At Risk

November 29, 2004
The first woman director general of Britain's MI5, Rimington speaks smartly about workplace issues while ratcheting the tension high in her authoritative debut thriller. Enter Liz Carlyle, an agent-runner with a taste for vintage clothes; her married lover, Mark Callendar, whom she doesn't love; and an appealing head of section, Charles Wetherby. You don't need Liz's deductive powers to figure out that Wetherby will eventually succeed Mark, who terminally annoys Liz by leaving his wife. Liz is married to her job. Small wonder: it doesn't get more exciting than this. The Islamic Terror Syndicate (ITS) may be about to deploy an "invisible"—"an ethnic native of the target country"—and only Liz can pull together all the threads. Rimington infuses the chase with moral complexity by making the invisible a real human being, no matter that she boasts a fake name and has "become a cipher, a selfless instrument of vengeance, a Child of Heaven." Most of the characters feel authentic, although Rimington occasionally goes on about strangers briefly glimpsed and introduces several wryly flirtatious male agents too many. She is open about having had an assist with the structure of the book, but the voice rings true, and she keeps faith with a genre she clearly venerates. 150,000 first printing; five-city author tour.

September 1, 2004
In this debut, secret agent Liz Carlyle (touted as a female James Bond) tracks an "invisible"--a terrorist who, as a native, can move around the country with impunity. The first woman appointed director-general of M15, the UK's domestic military intelligence division, Rimington clearly knows her stuff. With a four-city author tour.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2004
Rimington, former director general of Britain's security service MI5, introduces us to Liz Carlyle, a young, hip, and incredibly intuitive counterterrorism intelligence officer. Working out of London, Liz receives troubling information that leads her to the coast to investigate a fisherman's homicide. Initially, the case seems connected to a local smuggling ring, but the military assault-style murder weapon arouses Liz's suspicions. Her fear grows as information trickles in: nearby are two members of the Islamic Terror Syndicate (a Pakistani fighter and an unidentified British female), leaving dead bodies, abandoned vehicles, and homemade bomb fixings in their wake. But where are they now, and what is their ultimate target? Despite a few dropped story lines, the author pulls off an exciting thriller with nods to Ken Follett's style and Evelyn Anthony's heroines. Women authors and protagonists are rare in the British intelligence genre, and this debut has series potential. Recommended for popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/04.]-Teresa L. Jacobsen, Santa Monica P.L., CA

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.