Secret Service

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A book that you can whizz through and enjoy; great escapism but routed in the trends and realities of modern espionage. A clever piece and full of insight and the occasional lighter moment. I particularly liked the quip of calling out one of the team as thinking he was the embodiment of George Smilely. Their relationship has never recovered since Harry's wife's suicide, for which Sean holds his father responsible. And Harry, with his career on the verge of disintegration, needs to find him and put things right. Kate is a good spy but as the investigation proceeds you feel she can not be a loyal wife, supportive parent and faithful agent of the government. Nothing good ever comes from a midnight phone call, especially from Downing Street. For washed-up spy Harry Tower, it is the worst news at the worst possible time. His son, Sean, has gone missing in troubled Iran after writing an exposé about government corruption.

Ihre eigentliche Mission ist noch viel gefährlicher als es scheint, denn der Premierminister ist an Krebs erkrankt und muss sein Amt aufgeben. Doch einer der Kandidaten für dieses Amt schein ein russischer Spion zu sein. Kate gerät in einen Sumpf aus Lügen, Intrigen und brutalen Machenschaften… Secret Service is a rather timely spy thriller/political intrigue story that puts Russia’s desire for influence in other country’s political elections front and center. Set in the U.K., Kate Henderson and her team are listening to a conversation when they learn that not only is the current minister resigning soon, but that Russia has a very good foothold into who the next prime minister will be. If that wasn’t enough, the team also learns there is a mole amongst the British ranks, code-named Viper, that can assist Russia and help ensure their candidate’s success. Attempting to rebuild her shattered life in the South of France, former MI6 operative Kate Henderson receives an unexpected and most unwelcome visit from an old adversary: the UK Prime Minister. He has an extraordinary story to tell - and he needs her help.Having said that it was a gripping and enjoyable read. I found it absolutely fascinating, as anything to do with politics, you’d never really know who was telling the truth, as they are all such accomplished liars, and these people rule over us. From British journalist and bestselling author Tom Bradby, Secret Service is a thriller that follows senior MI6 agent Kate Henderson as she races to unmask a Russian mole in the UK government. On the plus side, the writing is not bad and the action, although slow in parts, does keep you reading. The characters themselves, esp Kates superiors, Sir Alan and Ian, are well done. Even the walk on characters are fully rounded and easily recognisable types. Bradby’s protagonist Kate Henderson is head of MI6’s Russia Desk and an experienced operative. She has a small team of trusted subordinates, a colleague perpetually trying to undermine he, and a boss whose private thoughts are as secret as they come. Kate’s loving and very patient spouse covers for her when she suddenly flies somewhere, and she has two teenagers who think they should be the centre of her attention and a mother full of resentments who lives in a nearby London care home. The two primary candidates for prime minister, James Ryan and Imogen Conrad, present their own complications. Ryan is a long-time establishment conservative who also happens to be a former school chum of Kate’s boss, the head of MI6. And Conrad’s right-hand man is Kate’s husband, Stuart, who finds his loyalties torn between his wife and his boss.

Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.But honestly, that's your plot, Mr Bradby? Really, you CANNOT be serious with such a blatantly predictable villain. Everything you had that man do was suspicious Mach 5 and everything out of his mouth sounded like Grade A bullshit. She continues: ‘They go behind us and around us and beyond us to the people and the country at large, whipping up hostility and division and dissent, their tentacles reaching down a thousand different alleyways.’

The story itself revolves around MI-6 operations as they try to ascertain who all the players are that were discussed in the overheard Russian conversation, but unfortunately knowing that there is a mole leads them to a lot of frustrating moments since no one is sure who it is and whom they can trust. But while there is a spy whose identify must be ascertained, Kate also has a home life that involves two teenagers, a mother with Alzheimer’s, and two family members – her husband and her aunt – who are also employed by the government. Kate is trying to figure out how to balance home life with the overtime work being required of her as well as short notice trips abroad. As exciting as the Bodyguard, thoroughly enjoyable, well written, satisfying and left me wanting to read all his previous books! Okay, so maybe I've been spoiled on Le Carre and Slough House, but when did British Intelligence get so domestic and ...gooey? Kate Henderson is a senior intelligence officer based at the London headquarters of the Special Intelligence Service, otherwise known as MI6. When the Prime Minister suddenly announces his resignation due to ill health, Kate believes she has discovered a plot to infiltrate British politics, and place a Prime Minister with pro Putin leanings, right at the heart of British Government. The secret agent trying to bring about this major coup is codenamed ‘Viper ‘.With the stakes this high, can the truth ever come out? Or is the cost of uncovering it a price that no one, least of all Kate, can afford to pay? The result is a novel that fits the spy book genre but is also an allegorical look at the unnecessary involvement of the British and American troops in what was not their fight. The book explores themes of innocence, morality, and ignorance, and author Graham Green beautifully weaves these into an intriguing story.