherbet" from sweets to drug high p266. Denzil refuses drink because driving - "straight to the pub" p525.
Minor characters, no matter their values, have ring of reality, in names and descriptions: flashy Eastman, pretentious Peregrine, busty Cherisse. Conversations, events have hint of truth, sometimes irrelevant, disjoint comic relief, better edited out.
Liz laughs at idea of fifty rubber Santa masks p42. Suggestion of possible enemy disguise distracts from plot direction. So does romance side-plot -- neglected flat, personal life. Married boyfriend Mark phones, he has confessed to wife and left; she is rude, selfish, spares no minute to let him know he's history; nagging need keeps bobbing up, positive persistence negative side.
Work is excuse for dropped relationships. McKay says "I love it when you talk dirty" disrespectfully in front of professional peers for "joke"; she drives hard off the road, slamming brakes in return p319.
MI5 (British Military Intelligence internal) terrorist analyst Liz Carlyle 32 is softly-dressed but tough-spoken to everyone. MI6 Bruno Mackay also 32 has good looks "far too emphatic" p15. ("her opposite number" p70, he is not like Jacob Hay's from Ellery Queen's "Eyes of Mystery" http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ) His superior Geoffrey Fane is ongoing enemy in series. Her former source Zander bypasses his official Special Branch handler Morrison.
British society classes block help between levels: upper-crust Etonian MI6 (international division), career Army, or cop on the daily beat. Lakeby avoids "using the men's names - a subtle but unmistakable putting of them into their place p177. Sticky spiderwebs entangle, hinder solution.
Liz can use deliberate bureaucratic bumbling. If nit-picking bully "jobsworth" Morrison buries valuable data, she has "more pieces of the jigsaw than anyone else. Which was how she liked it" p126.
Adulterous sergeants Mudie and Clissold snog rather than search thoroughly p367. Throughout series, Liz only trusts chivalrous superior Wetherby, whose wife is chronically ill; reader sees Liz has crush on him; blossoms later bear fruit.
The infiltrator is feared because "invisible", CIA for "native of target country" p17. At first Jean D'Aubigny, surname French, speech "posh English", slips notice.
Rimington flows, usually easily, in current of time, varies viewpoints, invents believable histories. Islam fills a typical "desperately lonely" p136 teen need to belong. Aliases, such as name on license Lucy p231, kept straight by author expertise. "Collateral Damage" (Schwarzenegger's film does theme better, equivocates black and white, good and bad) accidentally bombs Mansoor's family wedding p470. Disaster is set in train.
Likewise, a tiny trait, a greedy fisherman Gunter, starts the downfall of the Muslim plan. Liz recognizes the specialist silent armor-piercing bullet p208; trivia transforms into key. Camp instructor recited "To kill an enemy of Islam is to be reborn" p403, but laughs, because new existence is "reborn dead .. changed everything .. she felt nothing" p538.
"They're looking for us, I can feel it" p234. "I can feel her shadow" p467. Reality is spoiled by dreams, psychic supernatural trash.
Viewpoint from Denzil on school holiday, keeps crossing paths with the terrorist couple, confusing until the end.
Asides:
Acronyms are thankfully minimal: ITS is Islamic Terrorist Syndicate p16, COBRA is Whitehall Cabinet Office Briefing Room p395.
A leather jacket in Canada costs more than cloth, so "cheap-looking and unfashionable" p278 strikes an off note.
Like Agatha Christie uses italics, Rimington uses bold letters for emphasis. Factory assembly line romance style founder Barbara Cartland was over-fond of exclamation marks. Is this a British speech pattern "thing", like Hollywood air quotes?
"They make a wilderness, and call it peace" - Tacitus, Roman Empire p 554.
Quotations show the breadth of heroine Liz (and author Stella's) education.
I may continue series, but I more admire than like: heroine Liz, her deceptive frightening world, traitors - novice Jean or jaded Mansoor. The Western good guys stumble always a footstep behind the Islamic terrorists, in slow reveal. Clues dribble tediously, sought, (mis)interpreted. The suspense builds fact by fact.
Author, retired MI6 director, knew her job, and tells us expertly, teasingly, so 5* for series debut, started after actress mentioned on extras for http://aneyespy.blogspot.ca/2012/06/s... Anecdotes have ring of truth, like "well-heeled public schoolboys snorting lemon sherbet" from sweets to drug high p266. Denzil refuses drink because driving - "straight to the pub" p525.
Minor characters, no matter their values, have ring of reality, in names and descriptions: flashy Eastman, pretentious Peregrine, busty Cherisse. Conversations, events have hint of truth, sometimes irrelevant, disjoint comic relief, better edited out.
Liz laughs at idea of fifty rubber Santa masks p42. Suggestion of possible enemy disguise distracts from plot direction. So does romance side-plot -- neglected flat, personal life. Married boyfriend Mark phones, he has confessed to wife and left; she is rude, selfish, spares no minute to let him know he's history; nagging need keeps bobbing up, positive persistence negative side.
Work is excuse for dropped relationships. McKay says "I love it when you talk dirty" disrespectfully in front of professional peers for "joke"; she drives hard off the road, slamming brakes in return p319.
MI5 (British Military Intelligence internal) terrorist analyst Liz Carlyle 32 is softly-dressed but tough-spoken to everyone. MI6 Bruno Mackay also 32 has good looks "far too emphatic" p15. ("her opposite number" p70, he is not like Jacob Hay's from Ellery Queen's "Eyes of Mystery" http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ) His superior Geoffrey Fane is ongoing enemy in series. Her former source Zander bypasses his official Special Branch handler Morrison.
British society classes block help between levels: upper-crust Etonian MI6 (international division), career Army, or cop on the daily beat. Lakeby avoids "using the men's names - a subtle but unmistakable putting of them into their place p177. Sticky spiderwebs entangle, hinder solution.
Liz can use deliberate bureaucratic bumbling. If nit-picking bully "jobsworth" Morrison buries valuable data, she has "more pieces of the jigsaw than anyone else. Which was how she liked it" p126.
Adulterous sergeants Mudie and Clissold snog rather than search thoroughly p367. Throughout series, Liz only trusts chivalrous superior Wetherby, whose wife is chronically ill; reader sees Liz has crush on him; blossoms later bear fruit.
The infiltrator is feared because "invisible", CIA for "native of target country" p17. At first Jean D'Aubigny, surname French, speech "posh English", slips notice.
Rimington flows, usually easily, in current of time, varies viewpoints, invents believable histories. Islam fills a typical "desperately lonely" p136 teen need to belong. Aliases, such as name on license Lucy p231, kept straight by author expertise. "Collateral Damage" (Schwarzenegger's film does theme better, equivocates black and white, good and bad) accidentally bombs Mansoor's family wedding p470. Disaster is set in train.
Likewise, a tiny trait, a greedy fisherman Gunter, starts the downfall of the Muslim plan. Liz recognizes the specialist silent armor-piercing bullet p208; trivia transforms into key. Camp instructor recited "To kill an enemy of Islam is to be reborn" p403, but laughs, because new existence is "reborn dead .. changed everything .. she felt nothing" p538.
"They're looking for us, I can feel it" p234. "I can feel her shadow" p467. Reality is spoiled by dreams, psychic supernatural trash.
Viewpoint from Denzil on school holiday, keeps crossing paths with the terrorist couple, confusing until the end.
Asides:
Acronyms are thankfully minimal: ITS is Islamic Terrorist Syndicate p16, COBRA is Whitehall Cabinet Office Briefing Room p395.
A leather jacket in Canada costs more than cloth, so "cheap-looking and unfashionable" p278 strikes an off note.
Like Agatha Christie uses italics, Rimington uses bold letters for emphasis. Factory assembly line romance style founder Barbara Cartland was over-fond of exclamation marks. Is this a British speech pattern "thing", like Hollywood air quotes?
February 17, 2011
Stella Rimington really grabs the reader from the very beginning. Characters and plot are intertwined like strands of string in a cord, each heading toward a final event that has anti-terrorist agents worried. Along the way, we grown closer to intelligence officer Liz Caryle, who has spent a lifetime trying to prove herself in a very dangerous, male-oriented environment.
Liz and her counter-terrorist teammates must learn whether the opposition has finally been able to land an foreign agent on UK soil to commit an horrendous act with the help of a "invisible." An invisible, explains the book cover, "is CIA-speak for the ultimate intelligence nightmare: a terrorist who is an ethnic native of the target country and who can therefore cross its borders unchecked, moves around the country unquestioned, and go unnoticed while settng up the foundation for monstrous harm."
This is the backdrop of At Risk. This novel is authored by novelist Stella Rimington, after she retired from Britain's Security Service (MI5) as director general after thirty-five years of service, which included responsilibiies of investigationing counter-subversion, counter-espionage, and counter-terrorism. In short, Rimington writes from her own experiences working in that gray netherworld that is seldom touched by daylight. A well-written, well-crafted novel. I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy this genre.
Liz and her counter-terrorist teammates must learn whether the opposition has finally been able to land an foreign agent on UK soil to commit an horrendous act with the help of a "invisible." An invisible, explains the book cover, "is CIA-speak for the ultimate intelligence nightmare: a terrorist who is an ethnic native of the target country and who can therefore cross its borders unchecked, moves around the country unquestioned, and go unnoticed while settng up the foundation for monstrous harm."
This is the backdrop of At Risk. This novel is authored by novelist Stella Rimington, after she retired from Britain's Security Service (MI5) as director general after thirty-five years of service, which included responsilibiies of investigationing counter-subversion, counter-espionage, and counter-terrorism. In short, Rimington writes from her own experiences working in that gray netherworld that is seldom touched by daylight. A well-written, well-crafted novel. I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy this genre.
December 15, 2022
An average thriller with somewhat shallow characters and a predictable outcome. Two invisibles have entered the UK, and they have a target in mind, destruction to be delivered in the form of a curde bomb. M15 Intelligence officer Liz Carlyle together with a motley crew of army officers and super smooth Bruno MaCay, Mi6's finest race against time to stop the predicted carnage. If you enjoy cheap thrills at the expense of character driven stories, then do read, however.....For those of you in the cheap seats I'd like ya to clap your hands to this one; the rest of you can just rattle your jewelry!'
A little irrelevant quote for you to enjoy (thank you JL :) which neatly closes a review lamenting the time I have wasted reading this indigestible fodder!
A little irrelevant quote for you to enjoy (thank you JL :) which neatly closes a review lamenting the time I have wasted reading this indigestible fodder!
January 24, 2025
A pacy well written spy thriller. It has an authentic feel as it is written by Dame Stella Rimmington. Of course some of the fun is guessing how much is autobiographical. It’s her debut novel and I would read others in the series.
Our protagonist Liz Carlyle is likeable and resourceful. There’s a little bit of coincidence which we’ll forgive to move the lot along. Having grown up in East Anglia I had the added benefit of knowing many of the locations.
Shades of Andy McNab and probably more Le Carré than James Bond. 400 pages but an easy read in 3 days.
Our protagonist Liz Carlyle is likeable and resourceful. There’s a little bit of coincidence which we’ll forgive to move the lot along. Having grown up in East Anglia I had the added benefit of knowing many of the locations.
Shades of Andy McNab and probably more Le Carré than James Bond. 400 pages but an easy read in 3 days.
January 22, 2015
This is Stella Rimington's first book, in which she introduces the character of Liz Carlyle who is employed by M15 as an agent-runner.
This book seems quite topical at the time I write this. It is based around what is called 'an invisible' by the security services.
Much of the story takes place in the rural parts of East Anglia. I like the way the novel is crafted. It is written from two view-points: Firstly through the eyes if Liz and her MI5 and M16 colleagues. Secondly through the eyes of ?? And ?? who are the radical Islamic Fundamentalists who are in England to undertake a terrorist action.
There are some good sections of dialogue which make the characters come to life. This is a story which certainly has a lot of pace. The tension builds steadily and the conflicts between the different organisations; police, military and special services are brought out well. Will Liz Carlyle get her villain(s)? You will need to read it to find out.
I look forward to reading 'the Secret Asset' the second book in the series.
This book seems quite topical at the time I write this. It is based around what is called 'an invisible' by the security services.
Much of the story takes place in the rural parts of East Anglia. I like the way the novel is crafted. It is written from two view-points: Firstly through the eyes if Liz and her MI5 and M16 colleagues. Secondly through the eyes of ?? And ?? who are the radical Islamic Fundamentalists who are in England to undertake a terrorist action.
There are some good sections of dialogue which make the characters come to life. This is a story which certainly has a lot of pace. The tension builds steadily and the conflicts between the different organisations; police, military and special services are brought out well. Will Liz Carlyle get her villain(s)? You will need to read it to find out.
I look forward to reading 'the Secret Asset' the second book in the series.
October 10, 2017
I like reading books, that are written by authors who have a knowledge of the subject matter, and this book has it in spades. Stella Rimington was the first female boss of MI5, and this first book in this series (I will be getting more!), is as relevant today as it was 13 years ago when it was written.
5/5
5/5
August 3, 2008
The adventures of Liz Carlyle, female MI5 officer, as conceived by former Director General of MI5, Stella Rimington? A no-brainer- this is utter, lose yourself in the adventure fun. Step aside, Jason Bourne, the lady has arrived!
December 7, 2017
Pacy espionage thriller, packed with lots of information about the nuts and bolts of investigative work - just as you would expect from a novel written by the former head of MI5. Liz Carlyle is assigned to a counter terrorist operation that involves an 'invisible' - a native of the target country who is hard to identify and locate. She has to analyse the intelligence reports and use all her skill and intuition to fill in the gaps in a seemingly impossible task, before a deadly attack takes place.
Very enjoyable, this novel is the kind of espionage story that focuses on the thrill of the chase rather than any labyrinthine double dealing in dark places. It has a genuine 'cat and mouse' feel, as the reader follows both the terrorists and their pursuers through a taut and exciting narrative. Liz is a likeable and feisty character, pragmatic and determined.
A series that is well worth following for anyone who enjoys entertaining but realistic modern espionage thrillers. Will definitely be reading more about Liz Carlyle in future.
Very enjoyable, this novel is the kind of espionage story that focuses on the thrill of the chase rather than any labyrinthine double dealing in dark places. It has a genuine 'cat and mouse' feel, as the reader follows both the terrorists and their pursuers through a taut and exciting narrative. Liz is a likeable and feisty character, pragmatic and determined.
A series that is well worth following for anyone who enjoys entertaining but realistic modern espionage thrillers. Will definitely be reading more about Liz Carlyle in future.
July 30, 2020
It was a pleasure to read this first novel in Stella Rimington's Liz Carlyle series. As the ex-Director of MI5, the writer certainly brings her considerable knowledge to bear on her subject of counter-terrorism. The writing is crisp, the plot well developed and the characters convincing. I've read a number of spy thrillers over the years, especially those set in the Soviet era. With terrorism now the major security threat to western countries, this series is timely. I've been meaning to read these books for some time; now I've started, I'm keen to continue.
May 5, 2020
My first book by Rimington but NOT my last!
I liked it. Good pace, well written, believable suspense. It's a mix between Ludlum and le Carre but without being too shadowy or high brow. I honestly can't remember if (or the last time) I read a spy/espionage/thriller like this where the protagonist was female. I thought Liz Carlyle was a great character.
I enjoyed it and as I say I'll definitely read another one with hopeful expectations.
I liked it. Good pace, well written, believable suspense. It's a mix between Ludlum and le Carre but without being too shadowy or high brow. I honestly can't remember if (or the last time) I read a spy/espionage/thriller like this where the protagonist was female. I thought Liz Carlyle was a great character.
I enjoyed it and as I say I'll definitely read another one with hopeful expectations.
August 22, 2020
At Risk by Stella Remington draws from Remington's experience as the first female director general of M15. I usually associate M15 with the James Bond books and movies and I can imagine this book made into a James Bond type movie. The main character Liz Carlyle, an intelligence officer with M15, is engaging and there are numerous colorful scenes to engage the reader.
March 30, 2020
I found this one under Thrillers on the library's ebook page. I think it's more of a police procedural than a spy thriller. I am binge watching the BBC's DCI Banks and this book reminded me a bit of that show. A bit slow to start. Will put #2 on my TBR list.
November 24, 2024
Un poliziesco scorrevole e ben confezionato, forte di una trama solida e personaggi non troppo stereotipati. Non punta a rivoluzionare le regole del genere ma solo a fornire qualche ora di piacevole evasione.
Traduzione discreta ma migliorabile: certi dialoghi sono un po' legnosi e alcune parole sono rese in modo improprio.
Traduzione discreta ma migliorabile: certi dialoghi sono un po' legnosi e alcune parole sono rese in modo improprio.
August 23, 2026
As you would expect with the author having been a director of MI5, this is an intelligence service based thriller. At times it was a bit clunky (her first novel) but overall I like the characters and the storyline. I'd definitely try another if it crossed my path.
September 24, 2019
An enjoyable spooks tale.
May 20, 2021
This one was a little on the slow side for me, but I liked it well enough to pick up the next book in the series.
April 16, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Fast read for a thriller, kept me up one night to finish which rarely happens as sleep is everything.
June 12, 2024
Made it half way.
February 8, 2026
3.5 stars. Solid British intelligence thriller. Looking forward to reading more in the series.
July 6, 2023
Really liked this spy/crime thriller - the author was the head of MI5 (!). Entertaining story and characters.
April 26, 2021
A good espionage thriller with a modern setting. The pace hots up and never relaxes and the ending is a beauty.
September 21, 2018
Stella Rimington's qualifications to tell this story are that she used to be M, the head of MI5. Okay, she was never called M, but the James Bond on-screen boss became a woman around the time Dame Stella became head of MI5 (I'm not 100% sure she is a Dame, but hey, artistic license, and you can google, too, if you try). So that means that you won't get any really stupid bloopers, the type that have real agents rolling on the floor, laughing their heads off.
There are different terrorists, here, they include a Pakistani-trained import into the UK, and a home grown 'invisible'. Clues creep in to indicate something big is going down. The forces of law and order get unexpected help from a greedy people-runner who thinks the new illegal immigrant can be easily robbed. His lesson otherwise lasts only a millisecond. Now the police are after our friend the terrorist. And the 'invisible' woman. And I always thought you couldn't have a truly silenced gun. Live and learn.
Of course that's not a spoiler! Bah, you can read the back cover.
Now, Liz Carlyle of MI5 and her surprisingly supportive boss (most such books have the protagonist trying to outsmart their boss as well) are trying to track down the villains. Yet the villains are smart, too. And committed. The 'invisible', who grew up a rebellious teen from a broken home, finds her true faith in Islam, converts, and then concludes the world is too bad and needs improvement. OK, she's a Pakistan-trained terrorist, too. (Oh, come on, less of the 'spoiler' howls, this is less than a quarter of the way through the book., and it's not like I told you her name and you went and checked her facebook profile. Sheesh). Step by step, all the people involved go down the paths of their own choices and the destinies they thereby choose.
Liz is 'assisted' by a flashy MI6 compatriot, Bruno Mackay, who fancies himself a romantic seducer, and completely rubs her the wrong way in many head-shaking ways.
And of course, as you might expect, they all conclude the terrorists will attack the wrong target. Last minute breakthroughs mean that England continues to be safe. Yay and all that.
This book is different from most thrillers. There's no shortage of the usual stuff: characterisation, building up motives, and the most obvious of villains (Islamic terrorists have completely supplanted communist Russians). Yet, the story has a steady, relentless pace--no terrific suspense scenes, just a systematic unfolding of the uncovering of the plot. It's not breathless, yet it's not leisurely. You feel for the characters, all of them, even the terrorists. Yet black is never whitened and white is not black. It's got several tropes in it, yet is more than the tropes.
Yes, it could happen this way. It may well have, in many ways. The novel has a real presence that most writers cannot manage. Maybe Frederick Forsyth, but maybe not even him.
I don't think S Rimington will write a whole lot of other novels. She's not a professional novelist, after all. And that's a real shame. I'd read more about Liz Carlyle any day. Or any other agent.
Read and enjoy!
At Risk lets you feel the mud and sea spray, and you know it could well happen this way in real life. You get not the whole persons, but the slice of their life when this event happened.
And the bad guys lose and all questions are answered. What more do you want?
[Reviewed in 2012 without checking Google, because, of course, it's part of a long series; uploaded here now]
There are different terrorists, here, they include a Pakistani-trained import into the UK, and a home grown 'invisible'. Clues creep in to indicate something big is going down. The forces of law and order get unexpected help from a greedy people-runner who thinks the new illegal immigrant can be easily robbed. His lesson otherwise lasts only a millisecond. Now the police are after our friend the terrorist. And the 'invisible' woman. And I always thought you couldn't have a truly silenced gun. Live and learn.
Of course that's not a spoiler! Bah, you can read the back cover.
Now, Liz Carlyle of MI5 and her surprisingly supportive boss (most such books have the protagonist trying to outsmart their boss as well) are trying to track down the villains. Yet the villains are smart, too. And committed. The 'invisible', who grew up a rebellious teen from a broken home, finds her true faith in Islam, converts, and then concludes the world is too bad and needs improvement. OK, she's a Pakistan-trained terrorist, too. (Oh, come on, less of the 'spoiler' howls, this is less than a quarter of the way through the book., and it's not like I told you her name and you went and checked her facebook profile. Sheesh). Step by step, all the people involved go down the paths of their own choices and the destinies they thereby choose.
Liz is 'assisted' by a flashy MI6 compatriot, Bruno Mackay, who fancies himself a romantic seducer, and completely rubs her the wrong way in many head-shaking ways.
And of course, as you might expect, they all conclude the terrorists will attack the wrong target. Last minute breakthroughs mean that England continues to be safe. Yay and all that.
This book is different from most thrillers. There's no shortage of the usual stuff: characterisation, building up motives, and the most obvious of villains (Islamic terrorists have completely supplanted communist Russians). Yet, the story has a steady, relentless pace--no terrific suspense scenes, just a systematic unfolding of the uncovering of the plot. It's not breathless, yet it's not leisurely. You feel for the characters, all of them, even the terrorists. Yet black is never whitened and white is not black. It's got several tropes in it, yet is more than the tropes.
Yes, it could happen this way. It may well have, in many ways. The novel has a real presence that most writers cannot manage. Maybe Frederick Forsyth, but maybe not even him.
I don't think S Rimington will write a whole lot of other novels. She's not a professional novelist, after all. And that's a real shame. I'd read more about Liz Carlyle any day. Or any other agent.
Read and enjoy!
At Risk lets you feel the mud and sea spray, and you know it could well happen this way in real life. You get not the whole persons, but the slice of their life when this event happened.
And the bad guys lose and all questions are answered. What more do you want?
[Reviewed in 2012 without checking Google, because, of course, it's part of a long series; uploaded here now]
November 1, 2021
I had the sudden urge to read a spy thriller recently, and opted for Stella Rimington because she was the head of MI5 in the 1990s. I inhaled this one in about two days flat and really enjoyed it, perhaps the more so as a palate cleanser after a rather lengthy fantasy series.
AT RISK is taut and pacy, but also a very very low-key, grounded counter-terrorism procedural which plays out fairly prosaically in Norfolk. In retrospect, it was not precisely the spy story I had in mind, which was more one of those globe-trotting cloak-and-dagger melodramas they make for the movies. However, Dame Stella won me over. She writes beautiful clear prose, accented with subtle but striking imagery. Similarly, the tone of the story is highly cerebral (our intrepid heroine is an MI5 analyst and agent-runner working off hunches and tiny clues; much of the story actually feels like a Dorothy Sayers mystery for this reason, with the difference that in a mystery you don't follow the baddies on their mission) but has just enough lightly-handled character beats that the story doesn't feel soulless.
Since the antagonists of this story are Muslim extremists plotting an act of terror, I was a little worried about how this element would be handled: I have good Muslim friends and don't like to see them slandered. In fact, in my limited perspective, I came away very impressed and encouraged by how this was handled:
- the point is made early on, very deftly, that there are Muslims who are peaceful and law-abiding, while right-wing extremists are also a significant terror threat;
- the Muslim characters are portrayed with what seems a bonafide attempt at empathy and understanding, they are complex people with long histories that have led them to this moment;
- the complicity of Western imperial aggression in provoking acts of terror and their ruthlessness in responding to such acts is very uncompromisingly portrayed.
In fact, the way in which the book showcases both the sympathetic motivations and the blood on the hands of both sides was one of the things I loved most about it: there are no black hats and white hats here.
On a less substantial level, I also really enjoyed the fun Rimington has pairing up her cerebral, play-by-the-book MI5 (domestic) heroine with an old-fashioned swashbuckling MI6 (international) operative. It isn't just a great buddy dynamic, it's also clearly giving Rimington a whole lot of fun making affectionate digs at a) her erstwhile colleages at MI6 and b) James Bond tropes. Neither of them quite trusts the other, both are keeping secrets, he flirts, she frosts up, I loved it. Sadly, it seems that the MI6 character doesn't show up in the majority of the sequels. Boo.
There were also things I didn't so much enjoy about the book, from the way the MI6 character's flirtation approaches sexual harassment (especially within the workplace setting), to the fact that nearly everyone in the story is committing adultery (even the protagonist). Thankfully, the author doesn't write sex scenes ("in thrillers, they distract from the plot" I read in one interview, which, THANK YOU, Dame Stella, someone had to say it!). Otherwise, I've rated the book for infrequent language.
Overall, a wonderfully deft and able counter-terrorism procedural with a cerebral plot, grounded in the author's extensive intelligence work, with fun characters, a core of deeper meaning, and undemanding literary prose. I enjoyed it hugely and will certainly be revisiting this series at some point.
AT RISK is taut and pacy, but also a very very low-key, grounded counter-terrorism procedural which plays out fairly prosaically in Norfolk. In retrospect, it was not precisely the spy story I had in mind, which was more one of those globe-trotting cloak-and-dagger melodramas they make for the movies. However, Dame Stella won me over. She writes beautiful clear prose, accented with subtle but striking imagery. Similarly, the tone of the story is highly cerebral (our intrepid heroine is an MI5 analyst and agent-runner working off hunches and tiny clues; much of the story actually feels like a Dorothy Sayers mystery for this reason, with the difference that in a mystery you don't follow the baddies on their mission) but has just enough lightly-handled character beats that the story doesn't feel soulless.
Since the antagonists of this story are Muslim extremists plotting an act of terror, I was a little worried about how this element would be handled: I have good Muslim friends and don't like to see them slandered. In fact, in my limited perspective, I came away very impressed and encouraged by how this was handled:
- the point is made early on, very deftly, that there are Muslims who are peaceful and law-abiding, while right-wing extremists are also a significant terror threat;
- the Muslim characters are portrayed with what seems a bonafide attempt at empathy and understanding, they are complex people with long histories that have led them to this moment;
- the complicity of Western imperial aggression in provoking acts of terror and their ruthlessness in responding to such acts is very uncompromisingly portrayed.
In fact, the way in which the book showcases both the sympathetic motivations and the blood on the hands of both sides was one of the things I loved most about it: there are no black hats and white hats here.
On a less substantial level, I also really enjoyed the fun Rimington has pairing up her cerebral, play-by-the-book MI5 (domestic) heroine with an old-fashioned swashbuckling MI6 (international) operative. It isn't just a great buddy dynamic, it's also clearly giving Rimington a whole lot of fun making affectionate digs at a) her erstwhile colleages at MI6 and b) James Bond tropes. Neither of them quite trusts the other, both are keeping secrets, he flirts, she frosts up, I loved it. Sadly, it seems that the MI6 character doesn't show up in the majority of the sequels. Boo.
There were also things I didn't so much enjoy about the book, from the way the MI6 character's flirtation approaches sexual harassment (especially within the workplace setting), to the fact that nearly everyone in the story is committing adultery (even the protagonist). Thankfully, the author doesn't write sex scenes ("in thrillers, they distract from the plot" I read in one interview, which, THANK YOU, Dame Stella, someone had to say it!). Otherwise, I've rated the book for infrequent language.
Overall, a wonderfully deft and able counter-terrorism procedural with a cerebral plot, grounded in the author's extensive intelligence work, with fun characters, a core of deeper meaning, and undemanding literary prose. I enjoyed it hugely and will certainly be revisiting this series at some point.
July 18, 2020
Always an intriguing admission by an author: that another person helped with the writing. One never knows entirely and exactly what that means. For what it is worth, in the case of the 2005 novel “At Risk,” the nominal author, Stella Rimington, was helped by Luke Jennings, author of the popular “Killing Eve” series.
Often, despite such a disclaimer, the nominal author does take some part in the writing and the plotting. “At Risk” is about a case handled by counterintelligence officer Liz Carlyle over the course of a few harrowing days. Rimington knows the world of counterintelligence inside out, having been a member of Britain’s MI5 for 27 years, ending her career there with four years as director general – as the head of this counterspy group. So I tend to believe her when she claims to have created the story told here.
A note to the uninitiated or just those who keep forgetting the difference between MI5 and MI6: Think of concentric rings laid over a map of the United Kingdom with a numeral “1” in the center of the Isle of Britain. Imagine the numerals going up to “5,” covering the English Channel and Northern Ireland. Now Imagine ring number “6” extending beyond the U.K.’s national boundaries and covering the rest of the world. That is the difference in jurisdiction between MI5 (close to home) and MI6 (everything outside of the U.K.).
There are, in practically every country, rivalries between intelligence agencies. Lawmakers and chief executives keep telling the agencies that they need to cooperate, but they continue to keep their own council anyway. (My impression is that Homeland Security, the agency created by law in the United States to coordinate between all the preexisting intelligence gathering agencies, backfired in that not only do agencies still keep intelligence from each other, but Homeland is one of the worst offenders as it lords it over and withholds from the other agencies instead of setting a collegial example of sharing.)
In the U.S., the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which was founded as an enforcer of federal law and policer of interstate crime, also has a counterintelligence division. This division is comparable to and a sort of counterpart of the UK’s MI5, while the Central Intelligence Agency is pretty much equivalent to the U.K.'s MI6. Other books I have read point to the parallels in relations between each country's domestic and foreign intelligence services, and one similarity is that they don’t trust each other. That is more or less what is going on in this novel, telegraphed early on during a meeting between MI5 and MI6 in which they share information, but there is, ever after, a sense that each might be holding some things back.
Aside: At the end of the novel, we learn that the same rivalry occurs in Pakistan where the Interior Ministry’s Intelligence Bureau does not get along with the Defense Ministry’s Inter-Services Intelligence group.
All of this bad faith between the right hand and the left within the same government, is backdrop to a case of what initially looks like international terrorism visited on Britain’s shores by two mysterious figures, a Englishwoman who enters the country from France and a Pakistani man who is smuggled into the country via a channel that was previously used to bring drugs from Germany to the eastern coast of England and is now being used to convey illegal immigrants, including prostitutes, laborers and, in this case, “specials” who pay premium dollar (I should say pound) for round-trip service.
Things rapidly go wrong when one of the smugglers on the British end decides to rob the special passenger of his heavy and presumably valuable knapsack (er, “rucksack” as the British prefer to say), but the Pakistani has a gun, and he uses it to blow the smuggler’s head off. This being England, the authorities take particular notice of murders committed with firearms. As Liz later notes, the terrorists’ operation was so carefully planned that it probably would have remained under the radar if only the smuggler had not been so greedy and his “special” passenger not so quick to kill him.
With a few short exceptions, the point of view goes back and forth between Liz’s viewpoint and that of “Lucy” (not her real name), the British confederate of the Pakistani man, Faraj. The two women are on opposite sides, one trying to arrest the other, the other trying to avoid being arrested before she and Faraj can complete their mission.
What is their mission? That seems to be for Faraj to know and for Liz to figure out. She and her colleagues collect information by the various means at their disposal, but they are constantly frustrated by how much they cannot detect, and it turns out in the end that there are crucial pieces they are not sharing with each other. (Local law enforcement also resents national law enforcement for not sharing everything in a timely manner – that turns out to be just as true in the U.K. as it is in the U.S.A.)
Faraj knows more than he is telling Lucy, too, but it turns out in the end that Lucy knows, all along, something about their target that she is not telling us. (Faraj must know it, too, so there is never any need to state it.) One false note is that Lucy tells Faraj that she knows that they are being pursued by a female officer, but she never reveals how she knows this. Are we to believe that it is woman’s intuition?
Speaking of what is known to the characters, phrases like “as you well know” turn up at least four times and possibly more. This is a timeworn way to introduce exposition to the reader even though the speaker knows very well that the other characters do not need the information explained to them. All writers should try to avoid this cliche.
But this is an entertaining and diverting read. There is excitement and intrigue – at least at intervals. The plot is more rewarding and the conclusion more satisfying than in some other stories I have encountered lately. Several of the characters are on their own journeys. They change, their relationships with others sometimes deepen, although the effect of the changes are not always beneficial or fully comprehensible (sometimes they are inconclusive and could be meant to be resolved in a sequel, which I gather may already have been published), but that does not mean that these changes are not evocative of human nature, which is a mystery that one cannot always fathom in life or in fiction. Is it consistent? That is the only expectation that must be met. Here it is consistent, more or less.
The language of “At Risk” is quite British. British English is famously different from its American counterpart. Spelling (“characterise” instead of the American spelling “characterize” and “tyres” instead of “tires”), alternative vocabulary (“knackered” for “worn out,” “windscreen” in place of our “windshield” and “tip” instead of “dump”), and often subtle but slightly jarring differences in grammar. For instance, British and American English favor different choices of verbal phrases and a different conjugation of verbs with collective nouns: “The organisation send” (British) instead of “The organization sends” (American). It is a matter of conceiving of the organization as a group of people (“they send”) versus the organization as a single entity or unit (“it sends”).
British English is fully on display throughout this novel, more so than usual, I feel. Start with the title, "At Risk," which is a more British way of saying "In Danger."
Or take a couple of sentences from the last two pages:
“Six [i.e., the spy agency MI6] spend rather less time talking to the Intelligence Bureau….” (Instead of "Six spends rather less time....")
“Much better to keep stumm….” ("Stumm" is similar in meaning to "mum" as in “mums the word.”)
I made the mistake of not keeping my “British English Dictionary” close at hand as I read, so I had to guess at what some words meant or else skip them.
Often, despite such a disclaimer, the nominal author does take some part in the writing and the plotting. “At Risk” is about a case handled by counterintelligence officer Liz Carlyle over the course of a few harrowing days. Rimington knows the world of counterintelligence inside out, having been a member of Britain’s MI5 for 27 years, ending her career there with four years as director general – as the head of this counterspy group. So I tend to believe her when she claims to have created the story told here.
A note to the uninitiated or just those who keep forgetting the difference between MI5 and MI6: Think of concentric rings laid over a map of the United Kingdom with a numeral “1” in the center of the Isle of Britain. Imagine the numerals going up to “5,” covering the English Channel and Northern Ireland. Now Imagine ring number “6” extending beyond the U.K.’s national boundaries and covering the rest of the world. That is the difference in jurisdiction between MI5 (close to home) and MI6 (everything outside of the U.K.).
There are, in practically every country, rivalries between intelligence agencies. Lawmakers and chief executives keep telling the agencies that they need to cooperate, but they continue to keep their own council anyway. (My impression is that Homeland Security, the agency created by law in the United States to coordinate between all the preexisting intelligence gathering agencies, backfired in that not only do agencies still keep intelligence from each other, but Homeland is one of the worst offenders as it lords it over and withholds from the other agencies instead of setting a collegial example of sharing.)
In the U.S., the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which was founded as an enforcer of federal law and policer of interstate crime, also has a counterintelligence division. This division is comparable to and a sort of counterpart of the UK’s MI5, while the Central Intelligence Agency is pretty much equivalent to the U.K.'s MI6. Other books I have read point to the parallels in relations between each country's domestic and foreign intelligence services, and one similarity is that they don’t trust each other. That is more or less what is going on in this novel, telegraphed early on during a meeting between MI5 and MI6 in which they share information, but there is, ever after, a sense that each might be holding some things back.
Aside: At the end of the novel, we learn that the same rivalry occurs in Pakistan where the Interior Ministry’s Intelligence Bureau does not get along with the Defense Ministry’s Inter-Services Intelligence group.
All of this bad faith between the right hand and the left within the same government, is backdrop to a case of what initially looks like international terrorism visited on Britain’s shores by two mysterious figures, a Englishwoman who enters the country from France and a Pakistani man who is smuggled into the country via a channel that was previously used to bring drugs from Germany to the eastern coast of England and is now being used to convey illegal immigrants, including prostitutes, laborers and, in this case, “specials” who pay premium dollar (I should say pound) for round-trip service.
Things rapidly go wrong when one of the smugglers on the British end decides to rob the special passenger of his heavy and presumably valuable knapsack (er, “rucksack” as the British prefer to say), but the Pakistani has a gun, and he uses it to blow the smuggler’s head off. This being England, the authorities take particular notice of murders committed with firearms. As Liz later notes, the terrorists’ operation was so carefully planned that it probably would have remained under the radar if only the smuggler had not been so greedy and his “special” passenger not so quick to kill him.
With a few short exceptions, the point of view goes back and forth between Liz’s viewpoint and that of “Lucy” (not her real name), the British confederate of the Pakistani man, Faraj. The two women are on opposite sides, one trying to arrest the other, the other trying to avoid being arrested before she and Faraj can complete their mission.
What is their mission? That seems to be for Faraj to know and for Liz to figure out. She and her colleagues collect information by the various means at their disposal, but they are constantly frustrated by how much they cannot detect, and it turns out in the end that there are crucial pieces they are not sharing with each other. (Local law enforcement also resents national law enforcement for not sharing everything in a timely manner – that turns out to be just as true in the U.K. as it is in the U.S.A.)
Faraj knows more than he is telling Lucy, too, but it turns out in the end that Lucy knows, all along, something about their target that she is not telling us. (Faraj must know it, too, so there is never any need to state it.) One false note is that Lucy tells Faraj that she knows that they are being pursued by a female officer, but she never reveals how she knows this. Are we to believe that it is woman’s intuition?
Speaking of what is known to the characters, phrases like “as you well know” turn up at least four times and possibly more. This is a timeworn way to introduce exposition to the reader even though the speaker knows very well that the other characters do not need the information explained to them. All writers should try to avoid this cliche.
But this is an entertaining and diverting read. There is excitement and intrigue – at least at intervals. The plot is more rewarding and the conclusion more satisfying than in some other stories I have encountered lately. Several of the characters are on their own journeys. They change, their relationships with others sometimes deepen, although the effect of the changes are not always beneficial or fully comprehensible (sometimes they are inconclusive and could be meant to be resolved in a sequel, which I gather may already have been published), but that does not mean that these changes are not evocative of human nature, which is a mystery that one cannot always fathom in life or in fiction. Is it consistent? That is the only expectation that must be met. Here it is consistent, more or less.
The language of “At Risk” is quite British. British English is famously different from its American counterpart. Spelling (“characterise” instead of the American spelling “characterize” and “tyres” instead of “tires”), alternative vocabulary (“knackered” for “worn out,” “windscreen” in place of our “windshield” and “tip” instead of “dump”), and often subtle but slightly jarring differences in grammar. For instance, British and American English favor different choices of verbal phrases and a different conjugation of verbs with collective nouns: “The organisation send” (British) instead of “The organization sends” (American). It is a matter of conceiving of the organization as a group of people (“they send”) versus the organization as a single entity or unit (“it sends”).
British English is fully on display throughout this novel, more so than usual, I feel. Start with the title, "At Risk," which is a more British way of saying "In Danger."
Or take a couple of sentences from the last two pages:
“Six [i.e., the spy agency MI6] spend rather less time talking to the Intelligence Bureau….” (Instead of "Six spends rather less time....")
“Much better to keep stumm….” ("Stumm" is similar in meaning to "mum" as in “mums the word.”)
I made the mistake of not keeping my “British English Dictionary” close at hand as I read, so I had to guess at what some words meant or else skip them.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 529 reviews