"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.(view spoiler)[In the game of espionage, as in life, chance rules skill. Jean relents, face to face, flirting with son of targeted family. "The most important conversation" saves lives. She sees the boy has the goodness of soul to use the opportunities she rejected. Another reader might hear other morals. (hide spoiler)]
Liz Carlyle works for MI5, the agency of which Stella Rimington was the first female director general. Her experience is used well in this, her first novel.An announcement is made at a meeting that Islamic terrorists may be about to deploy an 'invisible', an agent native to Britain and able to move and act without attracting suspicion. This is worrying, but Liz has agents to supervise and a new MI6 counterpart to deal with. Very quickly, however, Liz receives information that puts her in the center of the operation to stop the threat. The reader sees both the actions of the terrorists and the efforts made to discover and stop them. Although Liz is clearly the heroine, it is made very clear that her successes are not only the result of her own intelligence but also the massive resources needed to investigate even the smallest lead. The author does not overemphasize or explain the 'tradecraft', but it is always present and adds a gritty reality to the narration. The suspense is heightened because the reader, who knows more about the terrorists as individuals, is allowed to learn crucial facts only when Liz does. Most of the action of this book is phone calls, conversations, and encrypted reports, but the pacing never lags. The descriptions and characterizations are vivid. The conclusion, although satisfying for the reader, deepens the characterization of Liz, who can only be dissatisfied with the outcome.
What do You think about At Risk (2006)?
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.
—Andrew
Stella Rimington's acknowledgment note asserts that "The art of novelist and that of intelligence officer are very different," but At Risk shows that the two can blend very effectively. Published ten years ago, it's still current, involving headline concerns such as economic migrants, terrorist bombs, young Europeans recruited by Islamist organizations, and the role of the U.S. and the UK in Afghanistan and Pakistan. While the partly autobiographical Liz Carlyle is the main focalizing character, other perspectives allow readers to know more than she does but still have plenty to figure out. I was already hooked by the opening's setting on a Tube train between Mornington Crescent and Euston, and I look forward to reading more of the series.
—Candy Wood
This is the first of a so-far successful series featuring MI5 operative Liz Carlyle written by the agency's former general director. One way to look at the protagonist--she is the opposite of Ian Fleming's Agent 007, James Bond. The most basic way, of course, is that Bond is male, Liz female. Bond is licensed to kill--although that license wouldn't work since it would only allow killing in the realm of the Queen, the area where Bond's agency is forbidden from operating. Bond is a spy, working in foreign countries while Carlyle is a counterspy working in the UK. Bond is a loner, acting on his own, often at odds with his superiors while Carlyle is a skilled bureaucratic infighter, keeping one eye on the competition (other MI5 employees at the same paygrade) while working her agents against terrorist and espionage targets. Bond had lots of high-tech weapons, fast cars and beautiful women. Carlyle has her laptop and secure phone, takes the bus or train and almost always sleeps alone. Bonds enemies were florid and showy--Goldfinger, Dr. No, SMERSH--while Carlyle is hampered by turf wars with other agencies, bumbling underlings and interference from political appointees. Bond was a man of action who fetishized firearms, was impervious to pain and quick with his fists. Carlyle depends on her intelligence and ability to think like her enemy thinks. There are a few obvious structural problems with "At Risk". The climax builds for much too long although the ending actually makes sense--not always a given in this genre of literature--but overall it is a well written first novel that introduces a character that the reader likes spending time with and wants to know more about. Highly recommended.
—Ed
