"At Risk"

"At Risk" is Stella Rimington's first novel.  Rimington is a former head of Britain's MI5 and this is her debut thriller introducing Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle.

One of the ways I define a good read is when the author describes settings in such a way that I feel I am there -- I can actually see the story unfold in my head just like I'm watching a movie.  It may help that I am somewhat familiar with Great Britain after many trips there to visit a daughter who married a Brit and lives there with her family.  However, I haven't been to all the places Rimington sets her story and I still have a vivid scene playing mentally.

In this initial Rimington thriller Liz Carlyle finds herself part of a British Intelligence Joint Counter-Terrorist group seeking an "invisible."  "Invisible" is actually CIA speak for someone who is an ethnic native of a target country who is able to move easily and unchecked in that country and give aid to terrorists.

Liz has an uncanny ability to bond mentally with her target, get inside the target's head, and instinctively come up with clues to help the task force find who they are seeking.  She knows the questions to ask and the searches to set in motion.  This is a good read but it doesn't move as quickly as some thrillers because it is more like the actual unfolding of clues would happen and those discoveries usually don't come rapidly.  pazt