Customer Reviews

Illegal Action

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the third thriller penned by Stella Rimington, the former Director General of Britain's MI5. Rimington's first hand experience in the Secret Service comes through in her writing and gives her novels a very authentic feel. When she writes about the way that a surveillance operation is conducted, for example, you know that this is really how it goes down.

This is an enjoyable book that takes off fast and holds your attention. The plot takes off where "Secret Asset" left off (though it's not necessary to have read that book) and again centres on Liz Carlyle, now transferred to the Counter Espionage division within MI5. Her team become aware of a Russian Government plot to silence a Russian oligarch living in the UK. Liz goes undercover in a bid to prevent the plot, but quickly becomes a target herself. Can she and her team find the potential assassin before it's too late?

It's hard to find a thriller that has a good ending and unfortunately this book is yet another that loses its way around the 90% mark. The resolution is ultimately weak but it's still a good book that keeps you hooked throughout, and while some of the key plot elements are very predictable, there are a couple of twists that most definitely aren't. The main characters are well thought out and the premise feels realistic. Rimington has written another winner and I look forward to her next.

The author, a former MI5 Director General, is at the top of her form in this third Liz Carlyle novel. Unlike so many fictional spies, Carlyle lives in a real world, with paperwork and budget cuts and manpower shortages. It's so refreshing to read about characters who could actually be human. The plot is intricate as well as educational regarding the extent of Russian espionage in the post-Yeltsin era. The Russians may not exactly be our enemies, but they're not allies either.

Liz Carlyle, MI5 agent, is now working in the Counter-Espionage Branch. While it was once the hub of MI5 operations, Counter-Espionage has been reduced in size since the end of the Cold War - even though there are significantly more spies operating in London. Drawn in part by London's status as the base of the international financial community, Russian agents are particularly focussed on the Russian oligarchs intent on wielding their influence and spending their millions.

Liz learns of an apparent Russian government plot to `silence' one of the oligarchs who is becoming an increasing vocal opponent of the Putin regime. The Foreign Office is concerned about the negative consequences of any such incident and Liz is assigned to prevent the incident from occurring. First, though, she needs to learn who the target is. At the same time, it becomes apparent that there may be a Russian illegal in London: is there a connection to the government plot? In order to uncover the plot, Liz goes undercover as a member of the oligarch's retinue.

Ms Rimington is a former director of MI5, and this lends her novels a sense of credibility. This is the third novel to feature Liz Carlyle: a likeable but dedicated career officer who knows her tradecraft. I've read the novels out of order, and will hasten to remedy this by reading the second novel.

I especially enjoyed this novel because it features believably human characters.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

MI5 officer, Liz Carlyle is now working in Counter Espionage since the end of the Cold War reduced the size of her department. Liz hears of a supposed Russian government plot to eliminate one of the millionaire oligarchs who now live lives of super luxury in London.She is about to be planted in the millionaire's home as an art student and so takes a crash course in modern Russian art, enough to give her a convincing cover story to pass as the real thing. An attempt is made on her life in the guise of a street mugging but she's determined to go ahead with the plan. The household consists of a strange mixture of people with mysterious pasts and complete innocents so Liz continues to probe secretly into the cast of characters in an attempt to foil any attempt at murder which would cause a political crisis on the eve of the British PM's trip to Russia. It's a good, old fashioned spy story and my only criticism is the unbelievable number of times that the word oligarch is used in the story, but I'll still be looking for more books by Stella Rimington.

I started with Stella Rimington's autobiography, OPEN SECRET, and learned all about how she was the first woman to hold the post of Director General of Britain's MI-5. OPEN SECRET was eminently readable. I have now read all of her fiction: AT RISK, SECRET ASSET, ILLEGAL ACTION, and DEAD LINE (a UK edition). Even though Liz Carlyle is the wonderful protagonist of all of these titles, it's quite obvious that you've actually joined Stella Rimington inside the inner sanctum of MI-5 and that you're really looking over her shoulder. She's an excellent thriller writer - and a wonderful host. It was also fun living in London again! I can't wait to return!

In Stella Rimington's "Illegal Action," Liz Carlyle of M15, Britain's domestic military intelligence division, is chagrined when her boss, Charles Wetherby, takes a sabbatical to spend more time with his terminally ill wife. She is even more discomfited when he tells her that she has been temporarily transferred to Counter-Espionage, a division that has been overshadowed by Counter-Terrorism ever since the 9/11 attacks. Liz has no personal life to speak of; she spends an occasional weekend with a Dutch investment banker, but it is clear that there are no strings attached. For years, her work has taken the place of the husband and children she never had.

Liz is pleased to be taking a highly competent desk officer, Peggy Kinsolving, along with her on this assignment. They will be working with Brian Ackers, the assistant director of the Russian section, who takes his job very seriously. London has been overrun with a wave of Russian oligarchs--billionaires who buy ostentatious homes, expensive art works, and extravagant automobiles. Along with this influx of the nouveau riche, there has been an increase in the number underworld figures who have flocked to London. This makes for an unstable and potentially dangerous mix.

Someone passes a tip to Geoffrey Fane, a senior controller in M16, that Putin fears the expatriate Russian oligarchs, and has targeted one of them for assassination as an example to the others. In addition, at a meeting of security services from Western Europe, Peggy learns that the Russians may have planted an "illegal," an officer of an intelligence service who assumes a false identity and nationality. If this is true, who is this person and what does he plan to do? The case leads Liz to go undercover. She enters the circle of Nikita Brunovsky, one of the aforementioned oligarchs, who may be the illegal's intended victim.

This is an intricate and involving story in which Rimington makes good use of the knowledge she gleaned during her long career in Britain's security services, culminating in her appointment as the first female Director General of M15. What begins as a relatively tame mission for Liz, who poses as a mature art student in the Brunovsky household, ends in an intense and unexpectedly violent confrontation. This is a world in which nothing can be taken at face value. Liz must look for subtle clues in order to penetrate the truth behind a veil of lies and subterfuge. Although this novel is rich in detail and atmosphere, it is not Rimington's best in terms of character development and suspense. Nevertheless, "Illegal Action" is a thoughtful look at the changing nature of governmental intelligence in an increasingly volatile and unpredictable political climate.

I saved this for when I went on a cruise, and was not disappointed. Her characters have depth, are not perfect, and are not experts at every aspect of spycraft. Her novels remind me of the Frederick Forsythe thrillers, such as "The Fourth Protocol." That is, they really make me want to read them, having pulled me in. I can't call it a page turner as that's not fast enough. It's more that I want to rip through it, so I call it a page ripper.

As a former spy, Stella did a great job on this novel. A good read.

I still need to read her first book in this series and also her autobiography. However, she's certainly carving a niche for herself and I noticed that she's even obliquely referred to by another outstanding lady author, P.D. James, in her recent book, THE LIGHTHOUSE.I found ILLEGAL ACTION even more engrossing than SECRET ASSET which I previously read. I suspect familiarity with the continuing characters helped and so one probably should start their reading of this author with her first book, AT RISK.However, this is an outstanding espionage/mystery on its own. Again, there's the sheer authenticity and feeling that all this could actually be happening. I did appreciate the added mystery puzzle and suspense in this. Liz Carlyle goes undercover in this one and so the added suspense is a key factor in reading the book. The background of today's Russia is also much of a plus.The mystery element is another important factor here. One part of the puzzle, that of identifying a mysterious character, is reaqsonably easy, but the bigger picture is more difficult to foresee than it was in the previous Liz Carlyle novel I've read. I haven't really detailed the plot, but have given the key elements which are well detasiled on the book's flyleafs. The strength of this series is in the characterization and the authenticity. Highly recommended, but do try to read the earlier two books first for maximum enjoyment of this one.

Neat ripped-from-the-headlines thriller is actually best when the action takes a back seat to the services' back-stabbing, desk jockeys. The Circus isn't back in town -- but still diverting.