Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Illegal Action (Liz Carlyle #3)
When MI5 intelligence officer Liz Carlyle learns of a Russian government plot to kill super-rich Nikita Brunovsky - a man who openly criticises the Putin regime from his London base - it's a race against time to track down the killer. How the Russian is to be silenced is unclear, but the Foreign Office dreads any kind of incident and Liz must work fast to protect him.
As sh...more
As sh...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
October 2nd 2008
by Arrow
(first published 2007)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
544)
"Illegal Action" by Stella Rimington, noted by TV Spooks Tessa actress Jenny Agutter (http://aneyespy.blogspot.ca/2012/06/s...) as former MI-5 director, became familiar, for previous reading, rather than plot predictability, read through both times, so probaby look for sequel. (Could X-rate for slit wrist murder.) Two rumors accrue enough confirmation to coach Liz Carlyle as an art student focussed on assassination threatens Russian painter Pashko, insert her in a wealthy household. Assassinatio...more
We are promised authenticity with this book and we probably get it. Being a spy is probably as dull and pedestrian as this.
This is Stella's third spy novel so you'd think she'd have hit her stride by now but she seems content with an unambitious amble. She has no doubt used her experience as Head of M15 to good effect, but she doesn't seem to have used her qualification as a graduate in English literature.
The book has no pace. The dialogue doesn't crackle. There is no tension.
Having just compare...more
This is Stella's third spy novel so you'd think she'd have hit her stride by now but she seems content with an unambitious amble. She has no doubt used her experience as Head of M15 to good effect, but she doesn't seem to have used her qualification as a graduate in English literature.
The book has no pace. The dialogue doesn't crackle. There is no tension.
Having just compare...more
Oct 11, 2011
Diane Wallis
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Diane by:
Book club author
Not all that long ago, Abbeys Bookshop in York Street, Sydney, was giving away a Stella Rimington title when you bought a thriller. My husband got one, read it (he can't remember which one it was) and said it wasn't much good. But he's like that.
Illegal Action is an intricate and involving story in which Rimington makes good use of the knowledge she gleaned during her long career in Britain's security services, culminating in her appointment as the first female Director General of M15. What beg...more
Illegal Action is an intricate and involving story in which Rimington makes good use of the knowledge she gleaned during her long career in Britain's security services, culminating in her appointment as the first female Director General of M15. What beg...more
Stella Remington knows of what she writes. Stella, not of "A Streetcar Named Desire" fame, was the first woman Director General of MI5. She has probably used her experience in MI5 in writing her 4 novels. So, being true to life, we must forego the car chases and gun battles and settle for the psychological mystery.
Liz Carlyle, quite possibly fashioned after Stella, is working for the counter-espionage department of MI5. She and the department are faced with the changing look of espionage from th...more
Liz Carlyle, quite possibly fashioned after Stella, is working for the counter-espionage department of MI5. She and the department are faced with the changing look of espionage from th...more
Sep 29, 2009
Trish
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
spies-and-such
When Stella Rimington first published a novel in 2004, I was pleased, surprised, and interested. It was kind of cool, watching the watchers, and seeing what she decided to share with us of her life, her work as the first Director General of Britain's domestic security service, MI-5. Her earlier work, particularly her first novel At Risk, was good. But a really great editor wouldn't have let her get away with this latest narrative, which did not quite reach the mark. Perhaps writing is a stress-r...more
2 likes · like · see review
view all 8 comments
Pretty good. The author's career in MI5 allows her to convey an air of realism in certain aspects of the story, however you often wish that there were more details.
The plot is at times a little weak and requires a bit of a suspension of disbelief at several points (the pretense used to install Liz in the house, the lack of follow up after one violent incident, the series of events used to separate her from her cell phone) The final confrontation was tense and I read the last 40 pages quickly ea...more
The plot is at times a little weak and requires a bit of a suspension of disbelief at several points (the pretense used to install Liz in the house, the lack of follow up after one violent incident, the series of events used to separate her from her cell phone) The final confrontation was tense and I read the last 40 pages quickly ea...more
Starts promisingly, and ends tiresomely.
I actually listened to the audio book version of this while driving long distances, and it's probable that my opinion of the story wasn't helped by the woman doing the narration. I've heard some some superb audio books over the years, with 'The Quiet American' being a stand out. The narrator there managed accents and male and female voices with subtlety and detail., and added to the exerience of the story.
Unfortunately, this narrator was on par with Terry...more
I actually listened to the audio book version of this while driving long distances, and it's probable that my opinion of the story wasn't helped by the woman doing the narration. I've heard some some superb audio books over the years, with 'The Quiet American' being a stand out. The narrator there managed accents and male and female voices with subtlety and detail., and added to the exerience of the story.
Unfortunately, this narrator was on par with Terry...more
Objectively this book isn't very good, but I love spy/secret services thrillers, so I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I have put the others on my hold list at the library because I love the genre, and this was competently written. In a way I wonder if the ultimate pointlessness of the plot was, in fact, the point. Is Rimington making a point about the sprawling nature of MI5 and MI6 investigations and their fluidity? I don't know, the book didn't give me a clue as to whether it was a case of not that...more
Solidly enjoyable, but not spectacular, rather like Rimington's personality I am coming to feel. I noticed how underepresented female writers are in my library and wanted to branch out. Rimington as the former female head of MI-5, writes more manly than say, John Updike, who in his Eastwick series coems across as quite the feminine empath. Her spy book is much like a report, where hotshot agents get fired and scolded, rather than saving the day. This adds a level or realism that gives me a bette...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Aug 21, 2008
Jennifer (JC-S)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
librarybooks
Part of my current fiction binge. I am almost sated. I enjoyed this book: the main characters are well developed and (generally) likeable and very human.
Liz Carlyle, MI5 agent, is now working in the Counter-Espionage Branch. While it was once the hub of MI5 operations, Counter-Espionage has been reduced in size since the end of the Cold War – even though there are significantly more spies operating in London. Drawn in part by London’s status as the base of the international financial community R...more
Liz Carlyle, MI5 agent, is now working in the Counter-Espionage Branch. While it was once the hub of MI5 operations, Counter-Espionage has been reduced in size since the end of the Cold War – even though there are significantly more spies operating in London. Drawn in part by London’s status as the base of the international financial community R...more
Maybe high expectations of Stella Rimington's experience let me down. The book seemed to traverse through a myriad of departments, spy-world contacts and characters, for which (trying to avoid a story spoiler with specifics here) by the end was very anticlimatic. The say reality is stranger than fiction, but in this case, perhaps the reality this story may have been loosely based upon was more frustrating due to beaurocracy rather than suspense.
A thriller by a former head of M1-5 who happens to be a woman. The concept of a smart woman writing about espionage from personal experience was exciting. And, as a bonus, the main character is a smart woman. The book was a little stressful to read because the theme of terrorism can hit a little too close to reality for comfort, but I really enjoyed it.
SR has (finally) put some emotional substance into the life of her character, Liz Carlyle. None too soon, for those of us are reading her thrillers not merely for the thrills.
In any case, the richer texture of Liz's interior life makes her gratuitous fashion comments easier to take.
In any case, the richer texture of Liz's interior life makes her gratuitous fashion comments easier to take.
Good plot, nice meshing of world news with this story. However, in the space of one page, she has a character looking disappointed because her boss is not reacting the way she hoped for, and mentions this three times. So the writing could use some tightening up.
Third in e Liz Carlyle series, here she goes undercover as an art student to protect a Russian oligarch in London when MI5 get wind of a possible plot against him by an "illegal" agent.
I liked this better than the previous one in the series as it felt more plausible and the plot wasn't so predictable. I like that the action is rather low-key and that Liz isn't a gun-toting super-hero, it all feels more realistic, so you can sort of believe that this might actually be how things go in MI5.
My bigg...more
I liked this better than the previous one in the series as it felt more plausible and the plot wasn't so predictable. I like that the action is rather low-key and that Liz isn't a gun-toting super-hero, it all feels more realistic, so you can sort of believe that this might actually be how things go in MI5.
My bigg...more
Read this when recovering from hip surgery so not sure I gave it my best shot. Sort of spy book and all those confusing Russian names again. I liked the action at the end and the strong female character.
My first book in this series and probably not the last. A very easy read however a little bit predictable. Just not enough happening for my liking but I very much like the character of Liz Carlyle
The prospect of reading a spy novel from the former Director General of MI5 (and the only woman to have ever held that post) was intriguing.
Unfortunately, the story itself was not.
The story was OK...and I'm sure that many of the technical aspects of the book were accurate. But the characters were really flat. The main character (predictably) got herself into a dangerous situation towards the end of the book and I found myself not really caring what happened. And...several of the other characters...more
Unfortunately, the story itself was not.
The story was OK...and I'm sure that many of the technical aspects of the book were accurate. But the characters were really flat. The main character (predictably) got herself into a dangerous situation towards the end of the book and I found myself not really caring what happened. And...several of the other characters...more
This was a fun read. Stella Rimington knows her stuff and the inner workings of M15 were fascinating.
The plot was a bit weak and tangled, but the suspense held up pretty well.
The plot was a bit weak and tangled, but the suspense held up pretty well.
Pleasant read. Not as good as the first two, which were super. Hope Stella can turn up the heat for the next one. Congratulations to her being selected to manage this year's Man Booker prize committee.
Spot on with engaging authenticity of character development and office politics, but compromised by plot scope and uneven pacing.
Ok, quick read, nothing special. Really like hearing her interviewed but can take or leave Liz Caryle based on this one book. Maybe I should look out her autobiography.
Really enjoyed this one. Spy action with attention to detail and believable female characters
Stella Rimington writes great, current spy novels set in England. I reccomend all of them.
The author is a very good writer. You are sucked into her books, and they move at a fast pace.
Nice old-fashioned British espionage in the spirit of the older books by Le Carre.
I like this character and I look forward to Rimington's next book
Third in a series about spies by the ex-chief of MI? This one is much better than no.2, if still a bit formulaic and light on in the character development area. A 3 star thriller.
From Parade Magazine--best of suspense books.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Dame Stella Whitehouse Rimington joined the Security Service (MI5) in 1968. During her career she worked in all the main fields of the Service: counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism. She was appointed Director General in 1992, the first woman to hold the post. She has written her autobiography and five Liz Carlyle novels. She lives in London and Norfolk.
Watch a video of Stel...more
More about Stella Rimington...
Watch a video of Stel...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
