Bradby draws heavily on the daily news in this compelling thriller ... That’s a lot going on in one novel, but Bradby makes it work, driving home the quintessential espionage theme of betrayal as it permeates all aspects of Kate’s life, professional and personal. There are resonant echoes of le Carré here—in the way the betrayals reach from marriage beds to the seats of government—but there is also a distinctly contemporary feeling in the idea that truth, even when it’s discoverable, may no longer matter.
Bradby uses current-day political fears to great effect in this new spy thriller ... Bradby’s journalistic and screenwriting background is fully evident, as the story is well researched, compellingly complicated, and perfectly paced. Fans of Stella Rimington and Olen Steinhauer will love this offering.
The author reveals a rarely seen facet of secret agents: the domestic side. Not a clichéd Jane Bond, Kate is a mother to two teenagers, daughter to a spiteful mother sliding into dementia, and wife to a civil servant who may be working for a traitor. Ops go sideways, betrayals abound, and good people die. Bradby keeps the reader guessing to the last. Fans of cerebral spycraft in the vein of le Carré will enjoy this outing.
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 ... Old wine in a new glass, slightly past its prime.
