Dead Line

'Dead Line', the 4th in Stella Rimington's Liz Carlyle series, is a tricky one. The British secret service is made aware of the potential for the disruption of an international conference in Scotland, and from there it becomes a sometimes tedious search for the who, what, when, where, and why.

As with her prior novels, Ms. Rimington provides great descriptions of tradecraft and the inner workings of both the security services and the political atmosphere surrounding them. What I most enjoy about the series, though, is the lead character. Liz isn't a killing machine or a bloodless analytical robot, but is rather a hyper-competent agent with a conscience and other very human qualities and needs. The author has done fine work in developing show more this character and, with the announcement at the very end of the book, we can look forward to what I can assume to be new entanglements on her social side.

The writing is crisp but the book doesn't move as quickly as I expected. That's probably on me- security investigations mixed with diplomacy and international competition between services don't move fast, and Ms. Rimington obviously knows what's involved there. Two problems I had with 'Dead Line': the dialogue of one of the American CIA officers didn't ring very true. He was an ex-Ivy league Anglophile who spoke as if he were British. The other issue was with the conclusion- at the risk of being a spoiler, I didn't think the level of cunning and precision of the perpetrator would have resulted in the dependence on the final group of involved characters and the complicated type of attack that was carried out.

So, this was definitely a worthwhile read by an author who has spun a fine series out of her experience as the head of Britain's MI5. show less

This is the third (and worst) Liz Carlyle novel I've read. As such, I was expecting the cardboard characters and the author's close identification with her protagonist. Liz Carlyle is clearly perfect - or perhaps she is how the author would see herself in an ideal world, complete with a hero (heroine?) worshipping acolyte, an idealised boss and a load of untrustworthy and self-seeking colleagues.

I was, however, taken aback this time by the apology for a plot and the complete lack of consistency and motivation with extraneous and contradictory plot lines and loose ends never tied up. The following questions might constitute spoilers, so stop here if that worries you:
1. Having met the villain, why does Liz not recognise him in the show more garden?
2. Why on earth does he try to run her over with a car?
3. How can he be sitting next to himself at the cricket?
4. Why does he disappear at the airport when there is no need to and it jeopardises his entire plan?

By the way, the plot is so convoluted and obscure that I could have got the wrong end of the stick regarding any or all of the above and my wife threw the book away in disgust so that I can't check unless I waste money on a new copy.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this whole book is the fact that it purports to have been written by the ex head of MI5. If this is the intellectual level of the secret service, no wonder they seem to stumble from catastrophe to disaster. We should be afraid for the future of civilisation. Very afraid. show less

This fourth novel in the author's series of intelligence-themed thrillers featuring MI5 officer Liz Carlyle features a threat to a Middle East peace conference in Gleneagles in Scotland, from a source with their own particular motives. The number of agents running other agents in double or triple bluffs confused me a bit, but as ever Liz is a sympathetic figure and her colleagues are becoming clearer and more well-rounded ongoing characters, some of them rather likeable like her boss Charles Wetherby and her her assistant Peggy Kinsolving. I am enjoying this series more now and, as always any scepticism about the apparent implausibility of some of the plot twists, is offset by the fact of the author's former position as MI5 Director show more General. show less

Stella Rimington’s credentials are impeccable: formerly a senior member of the British Intelligence Service, who could be better qualified to write espionage thrillers?

The air of verisimilitude and the sense that one is being afforded a peak behind the scenes comes as no surprise therefore: what is surprising is the standard of her writing.

Spy stories have changed out of all recognition since the Cold war Dick fic tales penned by the likes of John le Carré, Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlum. They are now fairly intelligent and a worthy read even for those unburdened by testosterone.

Liz Carlyle is a bright, attractive 30-something MI5 agent unencumbered by either a boyfriend or an old school tie: blunt and direct, she both attracts and show more alienates, and has earned her senior position by hard work, intelligence and dedication.

British pride is on the line when all the major players in the Middle East agree to hold a peace conference at the Gleneagles resort in Scotland – the UK is responsible for security and determined all will go smoothly so when a Syrian contact leaks information that the conference is in jeopardy from terrorists, the British react at once.

Hannah Gold, an elderly Jewish divorcee, is befriended by a charming younger man: he is not a gigolo or a gold digger – what is his motive, or is he really interested only in friendship?

The Syrians have a secret source he feeds them reliable information but he is a dangerous maverick who threatens his handler when he feels his advice is being disregarded.

The Americans run a well-placed Mossad agent – or does he run them? They consider him their Ace in the Hole but as yet he had delivered little of value and senior CIA personnel are starting to get suspicious.

And the British are kept informed by a senior Syrian agent, the one who informs them about the threat to the Middle East peace conference.

It’s all a bit complicated and when sex slavery, auto-erotic strangulation and the attempted murder of Liz by a hit and run driver are added to the stew of double agents, rogue agents and information leaks, one can’t help wondering how Rimington is going to resolve it all.

Resolve it she does though, thanks in part to Carlyle’s finely honed instincts and the phenomenal research capabilities of Peggy, her young side kick and protégé.

The book is not without flaws however – although many of them, like unnecessary repetition, are due to poor editing. I was also irritated by the fact that Liz Carlyle holds a magnetic attraction for men yet, despite her much vaunted sense of intuition, is entirely unaware of the effect she has on her male colleagues.

And the plot, although immensely complex and convoluted, involving the intelligence communities of at least four countries, is a little too thin and contrived to ultimately convince – like those films where one actor plays almost all the characters.

But these are minor criticisms: Deadline is an excellent and intriguing read and Liz ‘Don’t call me Elizabeth’ Carlyle a well rounded character – she can be irritating at times, but that’s what makes her believably human. show less

#4 in the series and this time Liz is trying to prevent a Middle East peace conference to be held at Gleneagles from being derailed. Lots of double dealing involving Mossad, Syria, the CIA etc and it all got a bit convoluted. The conversation at the end between Liz and her CIA counterpart, where they methodically explain the loose ends to each other was a bit clunky, but perhaps necessary. The Gleneagles setting was well described.

The "love triangle" between Charles, Joanne and Liz seems finally to be reaching some sort of resolution, which pleases me as only Joanne comes out of it with any credit as far as I am concerned. It puzzles me why Liz is so irresistible to the men who have authority over her at work and why she seems to be show more seeking a father figure. It's distracting and makes me like her less. show less

Complex and tightly interwoven story lines; and - given the political situation with Israel and Syria - as real now, as when it was written.

Ms Rimington shows her deep understanding of human motives and how people carry emotional baggage with them into their professional lives.

This was a very enjoyable and easy to read. A good insight into the world of espionage from a very creditable source.

Ms Rimington shows her deep understanding of human motives and how people carry emotional baggage with them into their professional lives.

This was a very enjoyable and easy to read. A good insight into the world of espionage from a very credible source.

The reading was adequate but I couldn't really engage. Perhaps the fact that I had read this before influenced me.