This spy thriller from the former head of MI5 was a pretty dull and lifeless affair. The plot involves undercover Russian assassins on the streets of London (which gave it a frisson of topicality), feuding oligarchs and art world shenanigans, but it never came together as a satisfying whole. Stella Rimington’s description of the day to day business of counter espionage feels like it’s probably very realistic, but it’s also pretty dull (basically lots of people following each other around and talking). The cast of characters, especially the desperately bland heroine, are all just as boring, which meant by the time their is a bit of excitement and action at the end I’d completely lost interest. ( )

This is the third in the author's series of intelligence-themed thrillers featuring MI5 officer Liz Carlyle. Unlike the previous two dealing mostly with Islamic terrorism, this concerns an apparent plot to murder a Russian oligarch in London. The plot is not what it seems, but all the same struck me as rather less dramatic than its predecessors and somewhat inconsequential, so I enjoyed this one rather less ( )

"Illegal Action" is a convincing but only mildly suspenseful Brit spy story, set in 2007 when the idea that Russia was waging a covert war against the UK was still new.

The appeal of the Liz Carlyle books comes mostly from the fact that they are written by the ex-Director General of MI5 and therefore have a chance at being based on knowledge of how the secret service actually operates.

"Illegal Action" delivers against that promise, this time moving Liz Carlyle into counter-intelligence and focusing her on an alleged plot against Russian Oligarchs living in London. In 2007, when this book was written, counter-terrorism was the star act. Counter-terrorism was yesterday's favourite. The cold war was over and the Good Friday Agreement had been in place for nine years. "Illegal Action" focuses its attention on the extent of Russian espionage in London and the presence of a large number of Russian oligarchs who owned a lot of London Real Estate and many of whom had UK passports.

The procedural details are interesting and sound authentic. The plot has a few twists and curves along the way and the resolution is credible.

I couldn't quite accept that someone as experienced as Liz Carlyle, would go so long in this story without understanding the personal risks she was running.

There was some tension in the book but it was of the, I'm-curious-if-THIS-or-THAT-will-happen rather than of the PLEASE-don't-let-THAT-happen kind.

The characters are drawn in just enough detail to make the story work but none of them truly came alive for me.

"Illegal Action" was a quick, entertaining but not very memorable read. ( )

This novel sees Liz Carlyle, the capable, conscient MI5 officer, return for a third outing, this time engaging with the bizarre community of immensely (even immeasurably) Russian oligarchs who have relocated to London.

Through informal channels, it has come to the attention of MI5 that their Russian counterparts might be planning to assign an ‘Illegal’ to an operation in the United Kingdom. An ‘illegal’ is an agent who lives in the host country entirely without any official diplomatic cover, and is consequently vulnerable to the full impact of local law, without recourse to Embassy-sponsored immunity. At the same time, different informal intelligence channels have suggested that one of the many Russian oligarchs might have been earmarked for assassination. By way of broader contest, this novel was published in 2007, shortly after the murder in London of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security agent who had defected. Litvinenko had accused his senior officers of having commissioned the assassination of the business tycoon Boris Berezovsky. Having been arrested on charges of having exceeded his authority, Litvinenko was acquitted and subsequently fled to London where he claimed asylum. He subsequently died as a consequence of polonium poisoning, with prevailing public opinion laying the ultimate blame on the Russian authorities.

Against this backdrop, Liz Carlyle infiltrates the household of the oligarch who is thought to be at risk, masquerading as a postgraduate student of art history hired to advise him on prospective additions to his already impressive stock of artefacts. The household is certainly unorthodox, even beyond the context of the limitless money fuelling its members’ self-indulgent lifestyles. It also seems to harbour several threats to the wellbeing of the oligarch, but also, as time moves on, to Liz herself.

As in Stella Rimington’s previous novels, the interplay between MI5 and its fellow (rival?) security agencies, is explored in an interesting manner, and once again she delivers a gripping and plausible plot. ( )

The third in the series and my least favourite so far. Liz has moved to counter-intelligence (mainly Russia) and has a new boss. She reluctantly agrees to pretend to be an art student so she can hang around at the house of a Russian oligarch who is an art lover and who might be at risk of assassination (or he might not). There was also a strand involving the oligarch's chauffeur-bodyguard being forced to report to the Russians on his boss' contacts.

The plot was extremely unlikely and I never quite understood what Liz was trying to achieve. SPOILERS: Also, how did Greta know about Liz at all to wangle her meeting with Dmitri in Cambridge? Why did they work so hard to have Morozov and Brunovsky in Ireland at the same time if Liz was to be Brunovsky's alibi? Wouldn't it have been an even more convincing alibi if Liz and Brunovsky had stayed in London and Morozov had gone to look at the painting? ( )