Dead Line (Liz Carlyle, #4) by Stella Rimington

Dead Line (Liz Carlyle, #4) Reviews

• 
  Roderick Hart

  This book is a thriller based on the British security service MI5. It is the fourth in a series dealing with the exploits of Liz Carlyle and is written by Stella Rimington, who ran MI5 in a previous existence. For this reason reviewers like to state that the books are realistic since the author knows the service from the inside. Which may or may not be true - but they cannot know without having been on the inside themselves.
  
  Some reviews include mild complaints to the effect that the plots are a little low key. This may be the case compared to books where bursts of machine-gun fire, lengthy car chases, and powerful explosions are to be found on every second page. But there is nothing inherently interesting in machine gun fire and I find the relative absence of such things an advantage. Since our streets don’t resound to gun fire and explosions I think it likely that the author’s plots reflect reality in this respect too. In this case – I haven’t read the other three – the plot is quite well constructed, though in places it reminds me of films of the same genre and to that extent is derivative. The first chapter is a case in point, the car driving up a narrow road in Cyprus to meet a contact. Several chapters later, on that same road, the driver plunges over a cliff when two of his tyres are shot out. But we can live with that.
  
  What I can’t live with is the cast. At one point we are told that MI5 is no longer dominated by recruits from Oxford and Cambridge. Given the number of traitors from Cambridge that’s got to be a relief! But if this book is anything to go by MI5 is dominated by white men and women from London and the south east of England. I would think that anyone reading this book from the north of England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland might feel that MI5 does not represent them. When in Gleneagles, Liz says the following to Hannah (page 259):
  ‘To the Scots I’m as foreign as you.’ What she should have said was that the Scots were foreign to her. And, of course, the local chief constable is incompetent and feisty young Liz has to sort him out.
  
  The writing style, where the people are concerned, is reminiscent of Biggles. Here are some examples of what I mean from pages 152 and 153.
  Liz: ‘I’m awfully sorry for joking.’ (152)
  Edward: ‘They’d had an awfully rough time.’ (152)
  Edward ‘It was a jolly dangerous time.’ (153)
  What an awfully exciting read!
  
  This book is a novel, you can hold it in your hand. The author is a writer because she has written it. But compare it to the work of someone who really can write and it doesn’t hold up. Look, for example, at the descriptive ability of Patricia Cornwell or Michael Dibdin and the complexity of some of their characters as it comes out in dialogue. What we have here is competent but wooden by comparison.
  
  
  
• 
  Julie

  I'd forgotten how Goodreads qualified Two Stars until I hovered my cursor over the ratings: It was Ok.
  
  Ok. I can live with that. This was ok. A fun diversion in a stressful week. I recall feeling much more riveted by the first Liz Carlyle, read several years ago, but I haven't read the in-betweens. My rating would be higher if not for the disappointing denouement.
• 
  Mal Warwick

  Dame Stella Rimington served as Director General of Britain's Security Service, MI5, from 1992 to 1996. Eight years later, in retirement, her first spy novel was published, launching the Liz Carlyle series. Dead Line (2008) is the fourth in the series, now nine strong.
  
  Clearly, Rimington has intimate knowledge of MI5 and its sister agency, MI6. So it's no surprise that every entry in the Liz Carlyle series rings with authenticity. What is unexpected is Rimington's proficiency with plotting, characterization, and scene-setting. Like its three predecessors in the series, Dead Line is a pleasure to read.
  
  In this suspenseful spy thriller, a high-level Middle Eastern peace conference is scheduled to take place in Scotland. The presidents of Israel, Syria, and the United States are all scheduled to attend. The conference is just weeks away when MI6 picks up a credible agent's report that a plan is afoot to sabotage the conference. Thirty-five-year-old MI5 officer Liz Carlyle is assigned to work with MI6 to determine whether the threat is real and, if so, find out who's behind it—and thwart it at all costs.
  
  Together with her able young aide, Peggy Kinsolving, and senior MI6 officer Geoffrey Fane, Liz sets out on an investigation that intensifies as the deadline approaches. Other agencies become involved, including the CIA, Special Branch, Revenue and Customs, and Israel's Mossad. Suspense builds steadily as the story unfolds, and it's not until the very end that Liz—or the reader—understands what's really happening. The novel concludes on a high note, but loose ends remain to be wrapped up in future stories.
  
  After four novels in the series, Liz Carlyle is coming into sharp focus. She is professional to a fault, highly intuitive, and capable of facing down even the most formidable sexist male. Liz is also secretly in love with her (married) boss, Charles Wetherby, and fearful that the man her aging mother has paired up with is a gold-digger. And she's frustrated that her job hasn't allowed her to date. In other words, exceptional though she is, Liz Carlyle is an entirely credible thirty-something Englishwoman.
• 
  Kirsty

  To say I struggled to finish this book would be an understatement. Many a time I got tempted to just ditch it, however I really dislike doing that. I would love to say that I was glad I stuck with it, but I am sad to say it didn't get any better. I had a slight glimpse of hope in the last 50 pages or so that things were getting interesting, but then it just died back off to dull narrative.
  
  I really dislike leaving a negative review of any book, and always try to write something positive about everything I read. I can't think of anything positive about this story though. I really wish I'd just given up when I first realised I disliked it.
  
  I'd like to elaborate a little on what I didn't like more specifically. For starters the characters were dull and didn't feel real. I didn't believe in them, or care about them at all. The narrative is also anything but interesting for the vast majority of the story. It just couldn't hold my attention as it was so dry. I'm sad to report that I've lost count of how many times this book literally put me to sleep after reading around 2 pages each night.
  
  I'm really disappointed in this book, this is the first book I've ever given one star to. I feel like this story could have been so much better.
• 
  Carolyn

  Only a couple of weeks back I wrote that I wouldn't read any more of the Liz Carlyle series but then I found I'd already downloaded the next one on to my Kindle. So there I was in lockdown and it seemed like an easy enough way to pass the time. Initially I thought I'd made a big mistake, as I had just re-read Warlight (Ondaatje) which was such a complex and nuanced book about espionage and its effects on spies and their families. This by contrast was a simple (simplistic?) story about a possible threat to a Middle East peace conference and MI5's efforts to prevent disaster. Eventually the ever more complicated plot did pull me in and I found the last third surprisingly gripping. Better than the last but still - not much more than an escapist read. Two and a half stars, rounded up for the ending.
• 
  Michael Martz

  'Dead Line', the 4th in Stella Rimington's Liz Carlyle series, is a tricky one. The British secret service is made aware of the potential for the disruption of an international conference in Scotland, and from there it becomes a sometimes tedious search for the who, what, when, where, and why.
  
  As with her prior novels, Ms. Rimington provides great descriptions of tradecraft and the inner workings of both the security services and the political atmosphere surrounding them. What I most enjoy about the series, though, is the lead character. Liz isn't a killing machine or a bloodless analytical robot, but is rather a hyper-competent agent with a conscience and other very human qualities and needs. The author has done fine work in developing this character and, with the announcement at the very end of the book, we can look forward to what I can assume to be new entanglements on her social side.
  
  The writing is crisp but the book doesn't move as quickly as I expected. That's probably on me- security investigations mixed with diplomacy and international competition between services don't move fast, and Ms. Rimington obviously knows what's involved there. Two problems I had with 'Dead Line': the dialogue of one of the American CIA officers didn't ring very true. He was an ex-Ivy league Anglophile who spoke as if he were British. The other issue was with the conclusion- at the risk of being a spoiler, I didn't think the level of cunning and precision of the perpetrator would have resulted in the dependence on the final group of involved characters and the complicated type of attack that was carried out.
  
  So, this was definitely a worthwhile read by an author who has spun a fine series out of her experience as the head of Britain's MI5.
• 
  Any Length

  I did not like this book at all. No stars at all.
  It was too slow moving, the chapters felt stilted and the back ground painted by the author for each scene felt false and unreal. The characters didn't feel right either. Peggy who was supposed to be a whiz with computers was more concerned with cooking a meal at the time of big pressure leading up to the conference. The background given to some of the other characters also felt "made up" and not natural. The plot was way too slow and all the chapters sounded "cut off". The book did not flow freely nor did it feel joined up.
  The narrator(I had the audio version)did not help either. She read the book as if it was a 1950's women's cook and housekeeping book. There was no suspense and no thrill in the book at all.
  I was bored to tears at times and craved a current thriller with a bit of testosterone tossed in.
  The author managed to have all men in the book sound like women in men's clothing. And I am not saying drag. I mean as if the men in the book were thinking with women's brains. Total testosterone deficiency. No manly men at all in the whole book.
  
  I have given this book no stars at all. I was going to give it one star, but I removed that because a dog got killed. So there's my message. Authors - write your books in ways other than killing dogs when you can't think of anything better. This book would have been better if the author had thought of a way to save the dog.
  
• 
  Henri Moreaux

  I was drawn to this book by the blurb, it sounded like the basis for an exciting spy thriller. Sadly, whilst this book has the elements of an exciting spy thriller, it is far from such.
  
  The narrative it at times rather dry and the plot isn't unique in terms of the method of getting to the climax, it's merely a rehash of the methods of a hundred other spy movies & books implemented in a way that makes you feel drowsy.
  
  It's set in Britain so predictably there is no gun play, but there's also not much in the way of actual spying either just some dull scenes of meeting on a cliff top, a car toppling over a cliff and a bland description of someone being hit by a car. Clichéd British phrases such as 'jolly dangerous time' also didn't aid the narrative.
  
  If I were to describe this book in two words: resoundingly average, in one word: dull.
• 
  Marieke Desmond

  3.5 stars for a great espionage thriller which was even more convincing in its lack of fluff. On the eve of a historic Middle Eastern peace conference in the UK, a tip comes that two Brits with ties to Syria are being targeted for murder to disrupt the talks. Liz Carlisle and her team must untangle a web of intrigue and dis-intelligence to stop the attacks and discover the true threat to the conference in time.
• 
  Jeff Crosby

  Clever, well paced counter espionage tale. The book is not particularly suspenseful, but it has strong, interesting characters. The plot is effectiely driven by procedure.
• 
  Rachel England-Brassy

  Below par
• 
  Tim Byron

  Brief Chapters - not enough space to do serious character development - doesn't really gather momentum - no desire to read any more of the series
• 
  Eyejaybee

  I would be interested to know to what extent Liz Carlyle, the appealing protagonist of Stella Rimington’s espionage novels, is based upon the author herself. Liz is pragmatic, resourceful and quick thinking, relying upon her own abilities rather than the high tech accessories that so often clutter spy novels.
  
  On a related point, having been rereading the sequence, I also wonder how far the character of Zoe Reynolds, who featured so notably in the first three seasons of the television series Spooks is based upon Liz Carlyle. They share the same practical approach to the numerous challenges and operations thrown their way, and both display an occasional healthy cynicism, or even despair, about the value or rectitude of their role.
  
  Dead Line represents the fourth outing for Liz Carlyle, and once again she finds herself feeling as wary of her MI6 and CIA counterparts as of the ‘official’ enemy. A major Middle East peace summit has been scheduled to be held at the luxury Scottish hotel complex of Gleneagles, but intelligence filters down to MI6 about a Syrian plot to disrupt it. Liz is assigned to investigate potential links to the plot in the UK, and to ensure that the peace talks can proceed safely.
  
  One of the great qualities of Liz Carlyle as a character is her humanity. She isn’t perfect, and occasionally makes mistakes. She is also as susceptible to mistaken first impressions as anyone else, and finds herself having to reconsider various assumptions she has made about her family and personal life. Where Rimington shows her deftness as a writer is in balancing Liz’s personal hinterland with the requirements of the plot, and never allowing the former to overshadow or dwarf the latter.
  
  This is not an edge of the seat thriller – that is not the sort of book that Stella Rimington is aiming for. It is, however, a well-crafted, well written and entertaining story, that captures (and then retains) the reader’s attention right from the start.
  
• 
  Jackie Cain

  This book covers new ground, for Stella Rimington, visiting Cyprus, Lebanon and Gleneagles in Scotland and dealing with Mossad and Syrian intelligence as well as the huge operation that is an international security conference. It has a whole new form of plot with a huge cast of characters. At the same time, it holds fast to the concept of detailed investigative work and the importance of recognising anomalies and acting upon them, which most ordinary people don't do. There were red herrings and clues and, at one point, I thought smugly that the reader knew more than the agents except it turned out that we didn't - we didn't know any less but we didn't know more.
  
  All that is good and I enjoyed the more domestic scenes with family and friends although some of the relationships are not as innocent as they seem. However, I found it hard to keep track and to maintain the interest in the book when I read it in normal home mode - a chapter or two at night. So, I think these are books best kept for a long journey or holiday reading.
  
  I'm taking a break from this series now.
• 
  Michael Corry

  Solid Espionage Yarn
  
  I read/listened to this book via a combination of Kindle and Audible. I had read quite a few of the Liz Carlyle series and so I knew what to expect from Ms Rimington. The storyline is good, believable and it races along at a fair lick .. thus far a solid five stars. Where I was disappointed was with the narration on the Audible track; descriptive passages were great but for conversation the narrator slowed right down and dropped her voice so far that at one point I actually checked my player to ascertain that it was playing back at the right speed!! 'We..must..check..the..perimeter..of..the..grounds', all in basso profundo
  for a female character does strip the action of its moment so to speak. Notwithstanding I enjoyed the book, I enjoyed the Kindle, I enjoyed the facility of jumping backwards and forwards between Kindle and Audible and I usually enjoy the Audible narration (especially when I am walking the family dog) but this one had me chuckling in the middle of an assassination attempt which probably wasn't the desired effect!
• 
  Kerry Swinnerton

  Twists, plot and counter plot! Interesting, and enjoyable. A little more character development in this book, but why did we have to wait until book 4 before it happened. Still.....not a huge amount about Liz, and even less about her colleagues. I guess the point of the books is that they are about the plot and so that is developed and obviously from first hand experience, they are well thought out.......but I fear that Dame Stella is only as good as her experience as an operative within the shadows she inhabited for many years and that actual character development from a writer’s point of view is not her forte.
  Definitely worth the read but I just feel that there is still a tiny bit missing here.
• 
  Beth

  I enjoyed this book but can’t say that it was much of a page-turner for me. The storyline was interesting and there was a little more character development than in previous books, but still the reader only has a superficial understanding of Liz and the other main players. I guess I’m looking for a little more ‘life’ in the characters and more detail and tension in the plot and less a feeling of reading a report.
  
  As in previous books, it also troubles me when the otherwise smart and experienced agents make seemingly dumb choices/mistakes. These seem to be used as ways to move the plot along quicker, but kind of kill the believability for me.
  
  I’m not sure if I’ll continue reading this series or not; definitely taking a break. Time for some David Baldacci!
• 
  Si Straw

  Stella Rimington brings a very authentic touch to her Liz Carlyle series of thrillers and Dead Line is no exception. There is more than a touch of Lynda La Plante to the styling of protagonist. Tightly written, the investigative process is well detailed as Carlyle battles both her, as yet, unknown adversary and the prejudices of the world she inhabits as the plot surges towards the conclusion. Rimington's denouement's are perhaps not the most climactic but the ride along the way is most satisfying. Some characters are slightly glossed over as keeping the plot pulsing is a higher priority than personal detail. Overall, a very good read.
• 
  Christine Ottaway

  I really enjoyed re-reading this. I think this fourth one in the Liz Carlyle series is probably the best after the promising first book At Risk.
  
  This novel is set against a Middle East conference with the potential for a much needed breakthrough due to be held at Gleneagles in Scotland. However getting the conference off the ground hindered by a rogue Mossad agent meant more complications that normal.
  
  I always enjoy the fascinating peep into the world of MI5 and MI6 as well as Liz's ongoing ups and downs of a personal life. There were enough twists and turns to keep the story moving along and a satisfying conclusion.
• 
  Jonathan

  I must read more SR. Her plots are excellent and are as highly realistic and plausible as befits the former head of MI5, the structure of the service and it's interrelation with politics, the police etc is done well. Unfortunately she is not that great a writer so the characters are a bit wooden and you don't therefore feel much attachment to them.
  
  This applies to many English spy books (or English books in general perhaps): they often have American characters who are put in there to widen the readership to an American audience and also to make the Brits look good.
• 
  Unley Libraries

  Tuesday Fullarton Book Club 3/5
  
  Mixed opinions from the group. As the forth book in the series some characters were established and some readers felt it was difficult to catch up. The rest of us thought it was a well constructed novel, keeping you guessing until the end and then there was another twist! Easy read, authentic and unpretentious, impressive the author had first hand knowledge of the subject matter.
• 
  Sarah Hearn

  Wow! I’ve never read any of Stella Rimington’s books before but I’ll certainly seek out others now. This was terrific. The characters are clearly drawn, the plot is credible, and Ms Rimington’s years as head of MI5 certainly show in her knowledge of how “the biz” works. I was literally hanging on every word as the climax approached, and I wasn’t disappointed. Even though she tells you who the baddie is well before the end, I was rapt you see how it would all work out.
• 
  Pete

  I'm enjoying this series quite a bit and this is another solid entry. The characters are well defined and the story is well crafted. Some readers may find it dull because it lacks gratuitous violence and Hollywood style theatrics but if you prefer more cerebral espionage thrillers then this author can deliver what you're seeking.
• 
  Brigid Gallagher

  In Deadline Intelligence suggests a plot to disrupt a peace conference on the Middle East to be held at Gleneagles in Scotland. Liz Carlyle attempts to uncover the possible saboteurs. However, all is not what it seems and readers are taken through a very plausible series of adventures that end with an edge of the seat finale.
  Stella Rimington's espionage thriller series never disappoints.
• 
  John Sklar

  I just love reading about Liz. She's smart, clever and never seems to miss a clue. She also has great luck, as is pointed out near the end fo this book. The book is partly, or maybe mostly sloved based on a chance sighting. This is the only weak plot element in this complex and interesting story.