Another intriguing spy thriller from Henry Porter. The heroine comes with much family baggage but has real grit and determination in avenging the wrong doings of the government, MI5 and the villain of the peace. The story interweaves elements of spy craft and journalism and is one to be recommended.

At just under 500 pages, this is quite a read.

However, the pages flew past as I immersed myself into the world of Slim Parsons.

As an MI5 operative, she has recently spent two years undercover investigating a particularly creepy and dangerous man. Following an incident on a plane, she goes into hiding before MI5 give her another, much easier and seemingly straightforward, assignment. She must get a job at an online news site, ‘Middle Kingdom’, as a journalist. Tasked with finding out how they got hold of classified government information concerning water companies and also the wastage of taxpayers funds. Of course the government wants to shut them up. In order to try to gain their trust, Slim brings a story of her recent find on an archaeological dig.
The problem is she begins to find it difficult to see these people as ‘the enemy’.

Initially given menial tasks to investigate stolen flowers and to count bumblebees, she does not anticipate being immersed into the dangerous world of people smuggling and modern slavery. All whilst dealing with her own difficult private life in which her brother disappeared years ago and her mother is dying.

This was one of those books I was reluctant to put down even though I needed to sleep! I was engrossed from the first chapter and followed Slim with my heart in my mouth. This woman has no fear!

Expertly written by an undoubtedly talented writer (please see below for his credentials!) who has brought some very important issues of the moment to the page in a relatable way. Difficult to believe people smuggling, modern slavery, AI, archaeology, family loss and more could work together in one novel but it does and it does exceedingly well.

Slim Parsons is a MI5 operative who is hanging on to her career after her last under cover job ended in a life or death struggle.

Her next assignment looks tame by comparison but the reality is it is anything but. The people she is sent to infiltrate all have relatives who worked at Bletchley Park, and this turns out to be just one part of the puzzle. Well written I mostly enjoyed this book but it felt over complicated in parts. Thanks to a NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy for which I have given my own honest opinion.

You could be forgiven for thinking when you start the book that you’re reading the latest in a series because Slim’s just finished a dangerous undercover mission. The action she was forced to take to ensure her own safety during that mission has landed her in hot water with her superiors. With her cover blown, it’s meant she’s had to go to earth – quite literally – and she fears her career may be ancient history. She also just happened to make off with something that a very dangerous enemy would like to have back.

With the previous operation seemingly closed down, she’s assigned to a new undercover role that starts out looking innocuous but turns out to be anything but. It becomes a battle between press freedom, civil liberty and government control of information. And perhaps that previous operation isn’t so dead after all?

At nearly 500 pages, you might think the author would have a job maintaining the pace of a thriller but he throws in plenty of action scenes during which Slim proves just what a ferocious, fearless and resourceful opponent she is, fashioning weapons out of anything to hand. She’s also adept at the tradecraft of a spy: dodging surveillence, juggling multiple identities, disappearing off the radar and generally keeping her wits about her. As a reader, you’ll need to keep your wits about you as well because there are quite a lot of characters to get to know and keep track of.

Some of the buildings used for wartime code-breaking at Bletchley Park feature in the story but it’s modern code-breaking technology that ultimately provides the vital information about just exactly what’s been going on. And those goings-on include things such as people trafficking, modern slavery, money laundering, bribery and corruption. What also gives the plot such a contemporary feel is that Slim’s adversary is a billionaire with dubious morals and friends in high places. (Recent real-life examples may come to mind.)

There’s always a danger that the hero/heroine of a spy thriller will come across as a little one-dimensional – all action and no inner life. There’s no chance of that here because Slim has a complex private life and is facing some very difficult personal challenges. She may be ruthless when it comes to her job and give the impression of complete self-dependence, but she needs love and support just like everyone else. And perhaps someone to watch over her…

Slim Parsons has been likened to Lisbeth Salander, the fictional character created by Stieg Larsson. Lisbeth had more than one outing so perhaps The Enigma Girl is not the last we’ll see of Slim?

The story is set in the future when AI has materialist and robot delivery machines are common. Slim Parsons is indeed an enigma girl. A fearless independent minded M15 agent while a caring and helpful person to those oppressed and in need. After a brutal encounter with the man she works for to obtain information undercover she is reassigned to work as a journalist for a news media which has published government sensitive information. She is uder suspicion and so to keep her out is told to investigate some incidents that lead up to a big story of human trafficking while also being under threat of assassination from those involved with her last assignment. A long and far reaching story of corruption in politics and the underworld of human exploitation and finance while also dwelling on the day to day personal life of Slim.

Gripping all the way through as a spy thriller and equally captivating storylines covering the very dark sides of corruption and cruelty. Strong characters throughout showing tremendous strength and resilience both in the good and the bad.

We first meet Slim Parsons when she is on leave from her role as a security service operator working with MI5. However, her last undercover job left her with a whole heap of personal issues along with a real sense of danger. When Slim is given an opportunity to infiltrate an online news website she does so on the provision that the Security Services help to locate her brother who has been missing for several years. Slim soon realises that there is far more to this new investigation than she could ever have imagined and with people from her past also out for revenge she must try to keep one step ahead of those who would do her harm.

The story starts off as something of a slow burner as we get to know just what makes Slim Parsons tick. She is definitely an enigma girl with more shadows in her past than any one person should have to deal with and yet she handles her espionage role with great aplomb and is not afraid to challenge to get what’s needed. I enjoyed watching Slim’s character progression, especially her relationship with her mother and of course, her dog, Loup. As we get deeper into the story so all the pieces of this complex puzzle start to come together making it an enjoyable and cleverly constructed spy thriller which raises some interesting issues and gives a fascinating fictional insight into the workings of the modern day security services whilst also giving a nod to the past.

With a cleverly controlled and complex mystery at its core and with a remarkable female protagonist taking centre stage The Enigma Girl captured my interest from start to finish.

The main plot took ages to get going. There was a lot of explaining the back story of the Slim, the main protagonist. There were too many plot lines running concurrently and it was obvious they would eventually coincide. Slim is also so multi-talented to a point of not quite believable. It was a nice change to have the ‘spy’ being female.

Hooked from the first page! The pace is intense, the characters diverse and intriguing – some with surprising history – and the unveiling of political and commercial corruption at a staggering level both topical and fascinating. Ditto the slave trafficking. Very taken with the protagonist, Slim Parsons, and her mother. The writing enticed further reading, drawing the reader into the action and environment with insight and factual information The nigh-on 500 pages sped by. I haven’t read the previous volume but assume it was as good a read as this one. I was a little surprised to see American English usage in various places although it is fairly common now. I shall look forward to future books.

Slim is a an undercover agent with a problem.
She is staying with her mother and taking part in an archaeological dig, after surviving a traumatic episode. Her mother is an alcoholic, and her brother is missing.
She is called back to work to infiltrate an online organisation that appears to be leaking government secrets, and is linked to the wartime codebreakers at Bletchley Park.
I have a familial link to Bletchley, but that doesn’t make me a mathematical or computer genius, as the author suggests here. In fact, other than giving the book its tile, and a few locations, Bletchley was irrelevant.
Ther book started with so many characters, some important, but others never mentioned again.
The story was interesting and of course linked back to the original trauma, while including the missing brother on the way.
I never warmed to Slim, and just found it all hard going.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Henry Porter returns with another upto date spy thriller with The Enigma Girl.

Whilst it is an enjoyable read there were times that the main character’s action are unbelievable and some of the plot(s) too drawn out so overall a bit of a mixed bag.

Slim Parsons is an MI5 agent frustrated at the lack of progress of a case for which she has spent two years undercover and risked her life. Her actions at the end of her involvement have left her burned out and with problems with her bosses. For her next case she is planted as a journalist on an internet site which investigates government waste and dishonesty and publishes classified material – her job is to find out how they are getting the information and prevent the publication of official secrets. During her work, though, she grows sympathetic to their cause and feels her loyalties torn.

This was overall a decent read but I did have issues with it, most of which are down to its length. The author talks in the acknowledgements of how long it ended up being and how much he cut to get it to its present length but to be honest, more cuts would have made the pace better. The main story took a long time to get going and got bogged down with subplots, there were too many largely irrelevant characters, and some aspects which the author obviously found interesting and wanted to include (the archaeology, the church) really added nothing. The main plot was good and Slim was an interesting character but it felt a little lacking in a sense of urgency to me and too much irrelevance stopped me feeling as involved as I could have. 3.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

A brilliant piece of work.
Forget overly long paragraphs, the complex plot, and the large array of players, this book is a joy to read.
The book opens with the lead character Slim, helping out on an archaeological dig that makes a spectacular discovery. She is hiding away there after falling out of favour with her MI5 employers after an assignment went wrong. Despite that, she is persuaded to take another undercover role with MI5, with a cover role as an inversigative reporter.
Despite being brought back into The Security Service, she is not really trusted by them, nor by those at the media company she has to infiltrate. On top of all this, she has turmoil in her private life with an ailing mother and a missing brother.
Over this scenario, author Henry Porter weaves an intriguing tale that brings in wartime history, organised crime with people smuggling, modern slavery and money laundering, as well as massive political corruption and even AI!
The pace is frenetic, and I found this book very hard to put down.

This was quite a contemporary read with a strong female lead in Slim Parsons and relevant issues of government leaks, news manipulation,espionage and deep cover ops,. The plots, sub plots and characters were very well developed. I can definitely see this being made into a mini series soon

A thrilling espionage adventure, not my usual type of read however as I used to live very near to Bletchley Park it intrigued me and I dived into the story with interest. Slim, the heroine of the story, was an angsty, prone to violence young lady and it was great to see her character development as life events impacted on her. There were so many characters in the story that it took a while to get my head round who was who.

This would make a great tv series as there are so many people who were from different walks of life, political, secret service, journalists, archaeologists that it does keep you guessing all along.

Overall a great read and to be recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Well, what a blast! The Enigma Girl covers so many subjects, some really topical, like freebies to politicians. however it stops at Prime Ministers, multi-millionaires who cannot afford to go to SpecSavers. At the heart of the novel, there's one word: CORRUPTION, It's endemic in our so called democracy but there is one person who fights it and that is the heroine Slim Parsons, a disillusioned spy. She believes her morals are higher than the people who pay her. They are.
Anyway if you believe in Slim Parsons then you'll love this novel but if you like the parliamentry gravy train of 'free' concert tickets, clothes, optrician's designer ranges, football boxes and police cavalcades for the glitterarty, you might be discouraged. Although I believe the author meant it about the 'last lot'.
“Plus ça change”
Despite a lot of subjects having been covored very well by numerous other authors, Henry Porter does a sterling job in bringing so much of it together in a page turning masterpiece. I am so pleased he rightfully attributed the Polish input to breaking the Enigma code, which they did in its earliest form. I also liked his nod to an ephemeral presence, which no one understands until they experience it.
It's got to be a five star review from me.

A most entertaining read about reluctant spy, Slim Parsons, recalled to do one more job in exchange for information about her missing brother, Matt.

Slim struggles to keep on task and instead goes on a one-woman crusade to bring down two criminal enterprises and their leaders.

I liked the plotting of the book, the characters and the trade craft.

I am absolutely fascinated by Bletchley park and everything that was achieved there. This book really bought it to life for me. The character of slim was very well written. I loved it.

Unfortunately this book wasn't for even though it's the type of story I usually enjoy. The historical background was well researched and interesting. I forced myself to keep plodding through the first 40%, but I'd had enough. I then read the last 10%. Apologies to the author. I was not tempted to go back and read the bit I missed. I'm sure the latter half was faster paced than the first half. I was surprised that the author had already trimmed the book down. The actual plot was good just too long-winded for me. Books are always a matter of personal taste and I'm sure many readers will enjoy it.

It’s been quite some time since I read a really good spy thriller and I’m pleased to say The Enigma Girl was just a brilliant read that kept me gripped. The story starts off at a slow pace but once I got into it there was absolutely no stopping me from reading it every spare moment I had.
I loved all the information about Bletchley Park I did know a little about what went on there but not so much so for me this made the read doubly interesting and it was obvious the author had done a lot of research. The writing was excellent and the characters all realistic I think the only thing I thought could have been better was the book was a tad too long but maybe that’s me.
So a thoroughly enjoyable , interesting story from an author that was new to me and it most certainly won’t be the last I will read from him, many thanks.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.