Tom Bradby knows how to tell a good story and this one is no exception. It's a highly topical novel revolving around Russian attempts to infiltrate the election of a new Prime Minister in the UK and the discovery of a Russian informant in the highest ranks of the British government machine. It is fast paced, the settings are authentic and it provides an easy, entertaining read.

Kate Henderson is the MI6 secret agent drawn into unravelling this case, while being played by both sides and trying to make sense of conflicting stories. She is an interesting character because she's corrupted by her job as much as anyone else would be. She solicits the services of a young girl in a rather unpleasant way who, later, comes to an even more unpleasant end. Her working partner dies along the way as well. She has a husband Stuart and two fairly dysfunctional but normal teenage children. She seems to do this awful job because of a dreadful and unresolved relationship with her mother or, perhaps, Tom Bradby was just getting back at one of his relatives!

Kate’s husband Stuart is one of those shadowy people trapped between being a civil servant and an adviser, in his case to the ambitious Secretary of State for Education who is in the field for the top job. In many ways, Stuart seems to be a long-suffering partner as Kate is often away globetrotting on intelligence gathering missions which she seems to achieve on minimal sleep. If I wrote this book there would probably be two pages covering my journey on the Heathrow Express, the flight, whether or not she had an expensive seat, and how hard it was to get any sleep but Kate just rolls up in Greece or somewhere fresh as a daisy and starts monitoring people.

Once they start trying to find the mole in the government, in this case code-named Viper, the book goes all George Smiley on us. It certainly seems possible that the secret services could be run at the highest level by chaps who shared dorms at minor public schools but you might have to wonder how some of these ever got promoted! Anyway, as you can imagine there are lots of loose ends to tidy up, there are cul-de-sacs and the wrong people get suspected. Several more people die as well.

I'm not giving away the ending but the book is all resolved quite tidily. As a detached observer and reader, I got the impression that the Russians were a bit cleverer than MI6 but, perhaps, that was because they were even more unscrupulous! With a Conservative leadership election in the offing, it is easy to imagine how various foreign powers might have videos of some of those individuals,or be able to bankroll their complicity. In some ways, it wouldn't even seem unlikely, and you never know how many of those blue rinsed Conservative party loyal members might also have been signed up by SMERSH once upon a time after some indiscretion on a Yugoslavian package holiday. Read this book on the beach and you'll know who not to trust!

An excellent read- full of the grit of everyday (!) spy life- the dull, non-glamorous and frankly downright boring parts of monitoring suspicious people are really well described and make the whole story eminently more believable than a Bond-esque super spy, gun-toting situation!
Kate's very real struggle between family and family life and her responsibilities at work and the need to leave the country at a moments notice make her a very likable character and one you get behind from very early on.
As the plot thickens and more and more suspects come to light the author cleverly misdirects suspicions around multiple characters, keeping the suspense going right until the big reveal.

Author Tom Bradby is a highly respected British journalist, screenwriter, and anchorman on ITV news here in the UK. It’s a long time since his last novel, but boy was ‘Secret Service’ worth waiting for!

Kate Henderson is a senior intelligence officer based at the London headquarters of the Special Intelligence Service, otherwise known as MI6. When the Prime Minister suddenly announces his resignation due to ill health, Kate believes she has discovered a plot to infiltrate British politics, and place a Prime Minister with pro Putin leanings, right at the heart of British Government. The secret agent trying to bring about this major coup is codenamed ‘Viper ‘.

Kate’s boss, Ian Granger is sceptical about what she’s discovered, he’s not a fan of hers, and he prefers to see it as ‘her paranoia’, but Head of MI6, Sir Alan Brabazon also known as (C) decides to allow Kate to follow up on her suspicions and gather evidence, and that doesn’t go down well with Granger. The problem though, is whether the intel she’s receiving is actually genuine, or is it just another game of cat and mouse and interference in the democratic process that the Russians appear to enjoy so much.

Besides this huge responsibility in MI6 and the evident dangers that it carries, Kate also has to juggle her family life and that helps give the novel extra depth - there’s her Civil Servant husband Stuart, her estranged mother Lucy, now in a care home with dementia, and fractious teenagers Fiona and Gus.

I won’t go into detail with this one as it’s a pretty complex storyline, but this is a geopolitical thriller at its best. It’s fast paced, exciting, filled with unbearable tension, and red herrings are used to maximum effect, keeping the reader guessing right up to the last page, and just to add to the intrigue, the aptly named Russian agent ‘Viper’ most definitely has a killer bite, the venom spreading far and wide. Highly recommended.

I read Tom Bradbury’s latest offering the week of Theresa May’s resignation. I joked with friends on various whatsapp groups that the Russians will have a hand in whoever the next leader is. I owe my remark (which was well received!) to Bradbury’s brilliantly believable thriller Secret Service.

I had no idea of his career as an author. It is just as well. Many of us have, entirely unjustified, pre-conceived opinions of high profile individuals who carve out a successful career in another field.

This is a cracking read which I raced through. The plot revolves around uncovering a mole in British government and the British security services. You won’t guess who it is – I didn’t. Bradbury spares no mercy with his characters either.

Bradbury deserves all the praise I suspect will come his way. I salute his talent at crafting a plausible female character in Kate Henderson.

This is a fantastically well-written thriller with an uncomfortably plausible plot. Bravo Sir.

A great read! Pacy and plausible, I was hooked from the start. Well rounded characters, some of whom I got to like. Well supported with visual description and suspense. It kept me guessing until the end and unlike many page turners there was no sense of anti climax at the end. An author I am delighted to have discovered and one who I have no doubt will succeed!

I totally, completely and unexpectedly loved this book. In fact I'm devastated I'm finished it, bugger. Bradby doesn't seem to do series and that's a shame as is definitely go for more actin from Kate. This its definitely one for your holiday pile expect to be gripped!

I enjoyed this swift paced novel by Tom Bradby who is obviously familiar with the background and intrigues of political life. The characters were well defined and the twists and turns of the plot kept my interest right up to the ultimate betrayal

Another writer new to me - and now another writer whose back catalogue I will have to devour. This was an excellent and topical spy thriller bang up to date in terms of the current political machinations.

The plot has been covered elsewhere by other reviewers and I do not wish to provide any spoilers, but it is credible and well constructed and the excitement is palpable. I read it in a couple of days and it is perfect summer holiday reading by a writer at the top of his game.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for a review. Tom Bradbury has written an amazing political thriller and I am sure it will be picked up and made into a mini-series like the body guard.

Whilst, not something I would usually read, I was gripped throughout and will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author in the future

A spy mystery with topical touches

The British Prime Minister resigns suddenly due to ill health. There are two main contenders to replace him: Imogen Conrad, Foreign Affairs Minister and James Ryan, the Foreign Secretary. Kate Henderson of the British Secret Intelligence Service and her sidekick, Rav, become involved when one of the contenders is suspected of spying.

The character of Kate was the best part of the book for me. She's a well-rounded character, ruthless at work, popular with her team, vulnerable in her private life. Happily married to Stuart, who works for Imogen Conrad, the couple have a teenage daughter. Kate is determined not to repeat her mother's unfaithfulness. But does Stuart share this ethic?

Kate recruits young illegal immigrant Lena to act as a mole, posing as a nanny on a luxury yacht belonging to the ex chief of Russia's Secret Service in order to plant a listening device.
They find evidence of Russian involvement in the up-coming British election, via a mole at senior level in either the British government or MI5/6. I enjoyed the topical references to the recent Salisbury incident, in which a woman died after allegedly spraying toxic 'perfume 'on herself which had been intended for two Russian defectors.

Unfortunately, the story became too complicated for me and I literally 'lost the plot'! The ending was predictable too. Shame, as it started well and Bradby clearly knows his subject.

Tom Bradby in this book gives us a very plausible story involving MI6 and the Russians. Kate Henderson is a senior officer on the Russia desk in MI6 and finds herself in a chase against time to discover who, amongst the candidates to replace the prime minister - forced to retire through illness - is "in the pocket" of the Russians. As if this is not enough there is also a mole, nicknamed "the Viper" seemingly planted amongst her colleagues. Kate's battle to find the answers puts her in danger as well as exposing her family to threats. A fast-paced and eminently readable novel.

Oh dear, I just could not get into this at all and, admiring the writer as a journalist and broadcaster, I really did want to, but found the characterisation lacking and the whole thing poor compared to for example, the superb books of Stella Rimington, which are far superior in every aspect.

I read this book in virtually one sitting as I really didn’t want to miss any of the twists and turns. How wonderful to have a female protagonist but also to have one that it’s possible to care about. Highly recommended.

Thanks Netgalley/publishers for the e-arc and the chance to read the book Secret Service. I haven't read any of Tom's books before, so this was an excellent introduction.

It's a really exciting fast paced espionage adventure with a twist. The main character Kate is a wife and mother and trying to balance family life with her job. She's trying to figure out who the perpetrators are, while tracking foreign agents, politics and avoiding assassins, with many ups and downs along the way.

You're also kept guessing until the very end.

I could imagine this book being turned into a short tv series and feel it would be very well received.

A very enjoyable read and I would recommend to everyone who enjoys a thriller. I'll definitely look out for Bradby's other books.

‘You can pick a destination, but you can never predict the journey.’

On the surface, Kate Henderson would seem to have an ordinary life. She has quiet job; a nice husband and they have two teenaged children. Sadly, Kate’s mother has dementia, but she’s well cared for. But appearances of ordinariness can be deceptive.

Kate is a senior MI6 officer. She receives information which leads her to insert a young woman, recruited under duress and in the guise of a nanny, into a Russian oligarch’s yacht. The young woman has instructions to place a listening device. The listening device reveals that the British Prime Minister has cancer and will resign, and that one of the leading candidates to replace him could be a Russian agent of influence.

MI6 are sceptical, but when the Prime Minister suddenly announces his resignation for medical reasons, they need to act quickly. There are a couple of possible candidates to replace the Prime Minister, including Kate’s husband’s boss. Kate doesn’t have long to discover the truth.

‘It’s hard to erase things in the House of Secrets if you know where to look.’

Kate’s job is made more difficult by a series of complicated personal relationships between many of the main characters. She also must keep in mind that the Russians might be simply playing games, but she can’t assume that: the stakes are too high.

The tension increases. Kate’s family life suffers, as do her relationships with some of the key characters. And, along the way, some lives will be lost, and others destroyed.

I enjoyed this novel, although I had to concentrate hard at times to keep the backgrounds of some of the characters clear. If you enjoy well-written contemporary spy novels, then you may also enjoy this. The story is made more credible by recent international developments.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The Russians have a mole at the top of the British government . The intelligence departments are playing what we find is ours we do not share. There is great intrigue and atmosphere throughout this story. You follow the cat and mouse games played and try to uncover the moles. Kate is MI6 head of the Russia desk when Lena one of her undercover operatives gets killed it all becomes very personal who amongst the small select group who knew about the operation is a traitor. This is a well crafted story with real characters who you can relate to doing an impossible job making difficult decisions daily.
I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read any of Bradbury's work prior to this book, and this may have put me at a disadvantage. The book launched head first into a story and without any prior background it was confusing. I fumbled along throughout the book, the story keeping me intrigued enough to want to continue but I was easily distracted with it. The characters seemed very conceited and I didn't really like any of them, the story was interesting but the ending was obvious. Overall if you have read his previous work you may enjoy this more so will try others in the future but on its own it was very confusing in parts but predictable in places also.

Wow, this was not what I was expecting. I have never read anything by Tom Bradby and my only knowledge of him has been from the news so I was prepared for something a little dry and journalistic and that is not what you get.

This is an exciting thrill ride of a book that starts with Kate, a member of the secret service, recruiting a young girl, Lena, to plant a microphone on a Russian oligarchs yacht while working there as the nanny. This sparks a chain of events that leads to Kate trying to find a mole in her office that is leaking their information to the Russians, as well as trying to discover who is involved at Westminster after the shock resignation of the Prime Minister - something that the Russians knew before anyone else.

There are twists and turns galore, you suspect everyone and the ending is fascinating. This covers current and recent events so feels really relevant too.

A glorious read - I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I loved it!
The book is set in the present day and following leaks of information (and misinformation) describes the search for suspected mole/spy in the British government. During the investigation, we get to know various senior officials as well as the MI6 department central to the plot.
Kate Henderson the main character is a senior MI6 officer, her husband Stuart works with a senior government minister. As well as the main theme, the book follows detail in Kate's life , her mother with a form of dementia who has become vitriolic in her interactions with Kate. Her teenage daughhter setting out on her own life and pushing the boundaries.Her husband and his own complex working relationships. We come to realise the tensions involved both in high office and confidentiality. The conflicts which have to be faced when getting to know new people and wondering why and what is behind the new relationship. The 'old boy network' is dealt with along with the challenges of being a woman in a man's world, there is blackmail and inducement....
There is action on a billionaire's yacht, in Greece, in a Dacha in Russia, at official government events, at news conferences. and in the day to day working lives of the main characters.
Nobody is above suspicion in the search for the source of the leaks. The final explanation, when it comes was for me unexpected and well delivered. The plot uncovers gradually and believably.
I loved this book and am off to see what else I can find by this author.