Secret Asset

Liz Carlyle #2

by Stella Rimington

Liz has always been particularly skilled at assessing people, and when one of her agents reports suspicious meetings taking place at an Islamic bookshop, she trusts her instinct that a terrorist cell is at work. Her boss, Charles Wetherby, Director of Counter-Terrorism, knows to trust Liz's instincts as well: he immediately puts a surveillance operation into place.

So Liz is surprised when Wetherby suddenly takes her off the case. And she's shocked to hear why: Wetherby has received a tip-off that a mole a secret asset has been planted in one of the branches of British Intelligence. If this is true, the potential damage to the Service is immeasurable. As her colleagues work to avert an impending terrorist strike, Liz is charged with the momentous task of uncovering and exposing the mole before it's too late.

As she did in At Risk, Stella Rimington once again brings all her experience as the first woman Director General of MI5 to bear in a heart-stopping thriller that takes us deep into a wilderness of mirrors where nothing is what it seems and no one can be trusted.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Espionage, Mystery, Crime, Spy Thriller, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 3, 2006

About the author

Dame 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.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quickly became absorbed in this tale of treachery and enjoyed all the details. I found it easy to re-engage after each interruption. It didn't quite have the intensity of the first volume in the series, however I truly enjoyed the unraveling to the final conclusion.

Favourite quotes:

"Everyone has their reasons, and treachery is nearly always also loyalty."

"Looking at this biscuit-loving mountain of a man."

"'Domestic service' - once the prevalent Six view of MI5."

Regarding Liz's evolutionary interview techniques: "Some were pressed like juice oranges, some were coaxed, others positively encouraged. Even those who began by behaving like clams found thirty or forty minutes later that they had been opened."

Charles Wetherby quotes E. M. Forster: 'If I had to choose between betraying my country and betraying my friend, I hope I should have the guts to betray my country.' and adds, "'I've always felt our duty was precisely the opposite.'
'Me too,' said Liz simply."

[Simon Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

The former Director General of MI5 has written a spy thriller. It should have been the equivalent of Jamie Oliver cooking you dinner or David Beckham teaching your kids how to play football. In fact, it was a bit like Bruce Forsythe telling you how to stay young. I don’t think I truly understood what an airport thriller was like until I read this.

The problem with Secret Asset isn’t just that it wasn’t good enough to be good, it also wasn’t bad enough to be bad. At least bad books have the decency of helping you dislike it. But Secret Asset was just… bleh.

There are two cases being investigated: an upcoming terror attack by Muslim extremists, and a mole in MI5 planted by the IRA back in the times of the Troubles. The cases, like in all such books, inevitably merge into one connected dose of criminality.

Our leading lady, Liz Carlyle, is a likeable enough sort of a lead character, and Rimmington at least tries to flesh her out a bit; she is single, her flat is untidy and her mother has cancer. The cancer storyline in particular was about as random as it gets. We meet her mother in one brief scene and the treatment is mentioned a few times, always in the back of Liz’s mind. It seems like an afterthought by Rimmington to try to humanise her main character but fails. It adds nothing, isn’t developed and just seems like the keyboard meandered into a bit of a rut with that one.

Among Liz’s less human abilities are omniscience, or so it seems. Every hunch Liz has, every bit of intuition, is - quelle surprise - spot on. But despite her superhuman mind being laid out before us, we never really get the chance to get to know her properly. There’s no sympathy or understanding of the character other than a name of the person driving the plot.

The supporting cast is a simple collection of average fuzzy nobodys with nothing in particular to distinguish them from each other. They are a collection of stock characters, any of which could be dropped with no impact on the story.

Whodunnit in the whodunnit is plainly obvious. Even when you figure it out in books, you want to at least doubt yourself a bit. But it’s so incredibly stark from the outset, even Rimmington doesn’t bother getting excited with the reveal. Liz tells her boss, ‘It’s so and so’, and her boss agrees she’s probably right (of course). It has all the excitement of a wet fart.

When the story limps to its grand climax, it conjures all the enthusiasm of a cold pizza. The resolution of the villain’s crimes are ‘off-screen’, as it were, with some boring cameo character explaining what happened to them. There’s absolutely no reason we couldn’t have at least been shown that.

On the plus side, the writing style is clear and readable. A lot of novels – especially thrillers – have heavy bits you need to wade through, but Rimmington at least manages to keep you going with relative ease, although that’s probably to do with the lack of substance rather than any particular craft or design.

Remember, the author once ran the government body she’s writing about. Her former career as Director General is emblazoned on the front cover. And the inside flap. And the page before the inside flap. It’s a USP, and part of what drew me to the book in the first place, so it’s not unfair to expect some return on that boast. But instead of a unique insight into an intriguing world, instead of plots complex and villains insurmountable, we get a damp squib. It’s readable, and you’ll get through it fast. And then you’ll completely forget all about it.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting procedural interludes kept me reading through this MI5 tale which ties together the home-bred terrorism of the Northern Irish conflict with today's challenges from radicalized young Islamists. Rimmington's style can be rather didactic and strait-laced and , for me, she fails to bring alive the characters. But she clearly knows what she is writing about and the underlying theme of conflicted loyalties is nicely woven through the novel. I'm going to try some more Liz Carlyle books as I have the feeling Rimmington might loosen up a bit as she settles into the series. Hope so.

[James Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book.

The MI5 is the internal force in the UK to fight terrorists and spies. (MI6 works outside the UK). The author worked as its head before retiring. Her inside knowledge results in a more realistic storyline.

There's some action, suspense, some mystery but it's not over-the-top like US writers (Thor / Flynn).

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed: I had high expectations as I had enjoyed Rimington's first novel, but this one wasn't as good.

I failed to be concerned about the security risk - too general and (sadly) cliched in today's world - , and although it soon became clear how the mole plot line would tie in with the 1st plot, its initial link to Northern Ireland seemed too dated, too irrelevant (thankfully...) to develop any sense of urgency or serious worry.
The book is deftly constructed, but the writing is clunky, with with regular inserts of snippets of general knowledge which interrupt the pace without bringing information which is either unusual or interesting enough to justify the break.
Finally, I never developed any empathy / sympathy / interest in the protagonist, Liz. Not helped when ¾ of the way in she is referred to with her surname, "Liz Carlisle". Erm, yes, I know who she is, thank you, seeing as I'm reading a book in which she is the main character...

With neither plot, characters or writing quite hitting the mark, the book fell flat. I did not find it bad, but neither did I find it captivating, interesting or intriguing.

The location of the finale was pleasing: Blackwells and Trinity!

Plot: Marzipan, Liz's agent, reports that strange meetings are taking place in the bookshop in which he works. MI5 soon discover that a small group of islamists are planning an attack, presumably a suicide bombing. But whenever the service moves to capture the group, it finds that the birds have flown. MI5 conclude that there is a mole in their midst, and, surprise surprise, this turns out to be the same person that Liz was looking for after the deathbed confession of an IRA member. And, what a surprise, the mole is the dashing young man who has recently returned from Pakistan, and who is courting Liz... Liz unravels his motivations - hatred, and the desire to humiliate MI5 - and correctly guesses the location of the planned attack.

[James Rivett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh dear, I just finished this book and discovered Stella Rimington has died today.
Secret Asset has great possibilities. It is a MI5 procedural story as opposed to an MI6 James Bond action sequence looking for a plot. Rimington wrote well and with both easy fluency and detailed depiction of the mundane days in service at Thames House. Those who have criticised the lack of action and 'thrills' have missed the point of what this story is doing.
I personally liked the key characters. I found them believable and relatable, although some aspects were a little thin. Yes, they could be stock characters, but that is because they are realistic. I would have liked Peggy to have been more fleshed out and involved, but in many ways, the hard to define, quiet, and analytical figure is what she was intended to be.
The big issue for me was the ending. It was low-key and done behind closed doors. I would have thought we should have been witnesses, at least, although I completely understand the significance of the understated and almost unnoted resolution. This seems to be missed in many reviews. The finale was deliberately anticlimactic as the attempted action failed. And, given its nature and perpetrator, it had to be downplayed.
Good stuff, not quite John Le Carre, but I would read another.

[Suzannah Rowntree]

I enjoyed the first Liz Carlyle book, but sometimes it's hard to follow up a debut novel with something as good, and that seems to be the issue here. Nearly every aspect was less precise and perfectly judged in this second outing: the writing, the characterisation, the plot, the theme...

The two separate investigations don't mesh very well; I had the antagonist picked out far too early; the core of deeper meaning was almost vanished; the recurrence of an Islamic terror plot felt a bit unimaginative; there was no acknowledgement of governmental/establishment flaws (it was particularly painful to hear a character think approvingly that unlike Islamic law, UK law could not possibly be twisted to provide a cover for extremism...what); and most astonishingly, the book ended with the worst anticlimax I've ever found in a published book.

What is left is a decently grounded and accurate intelligence procedural, but not a patch on the first book. As regards the rest of the series, I feel sure Rimington has nowhere to go but up from here, but I might try some other spy stories first.

[Robert Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of John Le Care’s ‘Cold War’ novels which satirise the British establishment through the medium of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). The language employed is often deliberately opaque and elliptical but the characters are carefully drawn and their motives are often hidden and confusing. In contrast, the Liz Carlisle series of books by Stella Rimington, a former head of MI5 the domestic counterpart of SIS, are much more straightforward stories with simpler characters but are nevertheless, absorbing ‘page turners’. The principle character is interesting with an attractive personality and who keeps the reader glued to the plot. The conclusion to this novel is satisfying if slightly unexpected and leaves one looking forward to following ‘Liz’ into her next adventure. Recommended.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

MI5 is on the trail of a terror plot, but Liz Carlyle is also investigating the existence of a possible mole within the service.

The story pulls together the Islamist threat with the legacy of the Northern Ireland troubles. You’ll have worked out who the mole is before you’re halfway through but it doesn’t really matter since the narrative keeps you turning the pages as the various threads draw tighter.

You’d expect top-notch spycraft from a writer who’s a former head of MI5 and the work of the backroom data analysts here is as crucial as that of the frontline agents.

Overall it’s a pacey thriller that’s hard to put down.

[Jackie Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book 5 stars as it kept me guessing for quite a while trying to work out who the mole was and what damage they planned to do. It was a perfect holiday puzzle as clues and red herrings were dropped into text. However, once I’d guessed and then had it confirmed the rest of the book seemed to fizzle out a little for me. Don’t expect gory, violent scenes though as even the violence seems to be clinically passed over. I’m looking forward to Liz’s next adventure.

[Susan J. Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, well-paced read. Not quite edge-of-your-seat, but a solid spy story.

[Atholl BEattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like characters but slow plot ira bombers

[Helen O'Toole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great cast of characters, intriguing plot full of dastardly deeds, entertaining reading especially for a 42degree heat wave day.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sohail Din, a young Pakistani-British man, has postponed entry into law school for a year to serve as an undercover source for MI5. His agent runner, Liz Carlyle, returns from leave to find that Din has reported a visit by a notorious radical Pakistani imam to the Islamist bookstore where he works. There, the sheikh met with three young British men of Pakistani origin who are suspected of radical sympathies.

Suddenly, the inter-agency Counter-Terrorist Committee finds itself with a high-priority case. The Committee links MI5 (the Security Service) with MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service), GCHQ (Britain’s NSA), the Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard), and the Home Office (Britain’s Justice Department). MI5 takes the lead.

Suspecting an imminent terrorist attack on British soil, MI5 swings into action. As an officer in the counter-espionage department, Liz hopes to become involved in the investigation. But the Director of Counter-Terrorism, Charles Wetherby, pulls her aside for a secret assignment: determine whether one of the men or women working for MI5 is a mole. In the ensuing investigation, she uncovers suppressed old relationships to the IRA and suspicious circumstances involving several of her colleagues. Liz’s journey toward the truth takes her to Oxford University and to Queens University in Dublin as well as to a succession of towns in southern England. Eventually (no surprise!) the two investigations merge, rushing toward a tragic climax.

Secret Asset, like the other novels in the Liz Carlyle series, is a compelling read. In the manner of a police procedural, Rimington paints a detailed picture of the complex way in which a counter-terrorist investigation plays out. Practically no one who writes spy novels can match her for knowledge about the craft.

About the author

Dame Stella Rimington served in Britain’s Security Service (MI5) from 1969 to 1996. In the course of her career, she served in every major field of responsibility. She became director in succession of all three branches and became Director General in 1995. She turned to fiction in 2004 at the age of 69. She has since written a total of nine Liz Carlyle novels. Secret Asset was the second.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh .. I think it’s the narrator that bugs me.

[Ярослава · Rating 2 out of 5]

Стелла Рімінґтон, колишня директорка МІ5, написала серію детективів про агентку МІ5, яка запобігає терактам і вистежує подвійних агентів, і ця серія вичерпно демонструє, що для написання захопливого тексту не конче досконало розуміти, як саме працює те, про що пишеш - значно важливіше розуміти, як працює текст. А з цим біда.
Це має бути гостросюжетний текст: подвійні агенти! начинені вибухівкою вантажівки! убиті інформатори! І я розумію шарм procedurals із описом того, як все працює, але, їй-бо, конкретно це читається, як опис службових обов'язків якогось, просто не знаю, податкового інспектора. Сходили в такий-то відділ, поговорили з тим-то. Потім у іншій відділ, там теж поговорили. Дуже фрагментована структура з оповіддю від імені різних героїв не дає змоги ні за кого переживати, саспенсу нема як явища, напруги також. Напругу авторці вдається створити лише в одному моменті, за класичним рецептом: герою треба щось зробити, є строгий дедлайн, виникають якісь перешкоди, нагадуємо про дедлайн - біда в тому, що цей герой терорист, який намагається дещо підірвати, тобто за нього вболівати теж не виходить)))
Коротше, читнути можна. Але можна й не читнути.

[Elisha Condie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stella Rimington sounds like the coolest alias for the coolest woman in the world. She's the real life M - the former head of British Intelligence, and the first woman to hold the position. And Stella Rimington is her real name! It's all too good to be true.

I approached this novel with glee, just knowing that it would be awesome. Maybe I expected too much, but it wasn't very good. It started out well, with Liz Carlyle (MI5 employee) looking into an Arab terrorist plot that has ties with former IRA members, and finding a mole in her own organization. Good, good, yes, I'm following it. . .

And then just when the book should have picked UP speed it started feeling like walking underwater - yes, we're still moving, but it's SLOW. We find out who the mole is, what his plan is, and then it ended with a whimper rather than a bang. When bad guys slip and fall to their demise it's a little anti-climactic. If only he had worn better shoes! (Technically that's a spoiler, but I promise I'm not spoiling much).

[Forthbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dame Stella has the gift of plot and pace. The set-ups are done competently and she has the gift, possibly unappreciated, of encouraging the reader to turn the page.
I suspect that Stella - who became the first female head of Britain's counter-espionage outfit MI5, is a very methodical and tough cookie indeed and possibly not one for lively banter and small talk. Her heroine seems rather a cold fish at time and certainly there are few interludes where the more human sides of the protagonists come into play.
Who cares? This book will not change your life unless you are very strange, but will make a plane journey go faster. Buy a coupe of her books , mix yourself a stiff Bloody Mary and you will be in Washington or Beijing before you can say "Salafist fundamentalist."
An excellent secret police procedural

[Bill Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by this author, and it's a compliment to her that I was delighted to learn there are at least six more in this series. Very good read, with two seemingly unrelated plot threads that come together skillfully in an unexpected way. You have to like your suspense in a more cerebral sense, as there's little of the slam bang, shoot-em-up, blow-em-up of some others in this genre. Also quite interesting how she gets to the bottom of the villain's motives, finding that personal vendettas are every bit as motivating as geopolitical outcomes. Her protagonist is likable, and the supporting characters were well formed and complementary. I'm hooked, and unless she falls off dramatically in the future books, will no doubt read them all.

[Oakfield · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a good book. It starts really solid with the setup of mole planted by the IRA, and the follow up of the previous characters such as the protagonist and the informant. For the major part of the book, you'll be devouring pages by following the investigation, but just as you get close to the climax of what should be an interesting confrontation it ends in a rather random yet conveniently way.

Just as the previous book the support characters that seem to be important appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, just as the everyday problems of Liz. It's like they matter for a while but once they serve the purpose of being used as a filler they are tossed away in favor of the central plot, without having a proper outcome.

Hope the next entries in this series are better.

[Rayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I like about Stella Rimington is that, thus far, her books have not deviated from exactly what they are: a spy thriller. She adds no romance, nuance, or superfluous drama whatsoever, which I really appreciate (the last thing I wanted was a female James Bond here). I liked how you gain a sense of who the author is through her writing: it is not beautiful, but it's clear, concise, and gets the job done--a tone and style that is fitting for this genre. I also appreciate that Rimington takes time to give appropriate motivation to what her characters do, and how they act. I've read At Risk, and Secret Asset, and did not feel like I had to suspend belief in order to stick with the story. Bottom line is: I'll read more of what Rimington has written.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the second Liz Carlyle book, Liz is tasked with finding a mole within MI5.

Once again, Stella Rimington’s style of writing and detail impressed me. I love Liz Carlyle as a character, and she blossomed in this novel.

However, there are too many characters in this one, particularly in the middle third, it gets a bit too confusing trying to remember all the names and who is who! I tried reading passages a couple of times, which slowed down the story and made it a lot harder to follow.

So all in all, not as good as book number one, but I do still love the characters and Rimington’s style of writing!

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hope for the former head of M15 being a Bond fan, LeCarre reader and part time Anglophile, but my first meeting with the Liz Carlyle series was only so so. I did enjoy getting an inside glimpse into the intellectual elitism of Oxford and the often mundane world of the intelligence service, but this plot, best summarized as pre-Gerry Adams IRA meets jihad, meets vengeful son, stretched the boundaries of credulity a tad too far. Still, the library has a few other in the series so I'll push on and give it another try.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another perfectly acceptable spy-thriller from Rimington. I continue to wish that Peggy was the main character, and I guessed the twist about halfway through. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book - I adore books about competent people being competent, and it did give me a few thinky thoughts about England and Ireland and the entanglement of the two countries through the years. Basically this book does what it sets out to do, very competently. Just like its characters.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried so hard with this book but had to give in and I failed to finish it. I hate not finishing books but I thought, why am I putting myself through the boredom? The premise was good, a mole within the secret service, but the characters and storyline failed to deliver. It was so mundane and slow paced! I really enjoyed Rimingtons first novel At Risk so I was bitterly disappointed with this. Its a tough decision as to whether I'll read another in the Liz Carlyle series!!

[Ruth Brumby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was interested in the way terrorism was investigated in terms of ordinary people, who were mostly quite believable. I liked the portrayal of the heroine as an ordinary woman in a largely male world. The competent writing and plot kept me engrossed, so this functioned well as a light read between more demanding books, but even at this level the book lacked ideas and reflection.

[MacarthursMutterings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my Stella writes a good book, not ready any before but will get the other two she has written, if you like a crime/thriller I highly recommend this

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book written by someone who had inside knowledge of MI5.

[Barry Medlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!! Stella Rimington knows her stuff and writes a great spy novel!!

[Mick Scrimshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book by Stella Riminghton I’ve read. In a way I think I’ve always been put off by knowing that she was once the head of MI5 because while this should obviously add authenticity to her spy stories, part of me wondered if it was just some kind of clever marketing ploy and her stories were perhaps just as fantastic as any other writers but sold more because simply her publishers were cashing in on her past job. I guess we’ll never know for sure, but having read Secret Asset I must say that I do feel as though there is some truth in her presentation of MI5. The inter departmental rivalry between them and MI6 must surely be real, and the image of high flying middle class intellectuals recruited out of Oxbridge with a feeling of fitting in within the upper echelons of the establishment rings a bell of truth, but so to do the small reforms the agency seem to have taken on regarding their recruitment practices and working relationships between each other over the past few tears.

Apart from that, it was a thoroughly good read. Exciting and fast paced. I was all set to give it five stars but I was somewhat disappointed by the ending which was a bit of an anti climax as far as I’m concerned. Perhaps this is an example of being true to reality, and the explosive climaxes we are used to from films and other thrillers are not a part of the normal day to day life of counter terrorism, but after racing along the story's ending was a bit of a damp squib as far as I was concerned but I still really enjoyed the ride and will certainly read more from the same author.