When Liz learns from one of her agents that suspicious meetings are taking place at an Islamic bookshop, she trusts her instinct that a terrorist cell is at work. Her boss, Charles Wetherby, Director of Counter Terrorism, trusts her as well and immediately puts a surveillance operation into place. An attack seems imminent. So Liz is surprised when Wetherby suddenly takes her off the case. And she's shocked to hear the reason why: he has received a tip-off that a mole is at work inside British Intelligence. If true, then the potential damage to the Service itself could be immeasurable. Now, as her colleagues scramble to avert a terrorist strike, Liz must find out who the mole is, and what their intentions are, before it is too late.

About the Author

Stella Rimington joined the Security Service (MI5) in 1965 and was appointed Director-General in 1992.She was the first woman to hold the post and the first Director-General whose name was publicly announced on appointment. Following her retirement from MI5 in 1996, she became a non-executive director of Marks and Spencer and published her autobiography, Open Secret. The first Liz Carlyle novel, At Risk, was published in 2004.

Prizes

From the former head of MI5 and author of the bestselling At Risk comes a heart-stopping new thriller that returns us to the high stakes world of MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle. 20040922

Reviews

Talented M15 intelligence officer Liza Carlyle is asked to stake out a probable terrorist cell at an Islamic bookstore and then asked to pull back; it seems that there's a mole in the system. From former M15 director general Rimington. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

"A cracking good thriller." Lynn Barber,
-"Observer
""Intelligent... Undeniably pacey."
-"Guardian
""This is something rare: the spy novel that prizes authenticity over fabrication"
-"Mail on Sunday
""Tense and terrifying."
-"Cosmopolitan
""The Secret Service background is exceedingly convincing."
-"Evening Standard"
Praise for "At Risk":
"This is something very rare: the spy novel that prizes authenticity over fabrication."
-"Mail on Sunday"
"Tense and terrifying."
-"Cosmopolitan"
"A cracking good thriller"
-Lynn Barber, "Observer"
"Intelligent -- Undeniably pacy"
-"Guardian"
"Rimington makes adroit use of her expertise as former MI5 chief"
-"Sunday Times"
"The Secret Service background is exceedingly convincing"
-"Evening Standard"
"First class"
-Douglas Hurd," New Statesman"
Praise for Stella Rimington's autobiography "Open Secret":
"The story of MI5's transformation is fascinating. So too is Rimington's account of her rise in what was very definitely a man's world."
--"Guardian"
"She writes in a refreshingly self-deprecating style of juggling the roles of single parent and chief 'spook'."
--"Independent on Sunday"
"Open Secret is a fascinating account not only of Stella Rimington's various roles in the evolving Security Services, but also of the strains on a single mother as she struggles to compartmentalize a life that is necessarily unpredictable, stressful and shrouded in secrecy."
--"Time Out"

After four months' convalescent leave, MI5 spy Liz Carlyle, returning from her debut in Rimington's At Risk, confers with her agent Marzipan, an Islamic bookshop clerk who has discovered a probable terror plot in the making. Soon after, Liz is charged with finding an IRA mole within the ranks of MI5. With the aid of fresh-faced co-worker Peggy Kinsolving, Liz goes about the task of ferreting out the mole, despite disappointment at being taken off the terror case, which she can't quite let go-with, it turns out, good reason. Much is made of the authenticity of Rimington's tradecraft (she was the first female head of MI5 in real life), and rightly so. But lots of writers get the details right, and for many readers, Rimington's ratio of action to personal detail will seem skewed: every character, no matter how minor, gets heavily profiled, and it slows things down. Still, those interested in old school British intelligence thrillers will find much to like in the smart, enterprising Carlyle. (June) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.