At Risk, Stella Rimington
At Risk, Stella Rimington
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At Risk

Author: Stella Rimington

Narrator: Jennifer McMahon

Unabridged: 11 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/11/2005


Synopsis

A tense, fast-moving debut thriller from the ex-head of MI5.

“Our concern – and we’ve communicated this over the weekend to all stations, is that the opposition may be about to deploy an invisible.”

An “invisible” is CIA-speak for the ultimate intelligence nightmare: the terrorist who, because he or she is an ethnic native of the target country, can cross its borders unchecked, move around that country unquestioned and infiltrate its institutions with ease. An invisible on mainland Britain was the worst possible news.

For Liz Carlyle, an MI5 Intelligence Officer, this report from MI6 marks the start of an operation that will test her to the limit and put her own life in jeopardy. As she sifts the incoming evidence and gets reports from her agents, she realizes the terrorist threat is imminent. But who or what is the target? And who or where is the invisible? Time is of the essence in this desperate search and it becomes clear that it is Liz’s intuitive skills – her ability to get inside her enemy’s head – that offer the only hope of averting disaster.

In this terrifying and tautly drawn debut thriller, Stella Rimington takes us to the heart of the intelligence world. It is a place she is uniquely qualified to describe.

About The Author

Stella Rimington joined Britain’s Security Service (MI5) in 1969. During her nearly 30-year career she worked in all the main fields of the Service’s responsibilities—counter subversion, counter espionage and counterterrorism—and successively became Director of all three branches. Appointed Director General of MI5 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 nonexecutive director of Marks & Spencer and published her autobiography, Open Secret, in the United Kingdom. She is also the author of the novels: At Risk, Secret Asset, and Illegal Action. Rimington lives in London.Jennifer McMahon is the author of nine novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Winter People and Promise Not to Tell. She graduated from Goddard College and studied poetry in the MFA writing program at Vermont College.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mal on April 06, 2017

Ex-spooks with a modicum of writing ability sometimes turn to writing spy thrillers once they’ve left the world of espionage. Rarely, though, do we see fictional treatments of the game come from anyone who retired at the very top of the game. Dame Stella Rimington is one of what must be only a handf......more

Goodreads review by Sara on June 16, 2009

If you enjoy spy intrigue stories you will love this book. The plot is captivating and of course extremely realistic considering the author's previous career with MI5. My only complaint was that I needed a "British-English / American-English" dictionary to help me with a lot of the lingo. Also, ther......more

Goodreads review by Anne on February 12, 2015

"In any campaign, the first stronghold that you have to occupy is your enemy's consciousness" - Feliks Dzerzhinsky KGB founder p 424. "They make a wilderness, and call it peace" - Tacitus, Roman Empire p 554. Quotations show the breadth of heroine Liz (and author Stella's) education. I may continue se......more

Goodreads review by Mark on March 26, 2011

Stella Rimington really grabs the reader from the very beginning. Characters and plot are intertwined like strands of string in a cord, each heading toward a final event that has anti-terrorist agents worried. Along the way, we grown closer to intelligence officer Liz Caryle, who has spent a lifetim......more

Goodreads review by Abhinandan on March 22, 2018

The only reason this book could have been a bestseller was because the author being a Former Operative of MI5. A Director General at that. And the first woman Director General. That's it. No, I'll admit, I bought this book for exactly those reasons. I wanted to read some "inside stuff" , from the other......more


Quotes

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