Stella Rimington used to be the former Director General of MI5, the British intelligence organization. I wondered what kind of spy novel a retired spy would write so I read Rimington’s first novel, At Risk (2004). Rimington’s 34-year-old spy is Liz Carlyle, an MI5 intelligence officer. Carlyle learns that a terrorist threat is imminent. The terrorist is assisted by an “invisible” young British woman who can easily blend into the background to aid his activities. I found At Risk a little tedious. Unless someone convinces me the later Liz Carlyle books are worth reading, this will be my last one. GRADE: C
Like you I’ve been tempted to try one of Rimington’s books (I think George Easter has praised them) but I procrastinated long enough that you read it first and now I don’t have to!
Actually, it’s been a long time since I read a lot of spy novels. I’m currently reading the Hard Case Crime repirint of Robert B. Parker (no, not that one, the “first” one)’s PASSPORT TO PERIL, originally published in 1951, which I’m enjoying so far,
Jeff, I read PASSPORT TO PERIL by the “other” Robert Parker long ago and vaguely remember liking it. Unless someone raves about the later Rimington books, I won’t be reading any more of them.