Illegal Action

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008. CA3 - A first US edition hardcover book SIGNED by the author on the title page in verry good condition in verry good dust jacket. Dust jacket has label on the front, some wrinkling, chipping and crease on the edges and corners, light discoloration and shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, light wrinkling on a few inside pages, light discolroation and shelf wear. A novel from the former head of Britain's MI5. 9.5"X6.5", 289 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. The new installment in Stella Rimington's series of "frighteningly authentic" espionage thrillers (Chicago Tribune) featuring the fiercely intelligent, ambitious MI5 officer Liz Carlyle. Liz has been transferred to counter-espionage - the hub of MI5 operations during the Cold War, which has been scaled back as anti-terrorism has gained priority. But there's plenty for her to do: there are more spies operating in London in the twenty-first century than there were during the height of East-West hostilities. Even the Russians still have a large contingent, although now they spy on the international financial community and on the wealthy ex-pat oligarchs who make England their domain. In her new assignment, Liz quickly uncovers a plot to silence one of these Russians: Nikita Brunovsky, an increasingly vocal opponent of Vladimir Putin. The Foreign Office is adamant about forestalling a crime that could become a full-blown international incident, but there's not a single clue as to how the assassination will be carried out - and Liz is solely responsible for averting disaster. So she goes undercover, attaching herself to Brunovsky's retinue: racing against the clock to determine who betrayed him and suddenly facing a wholly unexpected second task - unmasking a Russian operative working undercover alongside her. Dame Stella has once again distilled her experience as the first woman Director General of MI5 into a spy novel of arresting psychological complexity and unflagging suspense.. Signed by Author. First US Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.