Secret Asset

By: Stella Rimington

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

With her debut novel, At Risk, Stella Rimington introduced us to Liz Carlyle - a smart, impassioned MI5 intelligence officer whose talents and ambitions are counterbalanced by an abiding awareness of her job’s moral complexities. In Secret Asset, we are plunged back into her high-stakes, high-tension world.

Liz has always been particularly skilled at “assessing people” and trusts her instinct that a terrorist cell is at work at an Islamic bookshop. But when her boss, Charles Wetherby, suddenly takes her off the case, she’s shocked to hear why: Wetherby has received a tip-off that a mole is at work in one of the branches of British Intelligence. 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.

©2007 Stella Rimington (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

“Fast-moving . . . Rimington continues to deliver on the promise of spy fiction written not only by a former spy but also by the head of British intelligence. This is a smartly constructed, sharply written thriller that exudes realism and a professional’s eye for detail . . . Rimington also proves adept at building characters and constructing plots.” (David Pitt, Booklist)

“Those interested in old school British intelligence thrillers will find much to like in the smart, enterprising Carlyle . . . Much is made of the authenticity of Rimington’s tradecraft (she was the first female head of MI5 in real life), and rightly so.” (Publishers Weekly)

“[Secret Asset has] whiplash control of momentum that raises your pulse a heartbeat at a time until the climax.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Complex and riveting

I think I liked this book even better than the first book in the series. It has lots of plots and subplots that eventually, of course, intersect. Muslim extremists. Irish terrorists. A possible mole in MI5... so many plots!

The Public Never Sees

Gripping story which held me all the way until the end. Thoroughly recommended for all those who enjoy a suspense thriller!

Timing Not an Asset

I really liked "At Risk," the first book in the series, but was disappointed in this one. The timing was off; the identity of the asset was plain almost from the beginning, and although some interesting ambiguities emerged, it was s slog to the end. Probably very much like real Intel work.