The paranoia levels here are very high, although very subtle indeed, and as the plot advances, you find yourself, alongside Kate, having trouble to trust anyone, not knowing what's real and what's not. I found the two aspects distracted from each other rather than enhanced the book and I struggled a bit as a result. Bradby's narrative is easy to follow, flowing ever so well, and his descriptions of places, emotions, action, thought processes- is done wonderfully. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Riddled with doubt that the evidence she is presented with may not in fact be as bulletproof as it seems, Kate reopens the investigation into the PM. Everyone behaves as stupidly as possible, and in the end nothing much has changed from the beginning of the book, other than the fact that the protagonist has an addiction to sleeping pills now.But while John le Carré's had his readers’ equally confused with double agents, Tom Bradby offers us a mole in MI6 but also the possibility the PM is a Russian agent too. 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.

These questions plague Kate as she tries to keep it together for her children and ailing mother, steadily losing sleep and, she fears, her sanity.

A similar dichotomy arises too between Kate’s super-spy activities and her concerns for her children. We are arguably now entering a new Cold War, with tensions between East and West at its ever increasing height. This series is really one tale, and the three titles should ideally be read back-to-back, so line 'em up before you start.

I'd recommend you read Secret Service first as both are so good, you wouldn't want to miss out on the background to characters and their history as could be a little difficult to understand the plot if you don't. I hope it is a little more tightly focussed, though, and branches out from the slightly samey structure of the first two.

It follows on directly from Secret Service and I would strongly recommend that you read Secret Service first. I love these because Tom Bradby beautifully balances the edge-of-your-seat thriller elements with the spycraft and political infighting.

But when he offers her conclusive evidence that the British Prime Minister is a live agent working for Moscow, Kate's holiday quickly becomes the start of her next mission. None of the characters are developed beyond one note, whether that's "annoying", "has affairs" or "depressed".Kate and the rest of the small MI6 circle concerned are trying to recover after the events of last time.