Other than that- I enjoyed this novel immensely. Great cast of characters, intelligent, thrilling, gripping, entertaining. Goes to show that thrillers can indeed be intelligent and well thought-out, and not insulting and stupid. Double Agent is a more pacier spy novel than its predecessor, and there are some well-written and suspenseful set-pieces on the way to the taut climax. Kate’s deterioration adds a good deal of tension to the story and the ending has a nice touch of cynicism to it. As with Secret Service, Bradby excels in his portrayal of the interplay of personal and professional relationships in the secret service, reminding me of Len Deighton’s Bernard Samson novels. The second in the series with Kate Henderson as a senior MI6 intelligence officer in Secret Service. The story continues from where The Secret Service ended. Kate is somewhat trying to build bridges with her two children, Fiona and Gus, though she might benefit from a parenting class. She arranges a weekend in Venice, which also allows them to meet up with their father, who was previously outed as a Russian spy, and now lives a dull life in Moscow. Complicating Kate’s assessment of the situation is the suspicion that her husband Stuart, codename ‘Viper’, was not the only Russian agent in MI6. The candidates are few, Kate’s boss ‘C’, his deputy Ian, and Kate’s subordinates Julie, Danny and Suzy, a new recruit. This very limited pool of suspects seems somehow at odds with the significance of the matters in play.

A Russian agent has come forward with news that the PM has been the victim of the greatest misinformation play in the history of MI6. It’s run out of a special KGB unit that exists for one purpose alone: to process the intelligence from ‘Agent Dante’, a mole right at the heart of MI6 in London.

Kate is playing a very dangerous and unpredictable game - pretty much piggy in the middle, between the British and the Russians, striving to discover the identity of a mole at the heart of British Intelligence. Is it the Prime Minister, or someone else entirely? Teems with twists and the denouement is imaginative and unexpected.”— Times (UK) , on Secret Service Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. There's plenty of strong women characters supported by several weak men. Kate is the strongest of all, which makes the revelation of the mole's identity all the more poignant. There's a strong hint that Kate's story will continue.

The allegations are explosive: agreement to the resettlement suggests that they could be true, while a refusal could come later to look like cowardice or worse. At the insistence of the foreign minister that Borodin’s story be better substantiated before she makes a decision, Kate makes a dangerous trip to Russia under cover.

Kate Henderson, a senior officer at MI6, has a borscht bowl of troubles. When her team bugs an oligarch's yacht, they learn that the Russians have co-opted a British politician and that the prime minister is ailing and will soon leave office. Is this disinformation, intentionally leaked to gum up internal British politics? The detail about the prime minister's health is key: No one in Britain has been aware of any issue, and when he unexpectedly resigns for health reasons, the report seems to be confirmed. But as Kate drills down on which politician may be the Kremlin's person, it also becomes clear that there's a mole on her team, and in fact there are potential betrayals swirling all around Kate. Is her boss, Ian Granger, head of the Europe and Russia desk, genuinely doubtful, or is he dismissing her suspicions because he's the mole? Is her husband cheating on her? Is her 15-year-old daughter really having sex with the pierced and tattooed Jed, who is a few years older? And will the MI6 director, known as C, force her to reveal her secret source in the Russian diplomatic corps? Dauntless, Kate slowly unravels the twisted skeins of deceit and betrayal, and though she loses much in the process, she perseveres. If all this seems reminiscent of some of the trials and tribulations of George Smiley, well, it's a new generation. The days of such naked corruption are supposed to be over, but nothing in prohibition era Manhattan is that simple. For Joe Quinn, a case that starts as an opportunity swiftly becomes a nightmare from which there is no escape. The path seems to lead inexorably towards his own father, once New York’s foremost celebrity cop. And at the heart of the investigation lies a woman whose love he has fought to deny for nearly a quarter of a century. Double Agent is another readable spy thriller from Tom Bradby. It follows on directly from Secret Service and I would strongly recommend that you read Secret Service first. I love Tom Bradby and I think he is an excellent writer, though I have to admit that spy stories are not my favourite genre. Every time I read about Russia I keep thinking Killing Eve and I am waiting for someone to be assassinated in a ridiculously theatrical style, while dressed as a clown. But this is serious. I read the first book Secret Service and enjoyed the relationship between our main protagonist Kate, her husband Stuart, his affair with Imogen who wants to be the next PM and Julie who is sleeping with the odious Ian who wants to be the head of MI6. This is a book about spies, politics, affairs and unbridled ambition. Double Agent continues where Secret Service left off. Their relationship has never recovered since Harry's wife's suicide, for which Sean holds his father responsible. And Harry, with his career on the verge of disintegration, needs to find him and put things right.

Secret Service" and "Double Agent", the previous installments in the Kate Henderson series, were great reads. They were fast-paced, cerebral at times, and were thrilling from start to end. But "Triple Cross", the latest installment, is underwhelming, to say the least, and doesn't resemble in any way the previous books. In this third instalment the story remains much as before. Kate has been sidelined and pensioned off as her standing has been compromised by a failed assignment, the death of agents and losing the diplomatic kudos to the Russians. Her position has not been helped by an adulterous husband who has been giving secrets to the Russians. Her resolve to leave also came about for personal reasons after her children were abducted and threatened with death if she didn’t comply with their wishes and end her investigation.

Retailers:

The second in this series, that brings the same characters as book 1, Secret Service and the same unanswered dilemmas for MI6. We follow Kate Henderson again, a wonderful character, her kids call ‘James Bond’ but she is a true agent as unassuming as a Smiley as she balances family life, looking after her ‘difficult’ mother and coming to terms with her husband’s treachery. Stuart was unveiled in the first book as an adulterer with her best friend but more embarrassing to a secret service high flyer also a Russian Spy. Riveting...with style and energy, evocative scene-setting and strong characterisation' Financial Times Triple Cross opens with Kate retired from MI6 and trying to rebuild her shattered life, following the events in Double Agent, in the South of France. The pleasure of time with her family, however, is shattered by the arrival of the British Prime Minister and a request to re-enter the fray to determine once and for all, whether there is really a Russian mole, known as ‘Agent Dante’, at the heart of British Intelligence. Kate reluctantly accepts the task, for good reasons related to the earlier books, and finds herself commencing a dangerous investigation, which no one wants to succeed.